Episode 5 Off the Beaten Track

Binevenagh Mountain towers above gentle farmland on the north coast,

a great slab of ancient basalt and a great place for a walk.

It's also the favourite training ground for my guide,

a Kilrea woman who's one of Ireland's best known adventurers.

Hannah Shields made it to the top of Mount Everest in 2007,

an epic achievement in itself,

but she's also survived frostbite and polar bear attack,

pushing herself beyond endurance to the North Pole.

For so many years, I was an armchair adventurer. I read every single book

about North Pole, South Pole, Everest, the mountains,

and, to me, that was always superhuman people did that

and I have to keep pinching myself and kind of go, it's me.

We're walking a route Hannah usually runs.

From the church car park off the Limavady to Castlerock Road,

the forest track is a sharp climb up to the foot of the mountain

and on to the distinctive rocky pinnacles under the cliffs.

Then it's back down along the trail below the crag,

up through another forest and on to the summit ridge,

and the amazing lookout beside Binevenagh Lake.

There we go.

Hannah, I'm a rambler and you're a runner.

I'll go up here a footstep at a time, taking it all in, but that's not your approach.

Well, sometimes, my training sessions - I call it "eyeballs out" -

running up here as fast as I possibly can,

but today is going to be an absolute pleasure, just to be out walking and seeing things I don't normally see.

The "eyeballs out" thing, that's a great expression. Is that how you live life?

No. Not all the time. I have to admit, not all the time.

But I think, if you're going to do it,

you have to do it as hard and fast as you possibly can

and that's what's required in some of the things I do. Unfortunately.

-A lovely place to come and train.

-It's gorgeous.

'From deep inside the forest, there's no clue to the surprise that's waiting up ahead.'

That's just awesome.

You know, don't let anybody ever say

we don't have spectacular and exotic scenery. Hannah, that is gorgeous.

Oh, it's one of my favourite places, it really is. I never tire of it.

I'm up here every single week and it's never the same.

It's stunning, it's just stunning!

I know. You've got the intimacy of the walk through the forest and then you reach this timeless landscape.

The sun is hanging there. It looks like the moon through the cloud.

We're very lucky because normally you don't see that!

It's nice today but normally there's a fantastic mist that hangs on that

and I just find it a stunning place, absolutely stunning.

It sounds cliched, but it is.

'As the early morning mist fades, there's an awakening sense of that ephemeral beauty.

'Binevenagh is a place apart.'

To be outside in the middle of all of this, it's an awe-inspiring place.

It'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

and it's because I'm outside getting the fresh air, it means so much to me.

I'm asthmatic and it's something that I have to be conscious of,

but it's not going to be something that's going to define me, it's something that I'll work with.

'That single-minded determination took her to the summit of Everest

'in 2007, having almost done it four years earlier.'

I was back to finish what I hadn't done in 2003 and that's purely what I was there for.

100 vertical metres, it was a lot to do for 100 vertical metres,

but I was just relieved because my right contact lens had frozen to my eye for about an hour-and-a-half,

so I was kind of practicalities - I'm here, I've done it, great, get back down safely again.

She is unstoppable! Hannah makes her living as a dentist.

But she lives for life on the edge and that enthusiasm is infectious.

So too is the rush she'll feel up here.

There's never a dull moment high on Binevenagh, or higher still in the Arctic.

Every time I've been there, I've always had polar bear encounters.

We now think it's due to my perfume.

On the next couple of expeditions where there's polar bears - no more perfume!

And there's more adventure ahead.

Along a sheep track running parallel with the base of the cliffs,

a gentle walk before another climb through a pine forest onto the cliff.

Hannah's also an international cross-country runner

but, thankfully, you don't have to be an athlete to appreciate a scenic stroll through the woods.

This is why I come up here.

Isn't that beautiful?

Isn't that just the loveliest, gentlest countryside sweeping below us?

It's away from everything, away from your worries, you can lose yourself in it.

You've got that sense of euphoria

for coming out and actually doing something physically by yourself

and I do get a wee endorphin kick after working hard. It's very satisfying.

There's an enormous feel-good factor and that's why, you know, you really should try this! It's great!

Definitely to be recommended, even the cows agree!

There's a road all the way up here.

Travel by car and you may see the view but miss the point.

It's the journey that really matters in the end.

It's been an idyllic day spent in exceptional company and in unrivalled surroundings.

We're way off the beaten track.

I love whenever I come up here that there's nobody around,

and it's that splendid isolation that you really do feel, that you're getting away from it all,

but then I think that I shouldn't be selfish and this should be opened up to other people to appreciate.

The north coast is hiking heaven, from corn coloured beaches to limestone cliffs and beyond.

There are loads of routes to suit all ages and abilities and I'm up for a stroll beside the sea.

It's the perfect introduction to rambling for beginners.

The trail starts at Dunseverick Castle and winds along the shore.

The path is easy to follow and weaves through ancient raised beaches and spectacular sea stacks

all the way to picturesque Portbradden.

My walking partner knows this coast like the back of his hand.

-It's a great day to blow the cobwebs away, isn't it?

-Isn't it?

When you get the wind coming in from the north coast, you really have something.

Retired teacher Ronnie Irvine is a lucky man.

Free to roam his favourite coastline at leisure and always aware of the bigger picture.

I've always been interested in nature. I do a lot of photography.

So it's not just about walking,

it's about what you see when you're walking, it's about seeing things.

And you won't be disappointed here.

Dunseverick Castle is a crumbling vision of the past.

I was just astonished to learn that this is one of the oldest forts in all of Ireland.

It certainly goes back to St Patrick as a castle of some kind

and probably goes back far beyond that as a promontory fort.

It's now a lonely sentinel, a romantic ruin, with connections to the High Kings of Ireland.

One of the ancient roads from Tara led to here, which means it must have been very, very important.

All trace of those ancient travellers has been washed away,

something to ponder as we walk the shoreline, drinking in the sights and sounds of the sea.

What a spectacular place to have right on our doorstep.

Isn't it? The best coastal walk in the British Isles.

-I would say it was world class.

-It is world class.

-When you see it

on a day like today, with the waves crashing in, the sound of it,

-and just the vision in front of us.

-Dunseverick harbour...

White Park Bay beyond.

Sheep Island and Rathlin.

Quite something.

You don't need picture-postcard weather to enjoy a walk.

Every day is different and change is a fact of life.

The elemental power of the ocean has relentlessly shaped the shore,

leaving tell-tale signs along the way.

I see. There's a beautiful archway up ahead of us.

Yes, a real present, with a beautiful view of White Park Bay beyond it.

Oh, that is just...impressive.

Absolutely.

That arch was probably carved out maybe 10,000 years ago, just after the Ice Age.

A great gateway into White Park Bay.

It is indeed.

Passing through the eye of a cliff is well worth the trip, but it's only one highlight among many.

There's such a lovely pearlescent quality in the sky now, isn't there?

-Bright.

-Yes, beautiful.

White Park Bay always has that shimmer of a haze over it.

I think it's the waves throw up maybe a little bit of spray

-and you can just see it across there.

-Yeah, you can indeed.

There's everything in this walk and it's not particularly difficult.

Anyone could do it, or certainly do a stretch of it.

-Here we are, Ronnie.

-Yeah, Portbradden.

-The port of the salmon.

-The port of the salmon.

No salmon fished for now.

Hear the crash of the waves and the fresh air - it's a good way to work up an appetite.

And if you've been inspired to pull on the walking boots

and see it for yourself, check out the website...

and click Off The Beaten Track for route maps, safety advice and links to walking clubs in your area.