Saturday July 15th
We rose & breakfasted about 6 & soon after set out to examine the Shores of Cloghnikilty Bay. In the Meadows close to the Town & also in several other places we gathered Bartsia viscosa,53 which there grows very luxuriantly & we saw Rubia peregrina54 in equal abundance. About 9 we left Woods on the Banks of the Haven & Leach & I continued our walk till we reached the open Bay. From hence we rambled round what is called the Island55 in search after Shells & Insects, & we were more successful than in any of our former Hunts in this Country. Scarabaeus humens & S. Globosus56 were plentiful on the Sand hills by the Seaside, on which Viola lutea grows in great abundance & Asplenium marinum57 grows in the Rocks. It seems to be a very good Beach for Shells & I found some with which Mr. Leach as well as myself were unacquainted. From Cloghnikilty Bay an Arm of the Sea runs up to the Town, but its Banks are tame & the neighbourhood totally devoid of Beauty. The Town {MS page 28} contains very few decent Houses but it is large & very populous as are all the others thro' which we have passed in this Country.
We returned to our Inn about 1 O'Clock at which hour we had ordered Dinner & about 2 set out for Dunmanway (11 Miles distant) which Town we reached at 7 O'Clock. The Road was so rocky as in some places to be almost impassable & the Country quite uninteresting. By the Road side all the way we again observed Bartsia viscosa & Euphorbia hyberna in great abundance. As soon as we had drank some Coffee (which was the namesake of our Landlord) we walked to a range of high rocky hills about a Mile Northward from the Town. On a Bog at the foot of the Hill we gathered Carex curta58 & even the Stone Walls by the road side were almost covered with Saxifraga umbrosa. We ascended about half up the Hill & remained there till it was too dark to botanize any longer without finding any other Plant which can be {MS page 29} considered as at all
The wildness of the Scenery & the stillness of the evening interrupted only by the chattering of a Fern Owl tended to tranquillise & dispose the Mind to Meditation. It was near 10 when we reached our Inn, where after having completed our Journals, & drank a bottle of thin Claret, we went to Bed.