barnes summit

Yesterday was such a good day with warm Spring sunshine for probably the first time this year that I decided not to waste it and threw my gear together in the afternoon and headed for Barnes Gap forest.

I fancied something a bit different from Friday’s spin and thought the trails up there would be good with a possible climb to the summit in the back of my mind.

I was aware of the works in the forest as there is a construction company installing a windfarm. On my last visit they were working between the summit and the quarry with minimal security at the quarry end but safe enough as the site shut down for the weekend. Big change now! The works have spread out along most of the main trails with massive sections quarried out to provide stone for the widening of the trails for increased access for construction vehicles. Most of the trails have changed from potholed gravel and stone to chunky hardcore and rock. Where the vehicles have been working and travelling the trails are a mixture of smooth and some rock but the newer sections are very rocky making the going particularly difficult.

On my loop I entered and left the forest twice each. Neither of the two entrances were signed but both exits were. If I’d seen the signs early on I probably wouldn’t have gone but by the time I saw the construction I was committed and decided to go ahead, especially as all the vehicles were parked up for the weekend. The only security was at the quarry end again but he couldn’t have cared less about me as he was standing chatting to someone.

Halfway round brought me to the summit trail. No windmills going in up there so the track was in good shape. I headed up with the option to retreat if my legs gave up on me. It’s a tough old climb this one at 2.2km and an average gradient of 7.4%. According to Strava it’s an elevation increase of 165m but I’ve no idea how that reflects on other climbs. All I know is that it’s pretty relentless with very little respite and a number of steep sections hitting 12-14% and I’m sure 20% on one of the final sections. The steepness is a real challenge but it’s the loose gravel on some of the steep sections and especially on the tight corners that are the most difficult. Pleased to say I made it to the top without having to stop and even managed a PB for my 3rd attempt taking 45secs off my previous time.

The views from the top were amazing. I’ve been up here a good few times, on foot as well as on the bike and this is definitely the best views I’ve had. I hung around for a few photos but the windchill was significant enough to speed me along.

The drop back down isn’t for the fainthearted either! The steep descents are slippy now with the loose gravel and the turns are tight enough to test. With images of A&E flashing through my head I kept on the brakes and took it fairly handy all the way down.

At the base I continued on through the construction site, stopping for photos before exiting out on to the main road. A short stretch of tarmac and back into the forest to loop around back to the car to give me almost 19km and 400m of climbing in 1hr 20min and a big smile on my face.

mother’s day

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If St Patrick’s Day was strange then Mother’s Day wasn’t going to be much different. We wanted to do as much as possible today while being sensible so we went to visit Mum and with a great idea from Catriona we wrote Happy Mother’s Day on A4 sheets and greeted her from outside her garden wall having already left her present outside the front door. It was a bit weird but we got to say what we wanted and she and Dad both stayed safe.

Catriona’s wish was a walk on the beach. We went to Rathmullan as it’s a big wide beach with plenty of space for keeping away from others and allowed us to visit Catriona’s Mum’s grave on the way.

When we arrived in Rathmullan the car park was as busy as I’ve seen it with about 40 cars parked up already. Having seen pictures of crowds in the Wicklow Mountains yesterday we were on the verge of turning away but as there was nobody actually in the car park we decided to have a look down the beach.

It was heartening to see how everyone was behaving. There were a lot of people out walking, lots of couples and lots of small family groups. Everyone was very responsible with everyone well spread out up and down the beach with lots of space. We saw a couple of groups of people meeting who knew each other but just waving. One pair of younger couples were kind of messing but one of the guys was pretty clear about the need to stay apart and made sure the other guy didn’t come too close while still being able to have a conversation.

It was really uplifting to see everyone enjoying the day, the first of the proper Spring weather and to be able to put aside the worries and concerns for just a little while but still being sensible enough to stay safe.

Catriona’s favourite thing is to walk on the beach and it was great we were able to give her that today.

this is the way

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Wikipedia describes this series as a “space Western” and it really does have strong undertones of the “Spaghetti Western” genre and echoes of Clint Eastwood in particular. It also reminded me very strongly of David Gemmel’s Waylander character. The Mandalorian is a foundling, taken in by the warrior clan and raised to follow their creed. He’s working as a mercenary and bounty hunter and it is suggested quite strongly that he has a dodgy past.

