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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> my own.<\/p>\n 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. 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<\/a> which grows in nice dense firm looking clumps is usually floating on a nice deep but totally hidden puddle of cold water!<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A wee AVI (14mb) of the view from the top of Heggarty’s Mountain<\/a><\/p>\n You can see some of the photo’s I took over on Facebook in this gallery<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 … Continue reading
\nI have to say the local walking club have down a wonderful job<\/strong><\/span> 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.<\/p>\n