The Big Picnic and more...

As I've said before, there's always a lot of "stuff" going on in Westport town.  Candee and I made it up to The Big Picnic being held on the Fairgreen on Saturday from 11 - 4.  Bunches of food trucks, food stands, music, a booth for a local distiller of gin and vodka, and the inimitable Killian O'Morain manning the Mescan Brewery booth.  Candee and I shared some items from the Woodfire Pizza tent - not pizza mind you, but samosas and flatbread stuffed with chicken.  Samosas - you probably know, but new to me - are pockets, a la empanadas, filled with potatoes, peas, and a number of other "bits and pieces" as the young man said.  Absolutely delicious.  We went for seconds.  The flatbread was terrific as well - chargrilled pieces of chicken with various spices nestled on top of a smoke-grilled flatbread.  We put a little of the spiced yoghurt topping on, squeezed the lime slice over it, and found ourselves debating whether to go for seconds on this as well or defer to have a bit of a dessert later.  We deferred...

Approaching the Fairgreen

Chicken flatbread on the top; samosas on the bottom.  Yum.  And yum again.

The Mescan Brewery crewery.  That'd be Killian in the middle.
Excellent locally produced craft beer.  Major sponsors of the bluegrass festival.
All visitors of ours will be mandated to hoist a few.

Photo by Amayo Photography

Along the Carrowbeg River in the center of town - the area known as "The Mall"

Deferred gratification...
A jam donut for me; an apple and rhubarb tart for Candee
Cappuccinos for us both.  At Ocee's, affiliated with our supermarket.

And more stuff in town...

Most Irish people are very big on "fitness."  Well, especially the younger generation.  Very few people will use a "buggy" on the golf course - even persons of my generation (on the wrong side of 70).  And it's not like walking eighteen holes on a local golf course is a walk in the park - most courses are up and down some formidable hills.  It is often said that walking is the Irish national pastime, and, indeed, the folks we know think nothing of walking long distances either as a means of transportation or simply in order to get a bit of a constitutional.  In the States we'd for sure be calling Uber...

This was the weekend for Gaelforce - a mighty endurance race including running, biking, kayaking, and climbing - to the peak of Croagh Patrick.  In total, competitors will traverse approximately forty-three miles.  Doesn't sound like much if it was a bike race - after all, our lovely landlady, Carole King has completed marathon biking challenges like the annual Westportif which covers one hundred miles through some very testing terrain.  And, at the end of the course, one climbs Lally's Hill, a three hundred meter (~975 feet) very steep hill.  But the combination of activities in Gaelforce, with the addition of climbing the Reek (2,500 feet to the peak), makes for an exhausting and an extraordinary quest.  We are pleased to report that our landladies, Carole King and Colette Sweeney, finished second and third in their age categories.  What an accomplishment!!!  Congratulations!

Take a moment to read the itinerary below and follow on the maps (guarantee you'll end up fatigued).  Remember, you can click on any photograph to enlarge it.

STAGE 1: BEACH, TRAIL AND ROAD RUN (13.5 km) Start line at Glassilaun beach in Connemara. Continue by road around Little Killary Harbour and then over the hillside into Killary Fjord. Make your way along the old Famine greenway, muddy and uneven underfoot, to the shore below Killary Adventure Centre and the kayak transition area.

STAGE 2: KAYAKING ACROSS KILLARY FJORD (1 km) Kayak from the southern shore of Killary Fjord to its northern shore in a two-man sit-on-top with the next competitor to you.

STAGE 3: TRAIL AND ROAD RUN (4 km) Disembarking onto the foothills of Mweelrea, with tufted long grass and boggy holes underfoot. Next on to a laneway and eventually a narrow road leading you to the Delphi Bike transition.

STAGE 4: CYCLING (32 km) Leaving the Delphi valley and heading for Drummin, spectacular hills to climb and extreme care needed on the downhills. Expect severe corners and narrow country roads. On to a gradual climb up to the back of Croagh Patrick and the transition area. The final 2 km of this section is on a loose-stoned and rough forestry track. Punctures possible on a road bike.

STAGE 5: MOUNTAIN RUN/HIKE (4.5 km) Croagh Patrick (764 m). Stay on the path and take care on the top section of this mountain as it has a lot of loose stones. If you do not reach the transition here by 2.30 pm, you will not be allowed to ascend the mountain and you will be short coursed back to Westport. We also encourage you to read the Mayo Mountain Rescue Safety Guidelines when climbing Croagh Patrick.

STAGE 6: CYCLING (13 km) Sealed road all the way back to the N59 for approx 6 km. Turn left for Westport and continue for another 6.5 km. Once you approach Westport town you will come to another T- junction turning right Into the town centre for a further 500 m. At the bottom of the hill you will take a sharp left down Church street. Note there are speed ramps on the final decent. You will be asked to slow down and dismount before you proceed down Church Street 

STAGE 7: FINAL RUN Bring your bike on to the green area to final bike drop and make the final short run to the finish line in Westport Leisure Park in Westport town centre.

So, if you're tired of the same old same old, I suggest you get yourself to Westport, Co Mayo.  I'm quite certain you'll find a vast array of activities to engage both your mind and your body.