THE CHALLENGE continued

Day 3 - Wednesday

Today the weather was absolutely glorious, and the Striders started out in excellent form. A short two mile hike took us to lovely little Loughinisland, and we made a careful examination of the three ruined churches. After a bite of lunch we moved on quickly to Annadorn and visited the ancient dolmen there. One Strider, who had brought along his water in a plastic bottle with a peculiar nozzle, had a serious choking fit as some water went down the wrong way. He recovered in due course, and after telling us (very politely) what he thought of the peculiar bottle, we were able to carry on. The quiet country roads proved a delightful part of the walk - even though the drumlins gave us quite a few hills to climb. On nearing the town of Downpatrick, however, the roads became busier.

Our first stop in Downpatrick was to visit EGO PATRICIUS - the new St Patrick Heritage Centre, built below the Cathedral Mall. This is a must for every good Irish Christian; a lot of people have worked very hard to bring St Patrick to the populace by means of the most modern technology. We then paid homage at the grave of the holy saint, and said our prayers in the Cathedral. After a quick chat with some tourists from Tennessee, we strolled down the Mall, and as we were absolutely starving on this occasion, we purchased some goodies to keep us going.

This day was a really good one for walking. One member who had been suffering from badly blistered feet had changed his boots to trainers. With his feet fitted tightly into these by means of a thick pair of woollen socks on loan from a parishioner of extreme wisdom, he did the day's walking without any pain at all. In such good form were the Striders on this occasion, that they even deviated from their route and added on a mile or two, so that they could stroll along the banks of the beautiful River Quoile - now there's dedication to the task! It was here that we spotted two of our parishioners viewing a flock of swans on the river, but they didn't spot us! Our day's walking concluded on the same banks, even though we could easily have walked a few more miles.

Day 4 - Thursday

It was very hot today, which made the going tougher than on Wednesday - but despite this we covered more ground than on any other day. In the morning we made many short stops in order to gulp down water by the gallon, so in the afternoon we also made many short stops... We began the day's march on the Quoile Bridge just outside Downpatrick and walked along the main road to Killyleagh, taking several detours along the most beautiful country roads.

"Films we have seen" was one of the main conversation topics of the day. High up the ratings were Sleepy Hollow starring Johnny Depp (all about a headless horseman - not Johnny Depp, who's head is in full view throughout the film); the four Star Wars movies and Sixth Sense. Recommended viewing from the oldest member of the group included the good old black-and-white Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Lady Killers, both starring the late Sir Alec Guinness. A pause was made at the Strangford Millennium Stone in Delamont Country Park, from where we were able to view Slieve Patrick (which we hope to climb on pilgrimage in the near future) and Down Cathedral, with the Mourne Mountains again in the background.

Other topics of conversation included skin ailments due to stress, the cost of buying a house in Belfast, the difficulties of getting your computer to properly record one CD onto another, and how "spotty" each member's face was during his adolescent years. Striders are very caring towards each other, and are quite interested in each others' problems and difficulties. Each time normal conversation fizzled out, certain questions were usually asked and statements made on the lines of : "My legs are getting sore now - what about yours?" "Have you any pains in the soles of your feet?" "Have your blisters burst yet?" "My right foot has started to click" "Do you think you can make it up this hill? Come on, we'll wait for you." "I've got a stabbing pain right across my left arch" "I'm really getting too old for this carry-on!" Despite everything, however, we always managed to survive!

After Killyleagh it was on to Shrigley, where an extremely generous Strider bought iced lollies and Mars bars all round; then we crossed the main road again to finish the day's walk at picturesque Whiterock. As we neared Whiterock, one member spent most of his time on his mobile phone, trying to ensure the safe delivery of a precious antique to his residence, which lies at the foot of Mount Slemish, County Antrim! Although we were happy, we were also glad when this day's end came about, as the bones in all of our feet were beginning to suffer from tar macadam fatigue.

Day 5 - Thursday

This was the final stretch of the walk, we knew we could easily finish before the end of the day, and so planned to execute it in a fairly relaxed manner. The day began back at Whiterock, from which point we walked in quite a roundabout way through Sketrick to the village of Lisbane, where parishioner Helen was expecting us for a mid-morning cup of tea. This turned out to be one of the fastest parts of the walk, as one Strider didn't want to be late. Despite the heat and clammy conditions he took off with a new lease of life, in order to make sure that we arrived on time.

