What a day, oh what a magnificent day!  The low winter sun cast a golden glow over the slopes of Knockmealdown, Baylough nestled darkly in its brooding coomb and the mighty Blackwater carved her silken way to the sea as the eight-man team climbed to glory.  Ladies, where were you?

Battling the biting cold, the ridge from Sugarloaf to Knockmealdown was completed at a smart trot and, the summit being too arctic for lunch, they descended almost to the col where a fine specimen of lepus timidus (mountain hare) surveyed them briefly before bounding quickly away.  Earlier in the day there had been sightings of pipits and even a snipe.   They continued steadily over Knocknangauv and Knocknafallia, their long winter shadows foretelling an early sunset, before making the final descent to Mount Melleray and the monastery café.  Here, the uplifting sound of (recorded) monastic voices singing plain chant accompanied their coffee and they emerged later to a dramatic winter sunset over Mount Melleray.  Magic, pure magic!

We had a magnificent day on Torc last Sunday – perfect weather, superb views and, of course all the colour, sound and drama of the rut.  The sight of an alert young stag on the skyline really made our day.

In fact, if you haven’t been walking with us lately, you have missed some great days and some imaginative route variations; an innovative approach to Temple Hill (we could say sneaky, but will refrain); an Eastern Knockmealdowns odyssey – so good that even the weather didn’t upset us; and some challenging navigation on Hungry Hill.

Mangerton via the Victoria Steps and the incomparable Coumloughra have been reported on our Facebook page.  And, as for Sugarloaf – the only “easy” thing about it was the pace.