The
Walking Group is one of the more recently formed organisations at
St Molua's having come into being during the summer of 1998 with the following
aims :
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The
Walking Group is one of the more recently formed organisations at |
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To date we have largely sought to achieve the above aims by means of regular walks through the beautiful Northern Ireland countryside. Not surprisingly other people in the Parish are interested in knowing what we get up to on our outings and so carefully censored reports of our activities often find their way into the parish magazine "Contact". Extracts from some of these reports can be found below. |
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STORMONT WALKERS TACKLE NORTH DOWN COASTAL ROUTE The North Down Coastal Path from Holywood to Bangor was the venue for our intrepid walkers' latest venture on a breezy Saturday afternoon in November. Looking across Belfast Lough reminded some of the Sea of Galilee, while others recalled Paul's shipwreck on Malta, the stilling of the storm, and Psalm 107 ("They that go down to the sea in ships"). Many other interesting subjects were enthusiastically discussed, including the contents of each other's sandwiches, St Patrick's landing in Strangford Lough, getting locked in the grounds of the Stormont Estate, and whether the plural of "fish" is "fish" or "fishes"! Amazingly, the rain stayed off, although the wind gathered strength as the Bangor end was approached. After a chance meeting with some other parishioners at McDonald's a feed of chips and burgers, washed down with gallons of brown fizzy stuff, quite likely undid all the good work of our walk!
WALKERS REPORTED LOST NEAR CLANDEBOYE On their longest walk to date (15 miles) our walkers went slightly off track, coming off the Newtownards to Holywood stretch of the Ulster Way two miles from where they were supposed to! Our walk began at the Somme Heritage Centre and progressed close to the old lead mines and Helen's Tower skirting Clandeboye Golf Course. We were supposed to appear from the hedges on the main Bangor - Belfast Road just opposite the Garden Centre, but instead found ourselves on the Rathgael Road, just round the corner from Bangor Fire Station. We then made for Crawfordsburn Glen, following the river to Belfast Lough, and taking the North Down Coastal Path to Holywood - a now familiar stretch for our walkers. Despite this very small setback, much fun and enjoyment was had, as well as considerable exercise and no small amount of verbal banter! Much philosophy was discussed, as members offered their own theories to challenge those of the philosopher giants such as Paley and Kung! Our Rector has a strictly adhered to principle of both teaching and learning at least one fact every day. He imparted much "wisdom" on the journey, and in return was taught the names of the Tellytubbies, and the fact that they owned a vacuum cleaner called "Noo Noo". Admittedly, he was also taught much about the Solar System, the temperature of tea after sugar has been added, and the fact that the coast is only cooler than inland areas in the summer, but warmer in the winter. An attempt was also made to explain to him why aeroplanes are able to stay in the air, but this proved to be somewhat beyond his comprehension.
A gruelling sixteen-mile hike in less than favourable weather conditions was achieved in less than five hours - a very good effort indeed - especially when all walkers were in church the next morning with nothing more to complain about than a blister and a few sore joints. The route took us up the Castlereagh Hills over looking Belfast through Gilnahirk and on to the top of Lisnabreeny, down Cregagh Glen and following the ring road to Belvoir; through the forest and across the River Lagan, then on to Drumbeg via the towpath. There was snow, sleet, and a biting wind, but not even Mother Nature could deter our fearless band from fulfilling their stated objective. Mind you, the fact that our means of transport home was parked and waiting for us at Drumbeg might also have had some slight influence on our resolve. En route, two of our number secretly made a close observation of the method employed by the others in eating their Jaffa Cakes (a chocolate topped biscuit or cookie with a spongy base and orange filling) supposedly identifying personality defects in the process.
