It started in Scotland and finished in Ireland; it was sunny, warm and windless when we set off – cold, showery  with a moderate head wind when we finish; we were full of beans this morning (metaphorically speaking that is, as beans weren’t actually on the breakfast menu for some reason!) but by the time we arrived at the rather splendid Portaferry Hotel, more of which later, we were knackered!

Disaster has befallen us – despite the generally luxurious nature of the hotel, it’s WiFi service is down! Unfortunately the 3G signal in these parts is also pretty intermittent. All this adds up to the disappointing news that they’ll be no route analysis or photos from todays stage tonight. The other worrying development is that the weather forecast for tomorrow is rather bleak – rain and a strong south westerly wind on what is potentially the most challenging stage of the whole trip – the longest and the biggest height gain! We’re currently assessing Plan B!

On the positive side the bird list has crept up, mostly due to the ferry crossing which, despite being flat calm and in the middle of the day, produced Kittiwake, Gannet, Guillemot, Razorbill, Common and Arctic Tern – taking us over the 100 mark.

Watch this space for any developments and stay tuned…..