Drumlamph Wood not for running.

 

I am always on the lookout for new locations for a run. Not so long ago I espied a roadside sign for Drumlamph Wood. I knew nothing about this wood having never even heard of it. Anyhows I decided to investigate it last Sunday. The weather didn't exactly lend itself to a sylvan stroll but having shod myself with trail shoes and bedecked myself with a waterproof running top I was prepared for the heavy showers.

 

The wood is located about two miles out of Maghera and is run by the Woodland Trust. The information board at the carpark informed me that the wood contained some areas of ancient woodland which have been continuously wooded from before 1600. Since the Woodland Trust have come on the scene more than 30,000 native trees have been planted. Altogether the boundaries of the wood encircle more than seventy eight acres. This includes some bogland as well as areas of rush meadow.

 

The paths running through the wood don't provide a great surface for running although a drier day might make the terrain more conducive to a training session. Probably the main downside of the location as a venue for running is the smallness of the wood. I didn't measure the longest circuit but It is probably two and a half kilometres at most. One would get a bit dizzy running around it. However a nice place for a lazy stroll with one's faithful hound in tow, (if you have one.)

 

 

 

 

Ness Country Park

I paddled along to Ness Country Park this pm. I have to concede that the old causa causans for my visit was not just to have a walk and enjoy the scenery. It has been perhaps twenty eight years since I was last there and I wanted to view the condition of the paths and refresh my memory as to their incline. Why so you ask? Well it had struck me that the steep walls of the Burntollet Valley, where the Park nestles, might provide a sheltered venue for a few of the running group's winter sessions. After all the Northern Ireland Environment Agency is always extolling the merits of getting out into the country loop.

 

I must say that I had a very pleasant stroll down alongside the river and through the dappled glades further up the hillside. Unfortunately some of the paths are rather too precipitous and involve too many steps to provide a satisfactory route for a training session. Unless of course you were aiming to compete in a fell race! However on an, "out and in basis," the path next the river would suffice for reps of varying length and there is one pathway next the visitor centre which would provide a flat one kilometre circuit.

 

 

New Flags Dispute for Northern Ireland?

The Giant's Causeway is a World Heritage Site. UNESCO have determined that it contains, "superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance." Why then has the German  artist Hans Peter Kuhn been permitted to erect one hundred and forty, "flags" below the cliff face at Port Noffer? In the opinion of the writer these add nothing to the view, rather they detract from it.

These "flags," are not what most people would even regard as flags. They are rigid squares of some man made plastic measuring perhaps thirty inches by thirty inches. On one side they are coloured yellow and on the other red. They are attached to short metal posts and there is a swivel arrangement which, depending on the direction of the wind, results in either the red side or yellow side being visible. They all caused the writer to see red!

This is not Herr Kuhn's first artistic installation. The National Trust website tells us that he was acclaimed in Singapore for suspending dozens of moving neon tubes at the Orchard Central Mall. Well done him. Maybe this type of art suits modern man made structures, but it does nothing to enhance the natural landscape. The one redeeming fact about this garish pollution of the coastline is that the, "flags" are to be removed in early November. Hooray! Not a day too soon.  The cost of the project is reported to have been £150,000, shared between the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Money well spent?

The writer did not detain himself at the Giant's Causeway overly long. The view was not to be appreciated. A recuperative snifter at The Nook was required before wending through the dunes to Portballintrae and from thence home.

Errigal Glen




Errigal Bridge 3rd August 2012

 

When I was out driving today I decided to go for a short walk through Errigal Glen, Churchtown near Garvagh. The glen is in private ownership but the public have access to the path that runs through the glen and which links Temple Road to Churchtown Road. It was a day where I needed the solicitude of solitude and the walk suited my mood. I parked in the lay bye near to Errigal Bridge and headed up the steeply sided glen. It is heavily wooded with many very large beech trees which were planted by the Heyland family some two hundred years ago.

It is a descendant of the same family who still owns the glen , the adjoining lands and the eighteenth century Ballintemple House which is visible a field width away from the glen. The Heylands were one of the first, "planter," families in Ulster. They arrived in Derry in 1611 before moving to Castleroe, Coleraine in 1641. It was from there that they moved to Ballintemple in the eighteenth century. One of their number, Major Arthur Rowley Heyland of the 40th Regiment of Foot died at the Battle of Waterloo after having survived the Peninsular War and being wounded at the battle of Talavera and again at Roncevalles.Two of his sons subsequently fought in the Crimea.

Running through the glen is the Agivey River. Although it is not always to be seen from the path the sound of the river is always present, sometimes a pleasing gurgle but at other times an urgent roar where the walls of the glen close in and restrict its course.

Once I had joined the Churchtown Road  I followed it up hill, passing the rear of Ballintemple House and then headed down hill to Temple Road and back to Errigal Bridge. Probably no more than a two mile walk but the glen is a place to linger in and to enjoy the scenery.

Errigal Glen - 3rd August 2012

Errigal Glen - 3rd August 2012



Horses at Ballintemple House - 3rd August 2012