I found it really enjoyable and would rate it as ⭐⭐⭐⭐ overall. It’s far from perfect with some wooden acting and glaring plot holes but the special effects are good, it feels connected to the original Star Wars story (set 5 years after Return of The Jedi) and the characters are really engaging. The main character is particularly interesting with his back story and the story of his tribe, teased out through the series. There are some clever reveals in e8 that still leave you looking for more and also plenty of scope for a second season.

I’m not a hard core Star Wars fan but even so there were plenty of connections to the original films with settings, characters and references to connect them that gave this series a solid and familiar feel.

I’d say most Star Wars fans should enjoy this but it’s important that you don’t take it too seriously – as the comedy elements of the final episode show, it doesn’t really take itself too seriously either.

Oh, it’s also got a baby Yoda!

st patrick’s day 2020

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made a rare speech to the nation this evening and as he said “it’s been a St Patrick’s Day like no other“

Since I’ve come home from Switzerland I’ve been self-isolating as much as possible. I’m not due back to work until Thursday but they have asked me to stay off longer. No timeline given and no determination on pay but I’m expecting a minimum of 14 days and social welfare emergency payment only which will be a significant reduction in pay.

When I first received the message I was still in Switzerland and despite the growing crisis I still felt annoyed and that it was an over reaction. Switzerland was green status and despite large numbers of positive cases there were very few in our region and probably less chance of contracting the virus than at home. Since returning home that has changed to amber status yesterday, the government have recommended 14 day restricted movement for all travellers returning to Ireland since yesterday and Switzerland have closed their borders and gone into partial lockdown today. With that, the mood in the country and the increasingly difficult news in the media I’m no longer annoyed!

I did go out at one stage today. We needed a few items from the shop so I went to the local Mace. The mood was as weird as it gets. Everyone eyeballing everyone else, making sure they knew where everyone was and mentally willing each other to stay back. The checkout had the crisp baskets pulled out to enforce a 2m distance between the staff and customer with the girl stepping well back and wearing protective gloves. Payment was made via card and tapped to reduce contact further. It was a horribly sad atmosphere.

We’re a country renowned for our friendliness and today is our national holiday. Instead of celebrating and enjoying ourselves we’re hunkered down in our homes, expecting the worst and hoping others stay away. Self-isolation is a key strategy to controlling the spread of the virus but it’s damaging to the fabric of society.

One minister stated yesterday that “the normal we had a few weeks ago won’t be the normal we have again“. I hope our new normal is still a good one and that we come out the other side as good people in a good society once again.

last gasp

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For our last day we decided to go to Finhaut for one last visit, to have a beer in Beau Soleil and say goodbye to Heléne. We walked the normal rural road on the way over but traffic is so quiet due to the outbreak we were able to come back by the main road. It was great to see the valley and villages from a completely different angle as well as have an easier, less hilly walk home. We extended the walk into Frontière for a final drink before heading back to Le Châtelard.

Tomorrow is an early start with the train to Geneva leaving at 625am and hopefully not too much of an adventure getting home with Covid-19 on the loose.

going loco

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Today we headed across the border into France once again. This time we were going by train instead of on foot and a little further afield to Chamonix Mont Blanc.

Chamonix is situated at the foot of Mont Blanc and is the oldest ski resort in France. It should be a busy town but felt very quiet today. Possibly a result of the Coronavirus but maybe just be too late in the ski season.

We wandered around the town which is dominated by bars and restaurants with sports shops taking up the next spot on the street. It’s a nice town and I’d expect it to be quite a buzz when filled with ski holiday makers enjoying the aprés ski.

Despite the commercialism the town still shows a lot of its traditional side and there were sights to see rather than just the inside of the bars.

The weather was against us today with persistent low cloud. We had hoped for views of the surrounding mountainside and Mont Blanc in particular but despite tantalising glimpses we were denied all day

this guy sits facing mont blanc but just cloud today

As well as exploring the town our other draw today was to visit Poco Loco and to have one of their fantastic burgers. Jim knows this place from previous visits and highly recommended it for both the food and atmosphere.

The place is tiny. It’s built in a space that used to be an alley and the small sitting area upstairs still shows signs of that. I loved it! The decor is great, as is the atmosphere and the food was fantastic. Living in a vegetarian house all week made it even more so 😊

On the way home we stopped in Argentière for another look around and to assist Pierre with his grocery shopping.

down the valais

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We woke up this morning to the sound of the snow plough and glorious sunshine.

