Ballyteige

Robert Frost made his visit in November of 1960, just a week after the general election.

A 30 km walk (without a break) on another section of the Wicklow Way; 15 km each way from the head of the Ow River to Mangans, the car parked in the same spot as the last walk. I have to say it was boring. Very boring. It started with a climb through beech and the occasional azalea in Ballyteige Lodge and then along roads into Coilte plantations of larch and spruce. After that first hour, most of the walk was on sealed blacktop; hard on the eyes and feet, both. There was some respite in the form of the odd pretty glade, some soft views across green fields of sheep with lambs, often framed in yellow blooming gorse. It was not raining; a small mercy. I seem to have climbed 860 m which could explain why it took me thirty minutes more than the five hours I had expected. And I walked the last 30 minutes without GPS - not sure why it was lost again; seems to happen when the iPhone roams to the Vodafone network.

By far the most interesting thing was the diversity of mountain and townland names; Ballinagappege Mountain, Carrigamuck, Knockanooker, Knocknashamroge, Corndog, Ballycumber and Coolafunshoge, where I turned back, just short of Tinahely.

I saw only eleven other walkers, two runners and two cyclists in the whole walk. Proof that it was too boring to waste a public holiday unless of course, you were going from one interesting section to another.

And on closing, another opening: it was in The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale that Samuel and Mary Kent slept through the first line.

Drumgoff

Kilroy was here?

Maria hardly registered what was happening during the funeral.

This, the 27th post opens with yet another Scandanavian crime writer. Robert Clinch, who rolled out of bed to open the 15th post was from Double Whammy by Carl Hiaasen.

The goal of this walk was 25 km in 5 hours or less. It also needed some climbs and so I chose the Wicklow Way, south from Drumgoff. To get there, I drove up the Avoca Valley from Arklow to park at Ballyteige, beside the Ow River. And walked Ballyteige to Drumgoff and back. And I did it in 5 hours. Exactly despite the loss of phone and GPS signal that confused the Walkmeter.

I followed a Merlin, or pigeon hawk for a short while. It was flying fast and hugging the ground, trapped by the walled road and the overhead enclosing tree canopy. I hadn't seen one for over thirty years and doubted my recollection of its habits until I checked the books.

I came upon a bus tour of geriatric but cheery hill walkers who all said hello. I lost my enthusiasm for their greetings after twenty-five hellos as they passed me in single file on rocky ground. I saw few other people which surprised me considering how beautiful it was.