Wheels Around Europe . . . . . . . : Downpatrick Head and Blacksod Lighthouse

Friday 17 September 2021

Downpatrick Head and Blacksod Lighthouse

Friday 17th September 2021

Wow it was wet 'n wild last night at Dunmoran beach parkup.

The wind blew a hooley most of the night with horizontal rain on and off.

By morning the wind had subsided, but the rain continued, with gloomy grey skies.

After breakfast we set off for Downpatrick Head and it wasn't long before the rain stopped and gaps began to appear in the cloud with bits of welcome blue and shafts of sunlight shining through.

By the time we reached Downpatrick Head it was glorious sunshine and I was so pleased to get some great photos of the sea stack in all it's glory.

It's a stunning location to wander around and there are curious plants growing in mounds where you would expect the grass to be. They must be very hardy given the thousands of sightseeing visitors the area gets.

After a bracing walk, lunch was very welcome and afterwards we set off for Blacksod on the Mullet Peninsula.

The main claim to fame of Blacksod and it's lighthouse is it was from here that the weather forecast came prior to the D-Day landings in 1944.

The Allies planned to start operations on 3rd June, and the Americans in particular were adamant that date should be stuck to.

However the lighthouse keepers wife, Maureen Sweeney, was responsible for maintaining weather records and notifying Dublin, who in turn were forwarding these to London.

When she identified a deep depression, this would make the landing too dangerous. She was asked to check calculations and when she confirmed they were correct, the landings were postponed until 6th June.

Maureen is now 98 and living in a care home locally.

This is a great spot for the night next to the lighthouse.

The evening has been spent watching the sea in Blacksod Bay.