Day 8 - Castlebar to Ballysadare - projected distance 44 miles.

A few words about yesterday first. Our 'rest' day involved climbing Croagh Patrick mountain (not quite to the top) for the amazing views of Clew Bay and its reputed 365 islands. We also marvelled at the National Famine Monument - the boat sculpture - and drove over to Achill Island to see one of Grace o'Malley's pirate towers. We had a lovely, busy day which we all enjoyed very much. Oh, and the hotel got out laundry done, so I have clean cycling gear for week two.

This morning I set off just as the clouds burst, ensuring a wet exit from Castlebar. My GPS was showing a longer route than anticipated, but I was quite happy to cycle a few extra miles, so I decided to follow its route north to Lough Conn. Passing by the village of Pontoon I enjoyed the views of the lough and the wild fuschias growing abundantly by the road. There was very little traffic on the road, perhaps because it was Sunday morning. I saw quite a few people in their Sunday best, heading for church.

I have found the weather here to be different every day, and the same every day. My daily experience has been pretty regular in its unpredictability. One moment the sun is shining; the next it is bucketing down with rain. One moment the wind is howling; the next it has quietened down completely. The colour of the sky changes from leaden grey to bright blue and then back again. This took me by surprise a few times initially, but now I'm ready and equipped. The showers can be heavy, but they don't last long and it doesn't take long to dry off on the bike.

I sped along again today, covering the first 50 miles in two hours and 44 minutes, carrying on through Ballina and east towards Ballysadare and Collooney. I had some difficulty finding the hotel, and headed in the wrong direction for a couple of miles, but I smiled pretty broadly when I found it and headed down the long drive to the castle you can see in the last picture on the right. The children are especially pleased that we have an apartment with a separate lounge.

Tonight we're going to sample the cuisine in the castle, so we'll have to root around in our luggage for our one smart(ish) set of clothes.