Day 9 - Ballysadare to Ballybofey - projected distance 60 miles.

In Yeats' country today. Wet and windy Yeats country. Setting off on the N4 and then the N15 roads, I found the going much harder today, sometimes struggling to keep my bike moving in a straight line in the strong wind. This was not greatly enjoyable cycling - more of a case of getting the miles done.

After an hour I stopped in the village of Drumcliff to visit Yeats' grave. His epitaph is taken from the final lines of his poem 'Under Ben Bulben', one of his last. Oddly, he was originally buried in the south of France in 1939, and then his body was moved to Sligo (as he wished) in 1948.

After Drumcliff the Atlantic Ocean came into view and stayed on the left-hand side of my GPS screen for a couple of hours. I wonder whether I might cycle alongside the other edge of the ocean one day. I passed by several sandy stretches and watched the waves crashing in, and realised that I hadn't actually set foot on any of Ireland's famous Atlantic beaches. I remedied this in Bundoran - the bingo and amusement centre of Donegal. Not everyone I saw was greatly amused by the lashing rain and howling winds today, but I did step briefly on to the beach.

Just past Ballintra, when I was turning away from the sea and gaining some respite from the wind, I stopped to buy some lunch at a Eurospar supermarket by the N15, and noticed quite a few customers giving me odd looks as I walked the aisles. There are very few cyclists here, and even fewer wearing any lycra. Anyway, I armed myself with a fine high-energy lunch consisting of Belgian buns and bananas.

The road skirted around Donegal town, and I decided against a detour as the weather worsened this afternoon and the rain started to fall more heavily. I knew that Sarah and the children were at Donegal castle, so I could see their pictures later. The road from Donegal to Ballybofey reminded me very much of Scotland with its fir trees, rugged hills and - rare for Ireland - something of a gradient. I climbed to 600 feet or so before dropping back down into Ballybofey, which is not as quaint as the name might suggest.

Very much looking forward to visiting the Giant's Causeway tomorrow - after a change of coast, country and currency.