A very wet start to the day so we lingered for a chat with the other guests, a young Australian working in Dublin and a German woman who’d lived in Galway for many years, acquiring a bizarre Irish/German hybrid accent. We left at 11:00 to ride the 5 miles to Falcarragh where we phoned to book tonight’s stay at the An Oige hostel. As it was so wet, we lunched at the village coffee shop, and were very impressed with the leek and potato soup with soda bread followed by excellent cakes and coffee. We turned off the N56 in the village onto the R256 over bleak moorland, climbing up as the wind funnelled down the pass. We paused at the Bridge of Tears where farewells were made to emigrants. At the top, we joined the R251, climbing for a while before the long descent which brought us to the modern hostel, arriving at 3 pm. The weather was much improved by now, as you can see from the photograph.
The hostel was a fine example of how a new building can be welcoming with a pleasant relaxed feel. We had a private room for only 17 euro each (members rate), and cooked in the kitchen. The nearby shop was sparsely stocked with fresh vegetables so we bought frozen peas and grated cheese for a risotto, helped along with a bottle of wine. It’s a large hostel designed with groups in mind but the only other hostellers were two German women.