The Dunbane Trail Claimed :-)

It being my Birthday today I decided that my Sunday Dander should be something different so I did some Googling and found a walk I had never done before now 10 miles away from Casa McDonagh.

So it was that i stuggled out of bed at 8:30 into the silence of a sleeping house, had some breakfast donned the walking boots, coat, camera and walking stick and set out to make the Dunbane Trail my own.

Normally I am a coastal walker, I like being able to see the sea so this walk was a little different for me as it was in the hills and glens that surround the River Bann Valley.
I have to say the local walking club have down a wonderful job with the way marking and styles. However a word to the wise both the Dunblane Hill and Heggarty’s Mountain sections are VERY VERY wet, the path is through a bog so that is not that shocking, however being a bog there is little chance of the path “settling” so it can be a bit hard to find the actual path through the moss and heather.

The heather on Dunbane hill has recently been burnt off, either by accident or design and as a result the path is rather sooty, so not only good boots but a set of gaiters is a good idea as is a stick to prod likely spots to place your feet. It is a good rule to follow when walking in a bog to realise that Sphagnum Moss which grows in nice dense firm looking clumps is usually floating on a nice deep but totally hidden puddle of cold water!

Normally I scud along somewhere around 3.5mph, however this was a walk where the off-road sections where hard going underfoot and my rate fell down to around 2.5 miles per hour.

That being said it is a glorious walk I would heartly recommend but only for those with a little bit of hillwalking experience as it can be tough going for 5 of the 8 miles. That has to be balanced against wonderful views of over most of Northern Ireland and even as far as the mountains of Donegal in the West.

I saw Foxes, Grouse, a Stoat, Skylarks, Hares and several birds of prey and not another soul until I got back to the car park, this is definitly a walk that will be repeated later in the year.

A wee AVI (14mb) of the view from the top of Heggarty’s Mountain

You can see some of the photo’s I took over on Facebook in this gallery