Five Feet, Nine Inches Above Ground

Friday August 09 2024

What would a road trip be without a sudden unscripted detour for no apparent reason? I was travelling north from Galway towards Strabane and was in total awe of the countryside. There was nowhere to stop and get a good shot of the scenery on the two lane highway I was travelling, so I turned off. And there, around a bend in a n idyllic country road I saw what appeared to be a castle in the distance. And closer up, there was a sign:

Cliffoney-Trawalua Strand and the temptation of a potential hike through a pasture, over some huge sand dunes to a beautiful beach. Already seduced by the surrounding landscape, I took up the challenge.

After a quick change into hiking boots and a search for my hiking stick, I set off through the pasture.

There wasn’t a definite trail so I chose to follow the small stream that eventually meandered its’ way to the bay.

As I arrived at the end of the stream, I met a local chap walking his dog. After the usual greetings, I asked him about what appeared to be a castle in the distance. It turned into an interesting tragic tale. It’s called Classiebawn Castle, he said. It was once owned by Lord Mountbatten who was killed by a bomb blast while out in his boat on August 27 1979. I remembered the event and decided to check out the details on the internet. The IRA were responsible for the blast that killed Mountbatten, his son-in-law Lord John Brabourne and 15 year old Paul Maxwell who worked on the boat. Lady Brabourne, mother of John, died of her injuries the next day. Mountbatten’s daughter Patricia and her twin children Timothy and Nicholas survived. The castle and property are no longer owned by the Mountbatten family.

The wind was blowing fiercely creating waves and moving sand. It was not a day for a picnic on the beach!

I took a slightly different path back to the car because it gave me a view of the surrounding countryside from the top of the dunes.

I arrived in Strabane in Northern Ireland without further stops except for a long wait due to roadwork. It took me awhile to get used to miles per hour and that everything was priced in pounds and pence! There was no perceptible border crossing point, no fanfare. I chose Strabane as my jumping off point for the Giant’s Causeway trip and possibly Tory Island. The town is situated west of Belfast and south of Derry or Londonderry creating a triangle. As it turned out, I didn’t have the time for a trip to Tory Island. And so another day in this incredible trip came to an end. Here’s shot of the lough that was next to the traffic jam.