We were also held spellbound by a demonstration of how to temporarily shorten your right arm by up to one inch, as well as enabling your arms to defy the law of gravity by means of a few muscles and the seams of one's trousers! Several short stops were made for the purpose of consuming hot drinks (and for other reasons). One walker wisely wore a hat on this occasion, and all members decided that gloves were in order from the top of Lisnabreeny onwards. The Rector's explanation of public worship being a great drama was interrupted by the unintentional antics of one member tripping over every obstacle that appeared -which made the rest of us wonder if arctic conditions slowed down the brain. From one of our many vantage points, an interesting geographical something-or-other was observed on a neighbouring hillside, and was, after lengthy deliberation, found on the map - although no final decision was ever made as to what it was we were looking at.
Our walkers made a slight change to their normal routine this month and instead of the usual march through our beautiful countryside they experienced the gastronomic delights of a well-known eating place in Comber, Co Down. No, this was not the thin end of the wedge, nor was it the start of the slippery slope, nor anything else undesirable for walkers - it was a very nice healthy meal. And anyway, the Rector's desire to be early for everything meant that we got a walk around the town before we ate anything! While there was no wine, the conversation flowed abundantly without it. Topics arising for discussion included collecting teeth (one's own, of course), what they buy and sell in Tunisia, the state of the Health Service, the pros and cons of Northern Ireland's education system, illnesses experienced and operations undergone by members, and chickens' veins !! The jovial atmosphere made a three-hour meal feel like a half-hour snack. On the way home some of us listened to the Mozart Horn Concertos and wondered how on earth they could have been played in Mozart's day on horns without valves. All in all, a lovely evening! During January St Molua's band of fresh-air fiends hiked around Tollymore Forest Park near the Mourne Mountains, a few days after a big storm. The devastation was easily observed, as we had to negotiate several fallen trees. It was a nice walk, but the only really exciting event of the day was when the Rector fell into a drainage ditch and got his feet wet! As always, the members were eager and enthusiastic to discuss the topics of the day, which included the accounts of Creation in the Book Genesis, life on other planets (with particular reference to the Roswell incident in New Mexico), the apparent ability of thin people to eat twice as much as not-so-thin people and still remain thin, the system of opening and closing the doors on buses, and several other topics maybe best not recorded in these columns!
IN THE STEPS OF ST PATRICK This walk was very special. While it again put members' physical ability to the test, it was also educational, and, most important of all, was a pilgrimage to some distinguished places. It began in Downpatrick, where members walked through the town and followed the River Quoile to where it meets Strangford Lough. Following the road close to the shore, our walkers then went across country to the point at the mouth of the River Slaney where St Patrick landed in 432AD, and where we were silenced by an acute sense of history. Our journey to spot number two wasn't exactly pleasant, as we became ankle-deep in nasty, wet mud, and had to climb gates, cutting across fields, up and down drumlins, and under hawthorn hedges to avoid flooded paths, bulls and dogs -- but it was certainly exciting! The strange thing is that every time we bring a map, we end up lost! Eventually we arrived at Saul, the cradle of Irish Christianity, where St Patrick set up his first church.
Private meditation in a completely silent church (no traffic noise!) preceded a quick inspection of the organ (1985 Wells-Kennedy trucker action rebuild with eight speaking stops) and a pause for tea and sandwiches. One member found green "bits" in his, and another discovered the remnants of the previous walk's Jaffa Cakes at the bottom of his haversack -- not a pleasant sight! Before long we were on the road again, this time to the Hill of Down and the grave of the holy saint, where another reverent pause was made.
Walking up and down drumlins all afternoon is physically draining, but our sense of humour did not desert us, and members sang the praise of their mothers, some of whom had insisted on making their sandwiches. Refrigerators lying in the middle of the Ml Motorway were also mentioned briefly (!), as was the ability of poetry and landscapes to grow on one as one gets older. "Werther's Originals" were once more the sweet of the day (several members had complained of raw mouths after the last walk's little acid numbers). The amazingly varied attire of members was discussed and examined. Ashamedly, some items were even coveted. (This did not include the Rector's faded blue jacket, which has been with him since before the first Holy Land trip, and which no other member of the walking group would be seen dead in!) Reference was also made to our BIG walk in June. |
