Yet another absolutely stunning walk on Donegal’s North Coast with the Bluestack Ramblers. This time on Horn Head with amazing cliff views seen from multiple angles and a trip out to the tip of the horns before heading inland to the “helicopter landing pad” (Duncap Isle) and a stiff climb back up to the highest point of Croaghnamaddy (252m) ⛰️👣
9.5km and an accumulated elevation of 734m with all the ups and downs typical of a coastal walk
My first time in Monellan since Storm Éowyn. It’s a mess! What was started by Darragh was finished by Éowyn. Some of the trails have been at least partly cleared but judging by seemingly unplanned and random way it’s been done I’d say it’s enterprising locals with a chainsaw rather than Coillte. Based on the sign at the gate Coillte’s policy seems to be ignore it and it will go away 🙈😔
The startling evidence of the power of the storm isn’t the number of downed trees. I’ve seen footage of other forests and it was expected. What wasn’t is the number of trees simply snapped like matchsticks. A very small part of me would like to have been there to experience the sheer power of the wind but it must have been terrifying also….
The plan was to cycle this evening but when I got home it was just too blustery to be enjoyable. I find it hard enough to get motivated to go out in the dark so it needs good weather conditions as a minimum.
It was the kind of work day where I was able to sort all my emails during the day so when I got home at 5:30pm I decided to make the most of the last of the daylight, took a sneaky half hour and headed to the forest for a walk.
The last time I was here was just after Storm Éowyn so there were loads of fallen trees across the tracks including one track that I decided to avoid altogether as it looked bad and I’d already navigated around a few falls. As it was still fairly clear I decided to go see how bad it was in daylight.
Altogether I’d say there were approximately 15 trees down in 4 different locations but I was able to divert around, through and under them to get to the junction with the main loop. This had been cleared but as the other one wasn’t I guess it was the farmers that use the main tracks to access fields rather than an organised forestry job.
I didn’t need the headtorch until approximately 6:10pm but by the time I stumbled upon a small herd of deer just before the 3km it was fully dark and all I could see were eyes glowing in the light of my headtorch as they scattered in all directions. It was cool though being able to see their eyes back in the trees as they kept a wary eye as I passed on by.
Shortly after I realised that I should have charged my headtorch last night and it was in power saving mode, on one of the dimmer settings. I decided that trying to negotiate back through the fallen trees without good light wasn’t the greatest of ideas so headed back to the car via a rough little road section.
A more eventful walk than I expected and definitely more enjoyable than fighting a blustery wind on the bike…
Better late than never… Flirting with the border again…
Back home to dinner while watching the superb American Primeval that I discovered after a recommendation from Rootchopper. He’s worth a follow for many great reasons, not least among them, his book, film and TV choices.
Evening Walk 6.28km. Wet *and* cold tonight, if I’d known it would be that bad I probably would have stayed in the house 🤣 At least I got a chance to field test my winter hat…
A 10K walk that turned into 11.5K. Lots of fallen trees with one trail completely blocked. I’d already navigated around four falls so decided to take the long way home.
A strange day. A very cold wind and ice still in puddles but surprisingly warm in the spells of sunshine.
My longest walk so far in the Vivobarefoot boots on hard surfaces. My feet are feeling OK but they definitely know I was out for all that time! 👣
Today’s walk brought me back to the same forest but on a different loop this time. Lots of the country has been hit by heavy snow but we’ve had nothing and it’s actually milder here today than yesterday at a balmy 3°C. Above 150m though, there was quite a bit of snow and ice on the forest tracks. I was glad I brought my walking pole for the extra stability on the slippery sections.
I haven’t been down one of the tracks for a while now and found a few trees down, probably from Storm Darragh a few weeks ago…
The plan today was to leave #1 Son to work for 7am, pack a bag and go hillwalking in Inishowen. Instead I went back to bed and slept until 10! I think I may have been a bit sleep deprived 🙈
Anyway I couldn’t sit in the house all day so headed out for a 9km walk on the local roads and forest tracks. Still really cold with icy patches and a fairly dense fog above 100m. Most likely this would have spoiled any views if I had gone to the hills…
Starting my new job at the end of August came with an unexpected seven days of annual leave to use before the end of the year. Four of these are required for my first Xmas off since 2012 leaving three to be used elsewhere. I used one to make the Halloween Bank Holiday into a four-day weekend and used the other two this weekend to do the same.
