Day 35 - Kilkeel

Spoke to Dad earlier ... he's had a lovely day on the bike. There has still been some wind and headwinds but they are not like the gales yesterday. He's now in Kilkeel in a three star hotel called the Kilmorey Arms Hotel. He'd stopped to ask a lady in Kilkeel if she knew where the hostel was and apparently it was out in the hills so Dad asked if she knew of a reasonable B&B. She said she knew the people that owned the Kilmorey Arms and that she could get Dad a bed for £20.00. So off they both went to the hotel and true to her word Dad got a room for £20.00. (I'm wondering if my Dad often goes to hotels with women he meets in the street and asks for a room !!!!)  It very posh and Dad's room has a double bed, a single bed, TV, tea and coffee making facilities and a bathroom, so Dad has had a good lie in the bath tonight.  The £20 doesn't include breakfast but Dad will see tomorrow what the prices are like and if they are very expensive he'll find somewhere en-route for breakfast. I've just been looking on the website for the hotel and a single room is £69.95 include breakfasts ... so if breakfast is cheaper than £50.00 he has himself a bargain !

Dad had a good night in the hostel last night. He stayed in and got chatting to an elderly couple from Belfast who come down to Portaferry for a couple of nights every week !  There were also 3 lads in who worked on the lighthouses but as the weather was so bad yesterday they couldn't get out to the lighthouses so stayed over in the hostel.

This morning Dad left at 9.15. He watched for the ferry come in and then went down to the ferry port to catch it over to Strangford.  A lady got chatting to Dad on the ferry asking him what he was doing as she was a cyclist as well.  The crossing only took 15 minutes and it was a £1.00 for the bike and Dad got offered a cup of coffee as well.   Once leaving the ferry Dad made his way to the harbour town of Ardglass where he stopped for coffee and a bacon buttie. There were lots of fishing boats/trawlers in the harbour. From there it was onto Kilough, Clough and Dundrum where Dad stopped for lunch.  Dad enjoyed the route today as he a had views of the Mountains of Morne on one side and the coast on the other.  It was then onto Newcastle (no not the under-Lyme ... which would have meant he was home !) but another Newcastle! It was a big city but it also had a beach.  It was then on through Dunmore, Glasdrumman, Annalong and into Kilkeel.

He found out that the most easterly place in Ireland is a place called Burr Point between Ballyhalbert and Portavogie but Dad thinks you can only walk to the point. Enroute today he got chatting to a council worker who was out picking up litter. Dad had found that Northern Ireland has a lot less litter than Southern Ireland and the Council worker was saying that in Sourthern Ireland it is 5 Euros to dispose of a bag of rubbish, so folk just throw it out of their car windows/dump it!

Dad was going to try the Hotel for his evening meal tonight.

Tomorrow he will be heading to Clogherhead which will mean he'll be back in Southern Ireland. He'll not be back home for his birthday but he'll hopefully be back into Dublin.