- 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.
- 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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