19/11/2009 Off the Beaten Track


19/11/2009

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What an awesome place!

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I'm standing in the heart of the Mourne Mountains,

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high on the untamed summit of Slieve Bernagh,

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and so can you. Come with me and we'll go Off the Beaten Track.

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The Trassey track is right up there as one of the finest routes into the high Mournes.

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Access is from the main Mourne Lodge amenity area between Hilltown and Bryansford.

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It's a comfortable ramble alongside the Trassey River

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and a steep climb up to the wall at the spectacular Hare's Gap.

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From here, it's tough on the legs on the sharp ascent of Slieve Bernagh whose granite tors scrape the sky.

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All you need is a friend to share it with.

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This is an nice symbolic part of the journey, because we've got

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cultivation here and the wild of the mountains up there.

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Yes, it's like leaving the organised, structured world behind us.

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We've got this freedom, this wilderness, this wildness to move into.

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I'm heading for the hills with Loretto Coyle, whose love affair with the Mournes

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was fired by her first trip along the Trassey Track.

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She's now a professional guide, sharing the peaks with visitors from around the world.

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It gives me such great pleasure to be able take a group up through,

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bring them into the inner sanctuary,

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I call it, that wild, lonely place to of the high Mournes.

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And from there, their eyes are just opened.

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And the nearer the mountains, the stronger the draw.

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The big thrill for this one has to be

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that you can't wait to get to the top to see what's over the rim.

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Yes, absolutely.

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Even in front, as we are walking up towards it, you can see the stile,

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the two bits of the stile

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and it's that sort of excitement I think this walk affords.

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The first thing in the morning, when I get up and go to the kitchen

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and draw back the curtains, have a look at the mountains.

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I just look and see, what sort of a day is it?

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What's it going to be like up there? Which way will I go today?

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If I have a client or customer, I will be busy thinking, what's the weather like?

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And can I approach it from an interesting route? I just love it.

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Climbing higher, it feels like we've really escaped.

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Heading off the beaten track is more than just walking, it's also a state of mind.

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A chance to slow down, take stock and maybe even get back in touch with nature.

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There is a wonderful simplicity in just living in the here and now.

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We live in such a small place now, but there is a big life, a big country to be had

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and you only have to come into the Mournes, and I can see why you love this place so much.

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Absolutely, just look at the view in front of you.

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And quite often, when I'm bringing people through here, this is my preferred route for them to come

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to Slieve Bernagh, because the journey takes them right through this wild, lonely place.

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The hike to the jagged peaks that crowns Slieve Bernagh,

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leads off the Brandy Pad, a wild, dramatic and simply stunning route.

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We are stepping up to the challenge.

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Cut stones that never made it down the mountain, now help hikers climb it.

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Each day you come here, different season of the year.

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There's always something that changes about it.

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You won't get lost if you follow the wall,

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it's been a guide to the summit ever since it was finished in 1922.

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The day has really changed for us.

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You can imagine what it was like for the men who built this wall

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to hike in and out between March and October for 18 years on the trot.

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And this is their legacy in the landscape

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and a really good way to get up to the top of Slieve Bernagh.

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We're drawn onwards and upwards by the beckoning silence.

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Glimpses of a rooftop that can only be seen on foot.

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The thing about spending a day out in the mountains and reaching for the summit

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is you don't know what you going to get when you get to the top.

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Sometimes you're going to get mist and cloud and sometimes you're going to get wonderful views.

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There is a silver lining to the clouds on a mountain top

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where the mist mesmerises and the mountains dazzle and beguile.

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I have climbed mountains all over the world

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from the Andes, North America, the Rockies, New Zealand.

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Huge mountains, wonderful places.

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But you know, when I come back home and look out my window at my own Mournes,

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they're such a special place.

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It's really possible to feel very small on top of a mountain

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and you'll stretch the legs to get up here,

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but you don't have to be super-fit and the dirtier your boots, the clearer your mind.

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If you have been inspired to put on the walking boots and see it for yourself, check out the website:

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You will find route maps,

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safety advice and links to walking clubs in your area.

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Subtitles by Red Bee Media

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E-mail [email protected]

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