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John Cooper, Dorothy Eccles (inset), Joan Moffett, Mary Hamill, Andrew
Swaile , present members who were inaugural members and took part in the
first ever club walk on Binevenagh in 1989.
Mid-Ulster Walkers
Return to Binevenagh
This autumn marks the
twentieth anniversary of the Mid-Ulster Walking Club and as part of its
celebrations the Club’s latest walk returned it to the scene of its very
first outing - Binevenagh. Some thirty walkers turned out to help mark the
occasion, including four who had been present that first day twenty years
ago.
Binevenagh offers the walker much to enjoy with a mixture of forest and open
hillside, easy tracks and more difficult steeply rising ground that
culminates in basalt cliffs and pinnacles. The cliff tops and the summit
(385 m) of its long plateau reveal a magnificent view across the flat
expanse of fields skirting the coast below. The River Roe meanders through
them, cutting one final lazy loop before entering the sea. Lough Foyle
sweeps south from its narrow entrance at Magilligan Point and across its
waters the hills and mountains of Donegal and Inishowen rise up.
The day’s walking was shorter than usual but attempted to make the most of
the mountain and its views on a day that began murkily but brightened
rapidly. Two walks materialised. One looped low from the summit along the
western side of the mountain before climbing steadily back up. The other
stayed slightly higher, offering the chance of some easy and some not so
easy scrambling among the rocky gullies along the mountain’s cliff-face.
Eventually however all the walkers were reunited at the summit and could
attend to the main purpose of the day. Champagne appeared and a splendid
cake was produced, expertly rendered into the form of a walking boot,
complete with liquorice laces. Fortunately there was just enough for
everyone and both champagne and cake were soon dispatched, bringing the day
to a close in suitable style. |
