Weds 19th December
Christmas Dander
The final Wednesday walk of the year proved to be very popular and 28 spartans turned up to walk from Moira train station along the towpath to broadwater and back. The sun shone brightly as we made our way along the towpath decked out in a variety of festive clothing. After the walk we adjourned to the nearby Tannery restaurant for an excellent lunch. Marian |
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Weds 21st November
Carnfunnock
Defiant Spartans ignored the horrible weather forecast and had a lovely walk from Ballygalley, through Chaines wood and Carnfunnock park taking in views of Sallagh Braes from Droagh Motte before returning to our starting point. We enjoyed great views ,great chat and great weather except for the last stretch where we had some impressive hailstones! Good wholesome food by the fire finished our day very nicely! Isobel |
Weds 26th Sept
Castlewellan Loanins
A dozen Spartans took up the suggestion of a pre-walk coffee at Urban Coffee in Castlewellan, with the promise of a toilet stop an hour into the walk. Joined by Robin Morton 13 headed off to explore the “Castlewellan Loanins”. By way of Cow Lane, Green Lane and Village Lane we reached Bryansford Village and the rear gate to Tollymore within the hour. The promised comfort break was almost in jeopardy when the toilets at Clanbrassill Barn were found to be locked, but fortunately the walk continued through the Tollymore campsite where facilities were opened. Many in the group commented that whilst they had walked in Tollymore many times, they had never been in the campsite. Walking along the “Avenue of Cedars” towards the main Barbican Gate of Tollymore, we came across a worker pushing a strange instrument into the ground at various locations around the cedar trees. It transpired that following the storm Ali of the previous Wednesday, he was measuring the compactness of the soil around the roots of the trees. We continued enjoying the warm but blustery conditions as we headed out of the park and across to the bridleway at Barbican Farm, which led onto Wild Forest Lane. Crossing the Newcastle to Castlewellan Road we picked up another loanin and then finally the longest loanin of the day, which ran from close to Maghera to the outskirts of Castlewellan. A few trees partially blocked the start of this loanin, but after clambering under and over the grassy pathway opened out, with lovely views toward the Mournes to the left and Dundrum Bay to St John’s Point on the right.
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Arriving back into Upper Square in Castlewellan after an enjoyable 8 mile walk, with only a short distance on busy road, most of the party returned to Urban for lunch. A keen eye in the group observed that one side of the table chose the healthy options, whilst the other side had spied the all-day breakfast menu! Stephen Gilmore |
Weds 12th Sept
Portaferry
11 of us met in Portaferry and walked the ‘Mountain Road & Marlfield Bay’ walk, a circular walk of about 6 miles on quiet roads. First we headed north, then branched off west along country roads with lovely drumlin views & several rather nice houses to snoop at. We emerged on the shores of Strangford Lough at Marlfield Bay with more gorgeous views across the lough to Scrabo & Slieve Croob, & down to the Mournes. Then we followed the road back round to Portaferry, with a little detour through Nugent’s Wood, where we encountered the squirrel. The weather was lovely with lots of sunshine & a few fluffy clouds wafting past. We had good walking, beautiful scenery & good company - all the ingredients of a great day out. We rounded it off with lunch in the Portaferry Hotel. |
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Weds 29th Aug
Brandy Pad to Newcastle
Summer returned just in time for the first Spartan Red Sox walk of the Autumn 2018 series. The Mournes looked majestic as the sun shone from a blue sky as we arrived in Newcastle just in time for the 10am Mourne Rambler bus. The timing was important as the Rambler service finishes at the end of August. Memo to Ulsterbus – surely this service could keep going at least at weekends in September and October. We disembarked at Trassey Bridge stop and our seven-strong party set out for Hare’s Gap in beautiful conditions. It being a Wednesday, we had this part of the Mournes virtually to ourselves and were perhaps better able to appreciate the grandeur of the peaks. After first lunch at Hare’s Gap (1,000 ft), we took to the Brandy Pad, pausing to catch our breath and to admire the views across the inner Mournes, the happily replenished Ben Crom reservoir and over to the sea. We surmounted the col at Slieve Corragh and then veered left to bring us to the saddle (1,500 ft) between Commedagh and Donard. Second lunch was partaken of as we sat in the sun at the Mourne Wall. We were interested to see work progressing on the repairs to the wall on the lower slopes of Slieve Donard. The well beaten track to the summit was attracting quite a few walkers, including some overseas visitors. Clearly Donard is now featuring on the tourist tick-list. Resisting the temptation to take a quick scamper up to the summit (2,789 ft) ourselves, we steered a downhill course, taking the traditional route down along the Glen River and ending up at Niki’s coffee shop five minutes ahead of schedule at 3.25pm.