My Friday off coincided with a friend Gary’s suggestion to attend a Mountaineering Ireland event in Dublin on Thursday evening to hear Demort Somers speak before being presented with the annual Lynam Award for his contribution to Irish Mountaineering. Dermot was part of the 1993 expedition which saw the first Irish person reach the summit of Everest. Although he spoke only a little about Everest he was very entertaining. I’m not a climber in any sense but it coincided nicely with a podcast I’ve been listening to in the last few weeks.
Gary and myself were very kindly hosted for the night by Miriam, another friend. She attended the event with us and our plan was to go for a day hike in the Wicklow Mountains on Friday. However, a low cloud forecast required a change of plans and we headed for the Dublin Mountains instead and visited a place I’ve been interested in visiting for a long time
Montpelier Hill (Irish: Cnoc Montpelier) is a 383-metre hill in County Dublin, Ireland.It is topped by the Hell Fire Club, the popular name given to the ruined building. This building – an occasional summer residence built in around 1725 by William Conolly – was originally called Mount Pelier and since its construction the hill has also gone by the same name.
Members of the Irish Hell Fire Club, which was active in the years 1735 to 1741, used Mount Pelier summer residence as a meeting place. Stories of wild behaviour and debauchery and occult practices and demonic manifestations have become part of the local lore over the years.
All of this was fuelled by possibly the best ever breakfast I’ve had, supplied by the East Village Coffee Shop in Clondalkin.
Close by the building at the summit there was a trig pillar which I dutifully tapped. Sadly it has been vandalised over the years with all the metalwork removed but the concrete pillar is still in decent shape.
Gary was a geocacher at one time and between the two of us we made a short diversion to grab a nearby cache that was close to the path, making for a trilogy of lists that got ticked off in one short visit.
Following a short diversion into a very picturesque Massey Estate we headed for Timbertrove which according to Miriam, has the best scones in Ireland. They are certainly among the biggest I’ve ever seen anyway!
One thing for sure, I didn’t go hungry on my mini trip to Dublin!
Thursday Evening Street Pizza
Saturday morning saw me joining the Club Stabiliser Group for the weekly ride. That’s six weeks out with this group now which is becoming a really good and very enjoyable routine again. Also my 5th ride over 50km which I didn’t expect to be coming close to this soon after starting cycling again at the beginning of September.
Coffee Stop
Sunday afternoon it was my turn to look after my Great Aunt Ruby while Mum and Dad had a few hours to themselves. I’ve spoken here about Ruby before but she is now the oldest living person in Ireland and it’s an honour to be able to spend time with her like this. Unsurprisingly, she is not the same lady at the end of the year that she was at the beginning but she still has moments to make me laugh.
NYE 2023
Today I had planned to cycle in the morning but Winter has come rushing in late but with a wicked bite. Temperatures hovering just above freezing created a fog thick enough to make it unsafe that didn’t lift until well after noon. By that stage I was too lazy, was settled in with the heating on and a really good book (The Reckoningby Jane Casey) with a few episodes of Justified to break up the day.
There’s something in me that tends to see days like today as a waste but I managed to ease the “guilt” with a bit of housework in the afternoon. Going back to work tomorrow I may appreciate the rest better in the morning.
Four days definitely is a good long weekend but it has felt a good bit longer in a positive way.
I had planned to go hillwalking today but my legs were tired from cycling yesterday. 52km and a second week of 100km+ is just a bit too much yet, I still need to get my fitness up to that level.
Still with a bright, sunny day for a change I couldn’t not get outside. A 5min drive from home allowed me to walk different roads and get back into a little wood that I haven’t been in for almost 2 years. I wanted to get into another but it was gated off and I felt too exposed climbing over.
This abandoned house is right on the edge of that wood and I figure they were all the one piece of land originally.
niall harran 