Cedars Walking Group

Bar-B-Q at Kilbroney - 21 June 2018

How many men does it take to light a Bar-B-Q?

We returned to the great facilities at Kilbroney for end-of-term celebrations with a selection of good walks followed by the DIY Bar-B-Q - all that and perfect weather. The leaders meet in mid-August to prepare the walk programme for next year - if you would like to suggest some new walks then we would love to hear from you.

For some more pics of the day click here.

Have a lovely summer ...

Lumpers - 14 June 2018

We had booked a coach to take us to the north coast but the forecast for Bushmills was so poor that we reluctantly decided to cancel and reschedule for the early autumn. Instead we walked in the Cooleys starting at Lumpers in Ravensdale, County Louth and what an inspired choice it was. Some of us hope to return there in the summer to try out some more of the excellent walks that are available in the area. The pic above was taken at the summit of Round Mountain.

For some more pics of our adventure from Lumpers to Round Mountain click here.

Carrick Little, Blue Lough, Lamagan and Gosford - 07 June 2018

Phew, what a scorcher! We had two walks on Thursday 07 June with various sub-options. John led, or more often followed, his small group of five walkers to the summit of Slieve Lamagan - the walk was 12.8 Km or exactly 8 miles after allowing for the fact that John forgot to turn on his ViewRanger app for the first 100 metres or so. The rest of the Cedars group were content to enjoy a gentler pace up to Blue Lough and the col between Lamagan and Binnian. A good time was had by all, especially in the Carrick Little cafe after the walk.

I haven't received any reports from Gosford.

For some more pics of the walks to Blue Lough and Lamagan click here.

Donard, Sawel and Dart - 31 May

Ten Cedars walkers broke away from the main party at base camp near the ice house and set off for the col. Imagine their surprise when they were met at the col by a party from Portadown. Another pressing engagement had forced Kathleen, Dorothy, Milly and John to make an early morning start. Although Milly took pride of place on the podium at the summit it was Kathleen in the lead as they made their way down from the col.

Not in the least discouraged by being beaten to the summit, nine of the original 10 intrepid Cedars Walkers completed their dander up Donard in almost perfect conditions - air conditioning turned up to max. A slightly greater number confined their walks to the lower slopes of Donard and a slightly smaller number tackled Sawel in the mist. We were fortunate at Donard as the mist lifted from time to time and disappeared altogether as we made our final descent allowing us to enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Mournes and make full use of the photo opportunity (see above) presented near the ice house.

For some more pics of the dander up Donard click here.

Congratulations Paddy C.

Well done Paddy for completing the minibus driver (MiDAS) training and passing the driving test with flying colours. Paddy's inaugural drive was on Thursday 24 May.

Rourke's Park - 24 May 2018

We returned to Rourke's Park and Rocky this week following slightly different routes and at a pace to suit all. It was a lovely day with lots of sun and some laughs e.g. when the terrible twins posed on the Mourne Wall for a photo opportunity - thanks to Jennifer M. for the pic. For some more pics of this walk click here.

Dungonnell Way and Glenariff Nature Reserve - 17 May 2018

We returned to the Antrim Hills on Thursday to walk the beautiful Dungonnell Way. The route takes in Dungonnell Dam, Glenariff Forest Park and Skerry East Road, which is probably one of the most attractive, but least used roads in the whole of Northern Ireland. It is an outstanding opportunity to experience the isolation of the Antrim Hills without getting your feet wet. The route is a loop 9.5 miles long but the walk is highly recommended.

For those who wanted something less taxing, Gordon led a shorter walk in Glenariff.

For some pics of the Glenariff and Dungonnell Way walks, with thanks to Millie, Jean, Yvonne and Leslie, click here.

Rourke's Park and Knockmany - 10 May 2018

On Thursday 10 May there were two great walks in perfect weather:

Mike led a mountain walk in the Mournes starting at Rourke's Park and taking in Rocky Mountain and the spectacular Hare's Castle. For some more pics of this walk click here.

Meanwhile Gordon led a slightly more relaxed bluebell walk at wood Knockmany (see above) with, at its summit, Anya's grave - the grave has characteristic passage tomb art, including circles, spirals and zigzags, one of the best examples of this art in the north of Ireland. For some more pics of this walk click here.

Cedars Donegal Residential - 30 April to 04 May 2018

A great time was had by Cedars Walkers on their trip to Donegal. It didn't rain all the time and to prove it here's a pic showing some of the girls enjoying the sunshine beside the ruins of Kilbarron Castle at Creevy near Ballyshannon.

Mícheál Ó Cléirigh was born at the castle probably around the year 1590. The Uí Cléirigh or O'Clerys became the hereditary ollamhs or historians to the O'Donnells, the ruling family of Tir Connaill, in the 13th Century. The story is told in the Annals of the Four Masters that one Cormac Ó Cléirigh travelled northwards from Tirawley in Co Mayo and while resting in the Cistercian Priory of Abbey Assaroe he met Matthew O'Scingin who was at that time the Ollamh to the O'Donnells. Later the Brehon lawyer married Matthew O'Scingin's only daughter and their eldest son Giolla Brid O'Cléirigh succeeded his grandfather to the hereditary office of Ollamh. The castle, which was in ruins by the mid 17th century, may have been destroyed during the 1641 rebellion

For some pics of the residential click here.

More pics of the residential to follow but to whet your appetite here's another few pages from Heather's diary ...

NOTE: we are still looking into possibility of returning to Mill Park, Donegal for next year's residential and would welcome feedback from members - in particular concerning choice of dates i.e. starting on Monday, 06 May 2019 or on Monday, 13 May 2019. Are either of these unsuitable for members?

Cedars Walkers are affiliated to the Ulster Federation of Rambling Clubs (UFRC) which is the Governing body for Rambling and Hill-Walking Clubs in the North of Ireland. UFRC have negotiated discounts in outdoor shops and from other providers, ranging from 10% to 20% e.g. you can get 15% off your purcheses from Cotswold Outdoor and Trespass Boucher Road stores and 10% off purchases at Jackson Sports, 70 High Street Belfast.

Make sure to get your affiliation card from Anne Keville and bring this with you when making purchases. To find out more about what you can save and where click HERE.


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Looking for Cedars Walks in March/April 2018? Click HERE.

Looking for Cedars Walks in January/February 2018? Click HERE.

Looking for Cedars Walks at end of 2017? Click HERE.

There's more ...

Cedars: August to October 2017. Cedars: first half of 2017. Cedars: autumn 2016 .
XCedars: summer 2016. Cedars: spring 2016. Cedars: 2015 .