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Precision stuff! Suitably restored by coffee and cake we then walked along the Newcastle Prom and back to the cars after a most satisfying day. Good exercise, magnificent views and the usual good chat. And now for the stats: 14km walk, 525m of ascent and 23,000 steps. Our duty done, we headed for home and a well-deserved shower, already looking forward to the next Wednesday walk on September 12. ROBIN MORTON |
Weds 15th Aug
Queens Quarter
It was a beautiful late summers' evening when we met for Patricia's guided walk of the Queens Quarter of Belfast. We met at the front gates of the main university building and for the next two hours Patricia led us through the university complex and the surrounding environs and regaled us with interesting tales of the area; it's buildings and of the people who built or lived here. Even though I have lived in this area for many years, I found the information entertaining and enlightening and gave me a new perspective on the area. College Green House - on the corner of College Green and Botanic Avenue was a new revelation to me regarding it's former occupants, who had links with James Craig and the early day of Northern Ireland but also to the struggle for Irish Independence etc .... and the Oriental structure in the Herbaceous Border area of Botanic Gardens - which pointed to the Royal Victoria Hospital and it's early use of air conditioning. Some of the group adjourned to the Wellington Park Hotel afterwards for refreshments.
Thanks to Patricia for such a wonderful evening. |
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Weds 9th May
Mountstewart
Weds 25th April
Scrabo Country Park
A large group of 28 met at the carpark at Scrabo Country Park in the pouring rain. However, we didn't have to wait long before the rain disappeared and we were able to start our walk, firstly through Killynether wood. The wood has a variety of trees - beech and hazel to name a few and today it was covered by a variety of wild flowers - bluebells, wood anemones, sorrel etc. Plenty of birdlife too - buzzard, jay, great tit and other lbj's (little brown jobs). After about an hour we returned to the car park and then continued to the second part of our walk - up to Scrabo Tower and Hill. The tower sits on what was a volcanic plug and dominates the skyline of the town of Newtownards. It was built in memory of the 3rd Marquis of Londonderry as thanks from the people of the Ards and surrounding areas to the Marquis for looking after them during the famine. On a clear day as today we got fine views of the surrounding countryside -Strangford Lough, The Mournes, Belfast Hills, Scotland etc. From the top we made our way down a very steep and slippy track - forgive me Bronagh!! Most of us made it to the gravel path in one piece apart from Robin who unfortunately had to visit casualty!!! We then walked along to the North Quarry to search for the elusive Peregrine Falcon - no sightings today, unfortunately - only, as Ed said, a pair of grins!!!! We then walked back to the South quarry - plenty of birdlife there but no falcons. |
It was sandstone that was quarried from Scrabo and a lot of famous buildings in Belfast and further afield were made from Scrabo stone. Then it was time to make our way back to the cars and up to Scrabo Golf club for a well earned lunch.
Marian |
Weds 28th Mar
Connswater Greenway
A large group of 23 met at the car park at Dixon Playing Fields off Grand Parade- some were able to walk there from their homes, possibly a first for the Wednesday walks ! The car park is conveniently right beside the Greenway , so we were soon on our way. Before long we arrived at the Con O'Neill bridge, one of the oldest built structures in Belfast - still in fine condition which is a credit to the quality of workmanship considering the severity of flooding and other weather- related conditions over the centuries. The bridge is quite small spanning the Conn's Water, also of course named after the land owner of the time. It contrasts sharply with the new bridges built recently- e.g. Grace Bannister bridge ( named after first female Lord Mayor of Belfast ) and the James Ellis bridge, both of which were on our route.
