Knocklayde, with a twist?
At the end of this previous post, I revealed how I thought Irwin was planning a severe departure from normality, on our next walk on Knocklayde. If you remember, I said how I thought he was hinting at a “figure of eight” approach. Possibly climbing it twice?
Well, I’m afraid I was “barking up the wrong tree”, Irwin had planned a slight twist, but nothing like climbing it twice. I must admit, I was a bit relieved, and glad that we were getting back home for mid-day. It was a nice surprise to be able to spend some time with Jed, at the park.
The twist was simply approaching from a different side. We usually park in Ballycastle, and walk directly to Knocklayde through the Ballycastle Forest, but this time we walked through the town, out to near the sea, and along for a few miles, before turning inland more, and heading towards the hill. It was a great walk, nice change of scenery and we were blessed with brilliant weather.
I only got two photos, that I feel for one reason or another that they are worthy of posting here.
The first is a view from the east side of Knocklayde,and the second is Jeds’ water bottle, at the very summit! He very kindly allowed me to use it, as it is a good size to carry in a pocket.
Please click on the thumbnails to view them a bit larger, and click on the Back button (the arrow pointing left, at the top left corner of your screen) to return to this page.
From Altarichard, around Glenshesk…in the Rain, Snow, and Mud !
We had a great walk this day,05/01/08, and even though the weather was a little less than perfect, it is always good to get out into the hills. The conditions weren’t great for photography. Quite often, the conditions were so bad, that the camera was imprisoned, against its’ will, in my backpack. Also the sky was very bright and grey, not a good combination , but, nevertheless, here are some shots that I am quite pleased with.
As you can see below, the sky didn’t help the photographs, but I like the perspective this gives, of my companions going up the other side of this glen.
This is looking straight down into the glen, after I have crossed over.
Slightly wet underfoot!
We were still smiling though. My Páramo jacket performed faultlessly, as usual, the comfort and breathable qualities of it, when the going gets tough, are second to none.
This was the “Final Furlong” back to the cars which you can almost see, in the Altarichard Picnic Area car park, in the distance.
Keren, Our Wee Fighter!
At the beginning of this week in SCBU, we spoke with a geneticist from Belfast. She told us, quite plainly, that the prognosis was not good, and that babies with this condition didn’t usually leave hospital. We were slowly coming to realize the seriousness of wee Keren’s situation ourselves.
Even at this time, Keren seemed to be strengthening, and she was able to be taken off the ventilator (which was basically breathing for her) and she was managing to breath by herself, with only a small trickle of oxygen to make it a bit easier for her. She was also tolerating very small amounts of milk through her feeding tube…her first feed being only 1ml !
Wee Keren required a few sessions of phototherapy because she was a little jaundiced. Glenn says now, that he remembers it being almost comforting, to see her getting treatment that was more normal for newborns.
So despite all her problems, Keren was doing very well, and staff were talking about her possibly getting transferred back to the Causeway Hospital children’s ward, which is only seven miles from home, as opposed to Antrim, which is thirty miles!
One day at a time
We still had to take one day at a time, and as each day passed, we were so thankful that she was still with us.
Keren met her Granny Owens within the next few days, and her Granny thought she was just beautiful! Her Granda Owens was unwell at that time, and so could not make the long journey. He has since gone to be with his Lord, “which is far better” (Philippians 1 v 23).
I remember thinking how great it was that Keren was with us long enough for family and friends to meet her.
Previous…Holding Keren for the first time
Next…Keren’s week in SCBU
Kilimanjaro 2008 Team Update!
The Kilimanjaro Challenge 2008 team now has 5 confirmed members, the latest being Kenny Moore. (nice to know we will have a paramedic on the team!)
Kenny has plenty of experience of long distance walking under his belt, and I have enjoyed his company on quite a few walks around the Antrim Hills, and along the coast here. I am looking forward to covering a few miles together with Kenny and the rest of the team this year.
You can read more about the team at the Trekkers section on the Kilimanjaro 2008 site.
All five of us are together in this photo…do you know who’s who?
This photo was taken on a walk some time ago, on Knocklayde, and that is the destination for our next walk, on Saturday.
Knocklayde is not exactly a huge mountain, but with the long grass, and soft ground, it makes for quite a good workout…and very convenient to get to. On a good day, you can have great views of Rathlin Island, Scotland, and Donegal. I particularly like Knocklayde because, on a clear day, I can see it from my work, maybe 25 miles away. I have a fond memory of a trip up it with some friends, which I may share sometime.
However, this time, when Irwin suggested Knocklayde, I thought I detected a strange look in his eye…and, when pushed, he admitted he was considering a more unusual approach than normal. He didn’t give much away, but implied something about a figure-of-eight? Does this mean climbing it twice, I wonder?
I will keep you all informed!
Giants Causeway to Ballintoy
Some friends accompanied us on this coastal walk, from the picturesque Giants Causeway to Ballintoy harbour. The weather was very changeable, as usual there were times when I had to keep the camera in my rucksack, to keep it dry! It was also very windy on some of the headlands, making it necessary for us to leave the clifftop path, and move inland for safety. At least four hats were lost!
This was a great first outing for my new boots!
As you can see below, the sea was impressive!
This was a little Stonechat which seemed quite unafraid of us.
This walk was on the 29th December 2007
We had a great walk today (5th Jan 08) in the Antrim Hills, complete with snow, wind and rain….photos to follow soon!
Boxing Day walk at Portrush, complete with Kayaks!
Posting has been quiet around here, for a while, due to the Christmas preparations! Hope you all had a good time, and are looking forward to 2008!
I have had a couple of training walks, since I was here last. The first of which was really to blow the cobwebs away after the sumptuous “Christmas Dinner”. The local Rambling Club had organized a walk from the West Strand car park, out round Ramore Head, and along the East Strand to the White Rocks. If any of you readers are familiar with Portrush in Northern Ireland, you will know the wonderful beaches I am talking about.
We had unusual company alongside the walkers….only these guys/gals were in the water! Surf Kayaking I believe it is called, the photos do not really do it justice, it looks fantastic fun (just a bit crazy!)
The sky stayed quite overcast, and didn’t help the photography, but it was a very enjoyable walk…I’m very glad I went.
