Forty Shades Of Green

LETJOG E2W – Day 34: Friday 17 May – CORK to TOWER (9.3 miles)

After the excesses of yesterday a short walking day was in order for today, giving me the chance to lie-in, recover from the Bruce Springsteen concert last night, and to consider my potential walking routes for the coming days as my LETJOG E2W challenge heads through south-western Ireland. The time also allowed me opportunity to attempt some accommodation bookings and, needless to say, a few things are starting to fall into place now. Accordingly I find myself this evening well fed on my first Chinese dinner of this trip, and comfortably installed in a B&B in the village of Tower, just to the west of Blarney.

A shorter than usual walk also gave me a little time today to be a tourist at Blarney Castle. Many moons ago, in 1992 I think, Rachel and I visited the castle and kissed the Blarney Stone – the ‘stone of eloquence’ as it is known. Which probably explains a lot! Well, I figured that my ‘gift of the gab’ was probably overdue a top-up, and so a look around the grounds and the castle – concluding with a trip to the ramparts to visit said stone – ensued. For some reason I quite enjoyed being with the masses for once, before a gentle onward couple of miles to my overnight destination.

Notwithstanding the added degree of uncertainty over the remainder of my LETJOG E2W walk, the lack of any time pressure or personal commitments gives me a certain freedom over the next few days. I am also anticipating some of the finest walking country, as I cross the Boggeragh Mountains on my way to Killarney, before reaching the Atlantic coast of Ireland. The weather too is looking mainly dry for at least the next two days, and I am feeling somewhat rested – and a tad more eloquent perhaps – after a fine and gentle day.

‘Forty Shades Of Green’ is a song written by renowned US country artist Johnny Cash, following his first visit to Ireland in 1959; Cash once recalled performing the song in Ireland and being told afterwards by an aged man that it must have been an old Irish folk tune – certainly in conjuring up images of the ‘Emerald Isle’ it is well worth a listen. However, the version that I am going with on my E2W playlist is a softer rendition by Irish country folk singer Daniel O’Donnell, recorded in 1989. O’Donnell is also a broadcaster and philanthropist, and is considered something of a cultural icon in these parts. Thus the song title makes a fitting choice as my Blog heading for today – especially as there is a line in the lyrics that reads ‘I’d walk from Cork to Larne, to see the forty shades of green’.