Walk Report - April 3rd 2011

All of our walks were at home last week. There is no better place to be in the springtime that we are enjoying just now. The Bears are not the only ones to appreciate the joys of the Ballyhouras at this time of year. Throughout the week we constantly met other groups of walkers as well as casual walkers and families out on the hills signifying the increase in popularity of this pastime as well as the hospitality of the Ballyhouras as a venue for a variety of walking.

The last of the ‘dark’ walks was held at Glenosheen last Thursday. From this on these walks will take place at various venues around the district. Participants are encouraged to keep an eye on these notes from week to week to get information on the venue for each Thursday or to log on to our website at www.ballyhourabears.com where all of the details will be available. Everyone is welcome, newcomers and established walkers.

Likewise anyone that is interested in starting to walk is invited to turn up at Ardpatrick at midday each Saturday (except Bank Holidays). We had three new walkers last Saturday and if we did get a few heavy showers it didn’t seem to dampen their spirits. It was distressing to experience two horses that appeared to have been abandoned on the Coolfree Mountain where we were walking. It was more distressing to see, the following morning, that one of these horses had been struck by a motor vehicle and was lying dead on the side of the road. We would encourage walkers to be vigilant in looking out for straying animals on the hills, and to report any events to the Garda authorities.
The ‘A’ and ‘B’ walks were combined last Sunday. We were walking out the second half of the Marathon route for the upcoming Ballyhoura International Walking Festival over the May Bank Holiday weekend. Twenty six of us turned up at Kilfinane where we arranged a car pool to the start at Glenosheen. It was encouraging to see members turning up to this walk from as far away as Cork city; we were glad to welcome a visitor from Cork who was experiencing the Ballyhouras for the first time. Weather wise the day was glum, but the forecast was encouraging. Depending on the forecast we chose the lighter gear for the day, and the choice was correct. It is a feature of the Ballyhouras that as you advance from Greenwood towards Glenanaar the weather is likely to change. On Sunday, as we passed Begley’s farm at Glenanaar, the day changed for the better and we were treated to the entire panorama of north Cork. This was to be the standard for the rest of the day as we advanced along the Farrihy River and onwards towards The Quitrent. After the rain of the previous evening the countryside was outstanding and in full relief. The views were crisp and clear, the pine smells of the wooded areas where harvesting was proceeding, the stress free walk all added to the enjoyment of the day. It is interesting to eavesdrop on the miscellaneous conversations on occasions such as these as you move up and down the group of walkers during the day. The dominant theme on Sunday was the Munster success over their rivals at Thomand Park the previous evening, and moved from this through a range of topics to the delicacies of ‘deep fried Mars Bars’! That was the kind of day it was as we stepped it out towards Magnier’s Wood and the final leg of our proposed marathon. A little variation to the end of the route is designed to provide our visitors on the weekend with a spectacular view of the Ballyhoura Country. If the marathon day is fine they will not be disappointed.

Bit by bit the festival weekend is coming together nicely thanks to the hard work of the joint committee of Ballyhoura Failte and Ballyhoura Bears. There are a wide variety of walks over the Bank Holiday weekend to accommodate all standards of walkers including, again, a Universal Access Walk for persons with disabilities at Doneraile Park on Monday 2nd May. The brochures for the weekend are available at stores and shops throughout the region and can be downloaded from the websites www.ballyhourabears.com and www.ballyhouracountry.com. They can also be obtained from Ballyhoura offices in Kilfinane or from any member of the Ballyhoura Bears.

Christopher Sommerville will be no stranger to walkers throughout the country. He is the regular and popular contributor on walking to the Travel Section of the Irish Independent in his weekly column ‘Walk of the Week’. Drawing on fifty of these articles he has compiled a new book ‘Walking in Ireland’, with beautiful illustrations by Claire Littlejohn. It is described as 50 walks through the Heart and Soul of Ireland. This is exactly what he has achieved in this wonderful publication. It introduces us to walks throughout the entire country for all abilities. The walks cover landscapes, city walks, hills, bog land; just everything. History, lore, flora, fauna, topography, poetry and legend decorate his precise and informative guide through his discoveries. This is a book that you can keep in the car and refer to it for a leisurely walk on your travels through the country. You can have it at home and let it transport you through its little gems from your armchair. You can use it to plan a walking holiday. In fact it is a ‘must’ for anyone that has even the remotest interest in discovering the hidden beauties of our country. It is nice to see that The Ballyhoura Bears contributed to this publication and that two of our members, Cal McCarthy and Michael Moroney assisted the author in his endeavours locally. It is published by Ebury Press – www.rbooks.co.uk – and is widely available.

Thursday night’s walk is from Darragh Bridge at 7.30 p m. Contact Bridget Hennessy 087 9229405. The Beginners walk starts from Ardpatrick Church on Saturday at 12 noon. Contact Robin Lee 087 6385290. The “A” and “B” walk is a combined walk from Kilfinane at 10 a m on Sunday. This will be a moderate pace walk of approx 13 miles. Declan Clancy 087 9792174 will lead.

The 2011 Ballyhoura Walking Festival brochure can be downloaded here: Ballyhoura_Walking_Festival_Brochure_2011.pdf