Before long we arrived at the C S Lewis Square, a superb open space marking the life and work of the great man. There are many Narnia- themed art sculptures, the most dramatic of which is Aslan the lion, with whom we took our group photo. It was noted that none of the sculptures had any graffiti or other signs of vandal damage. We proceeded on towards Victoria Park, passing Glentoran's home ground, the Oval ( has seen better days ) before entering the tunnel under the Sydenham by-pass and into the park. We walked the inner circuit first, followed by the outer, spotting some interesting birds and ducks along the way. The Thompson bridge was a notable feature on this part of the walk. We returned to the C S Lewis square and spent some time viewing all of the sculptures , and one of our members gave us some insight into the achievements of the Library, including recently winning a U.K.-wide award for its facilities. |
Lunch was at the Hoose restaurant, a short distance from the Arches- it was excellent but they couldn't do individual bills so some mental agility was required- luckily the money collected covered the overall bill !
The overwhelming impression of the Greenway was hugely positive- it is an excellent resource for east Belfast, and good to see the river being opened up to residents and visitors, and to wildlife ( we had spotted quite a few birds along the way ). It is in excellent condition, and long may it continue to be so. Desmond Smyth. |
Weds 17th Jan
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Weds 3rd Jan
North Down Coastal Path
The Spartans’ Wednesday walk programme kicked off on January 3 in somewhat tempestuous conditions, courtesy of Storm Eleanor. Although the worst of the storm had whistled through overnight, bringing down a number of trees and blocking several roads, in its wake there was still a strong westerly wind and some rather beefy showers.
A group of five Spartan thrill-seekers gathered at Holywood railway station at the appointed hour of 10.30. With the wind on our backs and a reasonably bright sky we set off at a brisk pace, the main hazard being the waves which were splashing up onto the path at various points. The best defence seemed to be to wait for a lull and then make a run for it.
A black cloud was gathering behind us and it came as no surprise when we were engulfed in a hefty shower at Clanbrassil. Cover was taken for a few minutes and soon the rain had eased and we were on our way again. Much interest was evoked in the birds which were taking cover from the storm, including a graceful flock of oystercatchers sheltering in perfect alignment on a rocky outcrop just off-shore.
Meeting just a handful of similarly brave souls we were soon at Helen’s Bay and lunch beckoned at the Woodlands Café in Crawfordsburn Country Park. A chance to relax and revive. The final leg was from the café to Carnalea Railway Station where we caught the 14.32 train back to Holywood – all apart from one member of the group who determinedly continued her walk to Bangor. The official stats for Holywood to Carnalea – an impressive 10.8km, 18,016 steps. Thanks to those who braved the elements – and boy, didn’t we all feel good when we reached home!
Robin Morton
A group of five Spartan thrill-seekers gathered at Holywood railway station at the appointed hour of 10.30. With the wind on our backs and a reasonably bright sky we set off at a brisk pace, the main hazard being the waves which were splashing up onto the path at various points. The best defence seemed to be to wait for a lull and then make a run for it.
A black cloud was gathering behind us and it came as no surprise when we were engulfed in a hefty shower at Clanbrassil. Cover was taken for a few minutes and soon the rain had eased and we were on our way again. Much interest was evoked in the birds which were taking cover from the storm, including a graceful flock of oystercatchers sheltering in perfect alignment on a rocky outcrop just off-shore.
Meeting just a handful of similarly brave souls we were soon at Helen’s Bay and lunch beckoned at the Woodlands Café in Crawfordsburn Country Park. A chance to relax and revive. The final leg was from the café to Carnalea Railway Station where we caught the 14.32 train back to Holywood – all apart from one member of the group who determinedly continued her walk to Bangor. The official stats for Holywood to Carnalea – an impressive 10.8km, 18,016 steps. Thanks to those who braved the elements – and boy, didn’t we all feel good when we reached home!
Robin Morton