Day 32 - 28/07/20 - killyleagh to Belfast

Sounds a long way don't it. But I've walked longer days on my wee dander.
It's strange cause I thought this stretch was going to take me far longer than it actually did. Maybe it's just the way it looks on the map? Who knows?

The day started with a lovely warm sun beating down on my tent in Delamont Country Park. I had the luxury of running water this morning, by way of an outside tap. And made full use of it by starting with a Huel and a brew followed by a ration pack 'All day breakfast' kindly donated by leigh and debs a few days earlier.

Everything packed and rubbish disposed of I set off at 0830 for what I knew would be a long day. Walking out of the forest park and into killyleagh town was lovely and the sun stayed out for me for this part at least.

I knew this was going to be a tough day as I was now off the Ulster Way itself and had created my own route back to the Hospice. And my own route mainly consisted of tarmacked roads. I tried to stick to mainly 'B' roads but unfortunately couldn't avoid 'A' roads altogether.
Traffic was quite light for most of the early stages of my day even on the 'A' roads and I made good time throughout.

Unfortunately the weather wasn't playing ball and it went from freezing wind to roasting sun and a mix of either light or heavy showers all day. This cycle seemed to repeat itself at irregular intervals meaning I was constantly changing what I was wearing and how I was wearing it just to remain comfortable!!! 🙄

It was a 40km+ day and Saintfield marked roughly my half way point at just under 20km. I stopped for my lunch in a nice wee cafe where I had a favourite of mine - Soup & Sandwich combo 🤤.
Stopping just in time for the sun to come beaming out again 🤦‍♂️.

Leaving Saintfield felt truly homeward bound. Especially as I started to take work calls and messages 🙄.

At this point the roads took a noticeable turn to the busier side of things, especially as I approached Belfast via Drumbo heading into the Lagan towpath.

Between both these places a friend of mine had seen me walking and pulled over for a chat and a wee donut 🍩. Since lockdown he has been delivering donuts around the city and had some home with him which I put to good use 🤤😁. Thanks Ben #legend 👊.

Getting onto the Lagan towpath was a relief for me as it got me out of traffic and I used it for a marker for Belfast proper.

Winding my way along the towpath took me under the M1 which I had never done before 😲 was a great call and it took me into west Belfast where Milltown was my destination for the day.

So in and around every lunchtime I start to think about where I will be staying that night. And ever since I mapped this route into Belfast I had been thinking about this.
I wasn't particularly enthralled about camping in West Belfast and had started to look for a B&B to stay in when a thought struck me. This is the closest to home I had been my whole walk. Why don't I just stay there!!
A few messages later I had a pickup arranged by the legendary Nathan for that evening.
And roughly 45 min after my Milltown arrival, and onward dander I was escorted home for the first time in four and a half weeks.

And here I sit, on my own wee chair with wireless charging on my phone and a hot chocolate. It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be my last day walking.

Stats for the day's dander are: 46km walked and 955m ascended.

So even though tomorrow will be the last walk day I will have an official finish at the Children's Hospice on Saturday the first of August.
Everybody is welcome to come down and see me walk into the hospice at 1230.
I know you are all excited about the weight in competition 😁 and I will have weighed in on Wednesday upon my return to the hospice. So on Saturday I will announce the winner of the competition which is the person closest if nobody is spot on with the weight.

Winner will receive a portable Bluetooth speaker. ooooooo I here you say 😁.