The plan today was to head down the valley. We took the train to Trétein which is a beautiful village built on the side of a very steep hill. Once you step off the train you’re looking right down onto the village.

looking from the train station

We went down through the village past the gorge and down the valley further to Les Marécottes. This village had a lot of very nice buildings with lots of newer ones as it also has a cable car terminus for the ski slopes above. Quite a few people heading up today despite it being a Wednesday and with the snow beginning to melt.

Part of the road runs under an avalanche barrier. For some reason it has lots of holes and with a rapid snow melt we were rained on quite heavily on the way through both times

if you look carefully you can see the drops hitting the road and leaving the roof

After a wander around we went to the zoo(!) for a beer by the swimming pool. We sat outside in the sunshine and it really was baking hot.

Afterwards we walked back to Trétein and caught the train back as far as Finhaut. Both bars were closed so we bought bread, smoked meat and beer and had a picnic along the road where we had a great view of Mont Blanc before continuing on to Le Châtelard.

chalet du glacier with triente glacier in the background

lunch with mont blanc in the far distance above my bottle

12km total walking today and the legs feeling all the hills we climbed! Hoping for more sunshine tomorrow 🤞

horses for courses

We only had a very basic plan for today as we wanted a reasonably restful day to recover and the weather forecast was for rain. Woke up to more snow instead of rain!

pierre’s garden table. all this snow fell since thursday!

After breakfast we channelled our inner lumberjack and cut and split wood for the stove.

On my last visit 6 years ago we had a drink in this recently opened bar. Sometime after Pierre discovered it was a brothel for the construction workers at the dam! I guess the red curtains should have been a clue 😊

We caught the train into Finhaut for a wander around with a plan to then walk the 4km back to Le Châtelard.

We tried to get lunch in Finhaut but picked a bad time as Heléne in Beau Soleil was busy…….having her lunch. She advised the café next door with a great cook and very cheap 😆

We didn’t really like it in there and as the snow was getting wet and threatening to turn to rain we decided to take the train to Frontiére, have lunch there and walk back. We ended up having a huge and very tasty lunch of Quiche (spinach and goat’s cheese), horse steak and chips followed by a fruit salad. Horse was a first for me and in French/Swiss style almost rare. It was very nice but the quiche was really delicious, something I wouldn’t have tried if I was at home.

if you listen carefully you may hear it neigh!

It was a slow walk back to Le Châtelard with full bellies,stopping in one of the shops to view the tourist trap displays.

brilliant model of the valley and the dam complete with nessie

bit more atmospheric views up and down the valley today

On the way back I stopped at the little Church just above the village. It’s dedicated to St Theresa of the Infant Jesus and is really nicely decorated with icons and stained glass with a fantastic carved front door. For some reason there’s a small statue of a marmot just outside the front door on a raised rock.

Yesterday afternoon we started building an igloo for Jim’s birthday. We almost finished it but the cold beat us and we were running out of light. The plan was to finish it this afternoon but the rain killed that idea. This evening, after dark we decided to decorate and christen it despite its unfinished state and before it melted away on us.

border hopping

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Today we decided that a trip to France was in order so the plan was to walk across the border to the ski resort of Vallorcine. Overnight it had snowed quite heavily and was still snowing this morning.

All the fresh snow combined with the little use the path receives at this time of the year created a very beautiful walking environment but tough walking conditions with the snow knee deep for much of the walk. We were following in the tracks of a deer and also saw a red deer doe and stag along the way. Both much too quick for photography.

After approximately 1.5 hrs we reached the edge of Vallorcine. It was busy with cable cars heading up and down the mountain and skiirs having a break in the bars. I was surprised to see it so busy on a Monday afternoon. We had a beer to celebrate Jim’s birthday and lunch in the restaurant attached to the railway station. Lunch was well timed as the waitress turned away a couple of groups not long after we started eating.

Post lunch we headed back the way we came. Just before we left Vallorcine it started to snow again, quite heavily and stayed like that pretty much all the way back to Le Châtelard. The walking was much easier with the path broken by our journey up and also being mostly downhill again.

the tdf came through here a few years ago and it’s still a big deal

All in all just under 12km and definitely feeling it this evening.

niall harran

walk | hike | cycle | blog

barnes summit

this is the way

last gasp

going loco

down the valais

horses for courses

border hopping