Duly refreshed, we again crossed the main road so that we would approach Comber (our finishing point) through Ardmillan. One of the most beneficial aspects of THE CHALLENGE was that we were taken along roads we'd never been on before, and through hamlets we didn't even know existed. Our navigator, the youngest member of the team, was truly excellent at his job, and we quickly grew to rely on his guidance without having to ask any questions.

A new sweet appeared on this stretch of THE CHALLENGE - a large, soft and creamy mint which shone and sparkled like a piece of granite. It was so delicious that we ate one after the other until they were done - at least that's what we thought, but the sweet-controller wisely kept back one sweet each until near the end of the walk, which was a nice surprise for us all. No doubt the Strider's mother who supplied the delicious confection will very respectfully be asked for more!

We spent a lot of time on this day discussing the colour and toughness of beards, as well as the methods and frequency of shaving, which varied considerably. Here, a slightly older Strider was able to offer some advice to the younger members. Much spiritual wisdom was imparted today, and many questions concerning the Psalms and the four accounts of the Gospel were both asked and answered. Also, clicking noises in the hands and feet led on to a detailed discussion of people who deliberately dislocate their joints in order to fit themselves into wooden boxes.

Throughout the trip we had paid particular attention to gardens and the plants that inhabited them; also to the many wildflowers we discovered growing in hedgerows and on banks. As well as this we are becoming adept at recognising various types of tree, both by the bark and by the leaves. In fact, we could probably teach our environmental committee a thing or two! As we approached the Square at Comber, feelings were very mixed. Our feet looked forward to taking their final steps followed by a long rest, but we all agreed that we had thoroughly enjoyed the walk and were very sorry that it was coming to an end.

The trial, however, was not quite over. During the five days we had been given many questions to answer about various objects, landmarks and places we passed en route, and while we sat under the shadow of the Gillespie Memorial, adjudicator Noel checked our written answers and quizzed us meticulously on all that we had discovered. Eventually, however, he declared that we had passed the test, and we returned home in triumphant manner, where wife Peggy provided lashings of hot tea and a wonderful spread!

UNLIKELY LOCATION PROVES POPULAR WITH WALKERS

The Walkers were out again last month for the first time in a while - it took us a long time to get over the seventy-mile hike last August ! On a typical April day we made our way from the church, up through Gilnahirk and onto the Upper Braniel Road, one member who likes his garden just managing to resist the temptation to stop off at Hillmount Garden Centre. On over the hill and along the Ballygowan Road we went, entering Roselawn Cemetery - yes, that's right, Roselawn Cemetery - a lovely place for a walk at any time of year - if you don't mind a strong breeze ! Seriously though, the scenery there is fantastic, especially around the lake area at Section P, with ducks, swans, and rabbits all happily minding their own business. The path around the cemetery, taking the longest route, is almost two miles in length, which gave us a total walk of about 12.5 miles - just enough to stretch the legs !

Some of our number seem to have lost the spirit of sharing during our break from walking - we actually had to ask one member for a Jaffa Cake, as they were hidden away at the bottom of a bag, and clearly weren't going to be brought out otherwise. We decided that the Jaffa Cake hoarder probably had a padlock on his larder door. The sweets of the day were Bassett's lemon and cherry drops, followed up by Werther's originals - the original originals - not the new soft chewy kind. Conversation began with astronomy - a discussion of the unusual alignment of the planets, and how many had been seen in the evening sky - but one member was totally disgusted at the others' lack of knowledge on this subject. Another member had bought a new computer - and we heard plenty about it, during which time another member delivered a mini-sermon entitled "Thou shalt not covet - not even a computer with a 17-inch monitor ! "

The person who usually falls on his ear managed to stay on his feet - which is more than can be said for another member ! - and at one point we were all nearly bounced over the hedge by a passing female driver. (There'll be trouble over that remark). One member promised it wouldn't rain and it didn't, until right at the end of the walk, and although we were all fairly stiff-jointed and out of practice, we really did very well for our first walk in eight months. The next walk, of course, will be very soon, and will be a much longer one, with a few extra difficulties thrown in for good measure.