WHIRL2026 Day - 9

Back on the bikes today, we set off under cloudy skies and at about 15 degrees. Our first destination was the last point on the compass, Burr Point, acknowledged as the most easterly point in mainland Ireland. There's a steel circular structure with a large E in the middle to mark the spot. I've not seen anything the same at the other 3 points, though obviously, the southern point was inaccessible. Maybe for the other two I just didn't walk far enough?

There was a chap there who struck up a conversation when he noticed Grizzly's Route 66 badge on the bike. Somehow, I was the one who got enbroiled in the conversation, including where we had been and where he had been when delivering furniture! Grizzly just got on with taking photos whilst I was 'stuck'. Eventually I managed to bring the convo to a close. The Irish are very friendly but this was a little OTT.

E means the most Easterly Point

My photos taken, we set course for Portaferry, stopping just outside the ferry port to fuel up, before taking our place at the head of the queue. This was our third and final ferry and the cheapest of the three. We were making the short crossing across Strangford Lough.

First on, first off!

10 minutes after setting sail, we were riding off the other end  and on our way to Inch Abbey. The abbey, or remains of, were once inhabited by cistercian monks. It was very quiet there today and must have been a tranquil place to live.

Inch Abbey

We had a short lunch break before our next  place of interest. I had another chap approach me, asking about the bike and saying how lucky we have been with the weather. Couldn't disagree. It's not that we haven't had rain, but it's been a light shower here and there, nothing sufficient to warrant stopping to get the waterproofs on. This convo was much shorter than the earlier one and more bike related. I'm not a great conversationalist but it'd be rude to ignore people and they all wish us a safe journey to signoff, so what's the harm in taking a few minutes to engage?

The next stop was a neolithic tomb, Ballykeel Dolmen, dolmens are also called portal tombs. The portal/door into the tomb would be formed by 3 upright stones, with a flat stone on top. On arrival, Tomtom said we had arrived but we couldn't see anything. Turning round we then saw the portal in a field. To get to it, I had to walk down the road a few metres and climb some stone steps, almost like a stile. Grizzly didn't seem interested and sat on his bike. As I was investigating, one of those short showers arrived. Luckily, I could shelter under the portal. A couple of minutes and it had passed.

Ballykeel Dolmen

From the Dolmen, we were on our way to our hotel, south of Dublin. The ride in the main was on a couple of  motorways which apart from a section around Dublin where traffic was tailed back, allowed us to make good time. We arrived at the hotel about 5:15pm, which gave us time to watch some of the Brazil v Japan game, before going for dinner. There's not much in the area, so we ate in the hotel bar. A chap had one of the specials, ribs, chicken wings, onion rings, salad and chips. It smelt great, so that's what I had. It was messy and took quite a long time to finish but it was very tasty and definitely the right choice.

Tomorrow, believe it or not, is my and Grizzly's last full day together. We have a few places on the itinerary to visit, after which we'll be back to where we started, in Wexford.

Day 10 beckons. Bye for now.