Cork Mountaineering Club

Cork’s longest established Hill Walking Club

Month: June 2018

Sunday 27 May Comeraghs (two walks).

  • Circuit of the Nire Valley                                                                              Four hardy members left the Nire Valley Car Park promptly at 10.00 am, in the spills of rain.  They displayed exemplary derring-do in following their leader down across the two rivers and up the relentless slope to the top of Coumfea.  At this point, in spite of thick mist, no visibility and being thoroughly soaked, they were very much ahead of their timing.  This cheered them so much that they kept up the momentum and zipped around the rims of Coumfea and the Scillogues.  Barely stopping for lunch – and a close encounter with a sheep – they transferred to brain momentum and, with unerring navigational accuracy, descended the Coumlara spur and contoured to the Gap.  At this point, certain people demanded a sit-down, before the final return (on time!) to the car park.
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  • The Scillogues Loop                                                                                    The worst of the rain was over when six members set out at 11.00 am on this very pleasant route. In spite of Saturday night’s torrential rain, the going underfoot was surprisingly less boggy than expected so we reached the lakes in good time.  Standing in awe of the dramatic cliffs, we thought we saw a deer near the stream but were forced to conclude that it was a large fawn-coloured rock.  However, we did have a visitor when we sat down for lunch – a tame fox!  People had obviously been feeding her but, since mountain sandwiches don’t form part of any wild animal’s diet, we did not do that.  While our views were not as extensive as we’d hoped, we had enough to appreciate the countryside around us.  We continued our route around both lakes before descending to the car park (on time to meet our friends from the longer route.
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Sunday 20 May: Western Knockmealdowns

While we would like to report that a large group of enthusiastic walkers enjoyed the walk in glorious sunshine accompanied with jocular words of encouragement from self, the reality was somewhat more grim.  Further definition of large group: four.  Further definition of weather: windy, with intermittent rainfall and thick fog.  All in all, we enjoyed each other’s company – and we have no photos.

Sunday 13 May: Duhallow Way “Plus”

14 of us gathered at Millstreet Country Park and crossed the lower slopes of Mushera, dodging the soggiest bits as best we could.  Just before we got to the road a lunch break was demanded, so lunch it was!  After lunch we had a short section on the Butter Road, with lots of high vis in evidence, and then a few k on a green spine road with lots of sheep and lambs to admire.   A bit of a pull up on a forest road, another soggy section, down a hillside with bits of wire to watch out for, a few k on a grassy track, another couple up the road and we were back at the cars.   The weather was cooler than expected, but dry and clear giving us good views of the distant mountains.

SUMMER WEDNESDAY EVENING WALKS:

So far this summer we have had two delightful evening walks; one on the Ballycotton Cliffs and the other in Mitchell Wood, Ladysbridge.  The weather held good for both walks and there was an abundance of late spring flowers on sea-cliff and in woodland.  The highlight of the cliff walk was when we were asked to take a photo; a Canadian gentleman had chosen that very romantic spot to propose to his girlfriend – on bended knee, of course.  CMC was happy to oblige and record the moment.  (She said “YES”, by the way!)   In Ladysbridge, we visited the ruins of the medieval Ballyoughtera Church and Graveyard.  While we cannot promise to sustain this level of romance, or history, we have plenty more evening walks scheduled for the summer6D427079-4EA4-4E46-B218-011A89441CDC

Sunday, 06 May: Gleann na gCapall

A wonderful walk in the best weather for a very long time. There were nine walkers.  The route was done clockwise, eliminating concerns about the river crossing by doing it early in the day.  A steady climb brought us to the double summit of Stoompa, then a grand stroll around the rim of the Gleann. Upon reaching the top of the arête, it was clear that the weather was far too good to be thinking of coming down yet, so we resisted the temptations of Mangerton North and continued to the summit of Mangerton itself. What views we had!  We descended to Bachelor’s Well, where we picked up the return path to our cars.

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CMC Club Open Day 29 April 2018

CMC Open Club Day 29 April 2018:  Our Club Open Day was primarily to bring our members together to celebrate all that is excellent in our club, and to give them the opportunity to share their joys with family, friends etc. We based the day at King’s Yard, where we started with coffee & scones (very much an exception to the way we usually do things – but sociability was important on this occasion!) followed by four walks starting at half-hourly intervals, and finished with an early-evening meal at Kilcoran Lodge Hotel. We were blessed with perfect weather. We had two mountain walks, led by club members; a longer, faster route including Galtymore and a shorter route at an easier pace over Monabrack. Another club member, an expert naturalist, led a beautiful Nature Walk along the banks of the Attychraan river. Galtee expert Jimmy Barry (author of Under Galtee Skies), led a Heritage Walk into the Glounreagh Valley. We are still overwhelmed by the depth and extent of Jimmy’s knowledge and feedback indicates that members want Jimmy for every Galtee walk from now on! The event was well-supported by members and friends and, since we acquired a number of new members, we must have done something right. “Old” members were delighted to reconnect with each other and most of the new ones have turned up again on our more recent walks. So it can’t have been just the coffee and scones!

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