0:00:41 > 0:00:45Binevenagh Mountain towers above gentle farmland on the north coast,
0:00:45 > 0:00:51a great slab of ancient basalt and a great place for a walk.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54It's also the favourite training ground for my guide,
0:00:54 > 0:00:59a Kilrea woman who's one of Ireland's best known adventurers.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04Hannah Shields made it to the top of Mount Everest in 2007,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07an epic achievement in itself,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10but she's also survived frostbite and polar bear attack,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14pushing herself beyond endurance to the North Pole.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19For so many years, I was an armchair adventurer. I read every single book
0:01:19 > 0:01:23about North Pole, South Pole, Everest, the mountains,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27and, to me, that was always superhuman people did that
0:01:27 > 0:01:30and I have to keep pinching myself and kind of go, it's me.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41We're walking a route Hannah usually runs.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47From the church car park off the Limavady to Castlerock Road,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51the forest track is a sharp climb up to the foot of the mountain
0:01:51 > 0:01:55and on to the distinctive rocky pinnacles under the cliffs.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Then it's back down along the trail below the crag,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02up through another forest and on to the summit ridge,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06and the amazing lookout beside Binevenagh Lake.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14There we go.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Hannah, I'm a rambler and you're a runner.
0:02:18 > 0:02:25I'll go up here a footstep at a time, taking it all in, but that's not your approach.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Well, sometimes, my training sessions - I call it "eyeballs out" -
0:02:30 > 0:02:33running up here as fast as I possibly can,
0:02:33 > 0:02:39but today is going to be an absolute pleasure, just to be out walking and seeing things I don't normally see.
0:02:39 > 0:02:44The "eyeballs out" thing, that's a great expression. Is that how you live life?
0:02:44 > 0:02:48No. Not all the time. I have to admit, not all the time.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51But I think, if you're going to do it,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55you have to do it as hard and fast as you possibly can
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and that's what's required in some of the things I do. Unfortunately.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02- A lovely place to come and train. - It's gorgeous.
0:03:02 > 0:03:09'From deep inside the forest, there's no clue to the surprise that's waiting up ahead.'
0:03:09 > 0:03:11That's just awesome.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13You know, don't let anybody ever say
0:03:13 > 0:03:19we don't have spectacular and exotic scenery. Hannah, that is gorgeous.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24Oh, it's one of my favourite places, it really is. I never tire of it.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28I'm up here every single week and it's never the same.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30It's stunning, it's just stunning!
0:03:30 > 0:03:37I know. You've got the intimacy of the walk through the forest and then you reach this timeless landscape.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42The sun is hanging there. It looks like the moon through the cloud.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45We're very lucky because normally you don't see that!
0:03:45 > 0:03:50It's nice today but normally there's a fantastic mist that hangs on that
0:03:50 > 0:03:54and I just find it a stunning place, absolutely stunning.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57It sounds cliched, but it is.
0:03:57 > 0:04:03'As the early morning mist fades, there's an awakening sense of that ephemeral beauty.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05'Binevenagh is a place apart.'
0:04:05 > 0:04:11To be outside in the middle of all of this, it's an awe-inspiring place.
0:04:11 > 0:04:18It's my outside gym, it's where I come to do all my hard work before I go away on a lot of my expeditions
0:04:18 > 0:04:24and it's because I'm outside getting the fresh air, it means so much to me.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35I'm asthmatic and it's something that I have to be conscious of,
0:04:35 > 0:04:40but it's not going to be something that's going to define me, it's something that I'll work with.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45'That single-minded determination took her to the summit of Everest
0:04:45 > 0:04:49'in 2007, having almost done it four years earlier.'
0:04:49 > 0:04:55I was back to finish what I hadn't done in 2003 and that's purely what I was there for.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59100 vertical metres, it was a lot to do for 100 vertical metres,
0:04:59 > 0:05:06but I was just relieved because my right contact lens had frozen to my eye for about an hour-and-a-half,
0:05:06 > 0:05:12so I was kind of practicalities - I'm here, I've done it, great, get back down safely again.
0:05:18 > 0:05:24She is unstoppable! Hannah makes her living as a dentist.
0:05:24 > 0:05:30But she lives for life on the edge and that enthusiasm is infectious.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34So too is the rush she'll feel up here.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49There's never a dull moment high on Binevenagh, or higher still in the Arctic.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54Every time I've been there, I've always had polar bear encounters.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57We now think it's due to my perfume.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01On the next couple of expeditions where there's polar bears - no more perfume!
0:06:06 > 0:06:08And there's more adventure ahead.
0:06:08 > 0:06:13Along a sheep track running parallel with the base of the cliffs,
0:06:13 > 0:06:18a gentle walk before another climb through a pine forest onto the cliff.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24Hannah's also an international cross-country runner
0:06:24 > 0:06:30but, thankfully, you don't have to be an athlete to appreciate a scenic stroll through the woods.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32This is why I come up here.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Isn't that beautiful?
