My apartment for the summer is along a looped walk that connects it to Derrynane House, where I work five days a week. I usually drive because it is a long walk that precludes anything else in the day, but yesterday morning dawned with blue skies and calm winds, and so I packed my bag and set off early for the walk over to Derrynane. It is a lovely walk and a special way to start the day.
My commute begins with the narrow road down to Bunvalla Pier. This is a small local road going down the mountain to the water in a series of long looping switchbacks. It takes me through pastures and past several farms, until the pier comes into view.
Walking past the pier and the little beach, the real enchantment begins. From this pier over to Derrynane pier is a steep, rocky area with no roads, but there is a path that threads along between rocky outcrops and up through a rhododendron grove. This is known as the Mass Path. When Catholic religious services were outlawed in the 17th to 19th centuries, people would gather outside in remote areas that would be unlikely to be detected. The people living in this area would travel along this route to Derrynane for religious services held outside at the Mass Rock.
The mountains here come right down to the sea, and this path works through the rocky landscape, dipping down to the water’s edge at a small pebbly beach that is only accessible by water or the Mass Path. From here the route winds up a narrow valley into a rhododencron grove, then back out to follow the rocks above the water.
The path concludes at the Derrynane pier, and my commute then takes me up a winding road, into the woodlands that are a part of Derrynane Park. The park path brings me out just below Derrynane House, where my work day begins.
