Day two to the town of Annascaul (17kl or 11 miles).

ANNASCAUL TOWN   6/17/17
The name of the town is a corruption of the Gaelic word "atha na scail" which means River of Hero's,
This is a relatively modern town by comparison as it was built in 1837 with 11 homes and a out house.
this is the birthplace of Tom Crean who accompanied Robert Scott on his ill fated exploration to the south pole.
As it turns out, we were arriving in Annascaul on the evening at the end of the Tom Crean Challenge, they have a 19 mile hike once a year as a challenge to the locals and others to get out and walk. We walked in and people were walking around with medals,,,of course I wanted one,,, these were the finishers and it was great to see them. The walk today was fun, lots more pathways, farm tracks and a few country roads.

Climbing one of the many farm stiles during the day

Everyone did well and the sun popped out from the clouds quite abit, giving us all burns on the back of our legs.
One of the things we got to do was hike down to INCH BAY BEACH and rest our feet at the local with a beer shandy. The girls actually went in up to their knees,,,too far to walk for me

Beer shandy at the beach for the weary

The people in Ireland are so warm and friendly, and always willing to help. When we made it into Annascaul we were early for our hostel, so we plonked down at an outside pub and cheered the walkers coming in from the  challenge.
After a shower, we headed into another pub for a game of cribbage, at which the girls killed us and are now behaving like brats. We had the best Shepherds Pie, and my body just loved getting some fuel, then crossed over to another pub to listen to the locals play music and sing along. I don't know how you get 200 people into a small room, but apparently it's possible in an Irish pub.

In bed by 10 pm and ready for tomorrow.

Shepherd pie, fish and chip, and a game of cribbage