0:06:34 > 0:06:40Isn't that just the loveliest, gentlest countryside sweeping below us?
0:06:40 > 0:06:46It's away from everything, away from your worries, you can lose yourself in it.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49You've got that sense of euphoria
0:06:49 > 0:06:53for coming out and actually doing something physically by yourself
0:06:53 > 0:06:58and I do get a wee endorphin kick after working hard. It's very satisfying.
0:06:58 > 0:07:04There's an enormous feel-good factor and that's why, you know, you really should try this! It's great!
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Definitely to be recommended, even the cows agree!
0:07:11 > 0:07:13There's a road all the way up here.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18Travel by car and you may see the view but miss the point.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21It's the journey that really matters in the end.
0:07:23 > 0:07:30It's been an idyllic day spent in exceptional company and in unrivalled surroundings.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32We're way off the beaten track.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38I love whenever I come up here that there's nobody around,
0:07:38 > 0:07:44and it's that splendid isolation that you really do feel, that you're getting away from it all,
0:07:44 > 0:07:51but then I think that I shouldn't be selfish and this should be opened up to other people to appreciate.
0:08:16 > 0:08:23The north coast is hiking heaven, from corn coloured beaches to limestone cliffs and beyond.
0:08:23 > 0:08:30There are loads of routes to suit all ages and abilities and I'm up for a stroll beside the sea.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42It's the perfect introduction to rambling for beginners.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50The trail starts at Dunseverick Castle and winds along the shore.
0:08:50 > 0:08:57The path is easy to follow and weaves through ancient raised beaches and spectacular sea stacks
0:08:57 > 0:09:01all the way to picturesque Portbradden.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06My walking partner knows this coast like the back of his hand.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10- It's a great day to blow the cobwebs away, isn't it?- Isn't it?
0:09:10 > 0:09:15When you get the wind coming in from the north coast, you really have something.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19Retired teacher Ronnie Irvine is a lucky man.
0:09:19 > 0:09:25Free to roam his favourite coastline at leisure and always aware of the bigger picture.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30I've always been interested in nature. I do a lot of photography.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33So it's not just about walking,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37it's about what you see when you're walking, it's about seeing things.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41And you won't be disappointed here.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Dunseverick Castle is a crumbling vision of the past.
0:09:56 > 0:10:03I was just astonished to learn that this is one of the oldest forts in all of Ireland.
0:10:03 > 0:10:09It certainly goes back to St Patrick as a castle of some kind
0:10:09 > 0:10:13and probably goes back far beyond that as a promontory fort.
0:10:13 > 0:10:19It's now a lonely sentinel, a romantic ruin, with connections to the High Kings of Ireland.
0:10:19 > 0:10:25One of the ancient roads from Tara led to here, which means it must have been very, very important.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35All trace of those ancient travellers has been washed away,
0:10:35 > 0:10:42something to ponder as we walk the shoreline, drinking in the sights and sounds of the sea.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46What a spectacular place to have right on our doorstep.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51Isn't it? The best coastal walk in the British Isles.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55- I would say it was world class.- It is world class.- When you see it
0:10:55 > 0:10:59on a day like today, with the waves crashing in, the sound of it,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- and just the vision in front of us. - Dunseverick harbour...
0:11:03 > 0:11:06White Park Bay beyond.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Sheep Island and Rathlin.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10Quite something.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28You don't need picture-postcard weather to enjoy a walk.
0:11:28 > 0:11:33Every day is different and change is a fact of life.
0:11:36 > 0:11:41The elemental power of the ocean has relentlessly shaped the shore,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44leaving tell-tale signs along the way.
0:11:44 > 0:11:49I see. There's a beautiful archway up ahead of us.
0:11:49 > 0:11:55Yes, a real present, with a beautiful view of White Park Bay beyond it.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57Oh, that is just...impressive.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Absolutely.
0:11:59 > 0:12:05That arch was probably carved out maybe 10,000 years ago, just after the Ice Age.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07A great gateway into White Park Bay.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10It is indeed.
0:12:10 > 0:12:17Passing through the eye of a cliff is well worth the trip, but it's only one highlight among many.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24There's such a lovely pearlescent quality in the sky now, isn't there?
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- Bright.- Yes, beautiful.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31White Park Bay always has that shimmer of a haze over it.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37I think it's the waves throw up maybe a little bit of spray
0:12:37 > 0:12:42- and you can just see it across there. - Yeah, you can indeed.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49There's everything in this walk and it's not particularly difficult.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Anyone could do it, or certainly do a stretch of it.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55- Here we are, Ronnie. - Yeah, Portbradden.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58- The port of the salmon. - The port of the salmon.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02No salmon fished for now.
0:13:06 > 0:13:12Hear the crash of the waves and the fresh air - it's a good way to work up an appetite.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23And if you've been inspired to pull on the walking boots
0:13:23 > 0:13:28and see it for yourself, check out the website...
0:13:28 > 0:13:36and click Off The Beaten Track for route maps, safety advice and links to walking clubs in your area.