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Tomorrow, Sunday 20th of January we will have a one Group walk on Camlough Mountain. With some of the best views in the Ring of Gullion, we will be taking a new route onto the mountain from the village itself. If you fancy joining us you will need walking boots, a waterproof jacket and a packed lunch. We will be on the road for the first mile or so, but then it’s onto open hillside, we’ll cross over the mountain towards the Keggal side and then loop back around the lower slopes back to our starting point. We will be out for around 3.5 hours, the weather is looking promising, but it will be colder on the hillside so layer up, bring hats, gloves an extra fleece and remember no jeans!

For those interested …The rock that makes up Camlough Mountain, Slieve Gullion and the other hills in the Ring of Gullion, is called granodiorite. It forms from the cooling, deep underground, of molten magma. However unlike the rocks that make up Slieve Gullion and the Ring of Gullion in general, the granodiorites of Camlough Mountain are around 410 million years old, making it much older! For more information check out the link below:

https://www.ringofgullion.org/geology/camlough-mountain/

Meet at Gap O’ the North Pub Jonesborough, at 10 am for registration and a safety briefing.

A New Walk for the New Year, this Sunday, 6th of January we will be following the new Newry- Greenway from the town to Victoria Lock before taking to the hills above Fathom.

For those who don’t know the history of Newry Canal, construction began around 1730 and took almost eleven years to complete at a cost of £1,000,000 (around £19 billion in today’s money!) It was undoubtedly a great piece of engineering and resulted in Newry becoming one of the most important ports in Ireland during the eighteenth century, beginning three miles south of Newry it runs parallel to the Newry – Omeath road, and it is this section that we will be following on Sunday. Northwards it continues for another 18 miles to the upper Bann River.

In 1750 the Albert Basin at Newry and Victoria Lock were completed. The lock is 205 ft by 50 ft. With the exception of the iron sheeted outer gates installed in the 1930’s, it has changed little since it was completed to Sir John Rennie’s design. Carlingford limestone was used for the walls and the original gates had English oak frames. Intrigued???

If you are intrigued and would like to see for yourself why not come along and join us? We meet at the Gap O’ the North Pub, Jonesborough at 10 am for registration, before car pooling and driving to our starting point. You will need walking boots, a waterproof jacket and a packed lunch. Whilst this walk starts out on the flat, please note there is a steep pull up into the hills at Fathom, so a reasonable level of fitness is needed, you can check out our website FAQ Page for more information on fitness and kit recommended.

All at the Gap O’ the North Hill Walking Club would  like to take this opportunity to wish our Members and friends a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas and Best Wishes for an active 2019. 

We would like to extend a welcome to everyone to come join us on Friday, 28th of December for our Annual Festive Family Ramble. This is open to Members, their family and friends as well as Non -members. So if you’re tired of the festivities and want to stretch your legs come along and join us, registration is from 11.30 am at the Gap O’ the North Pub, Jonesborough we will be setting out at 12 noon and will be out for 3/3.5 hours.

 Our route is a leisurely 10 km walk on forest trails and roads. But please note it is not suitable for pushchairs or very young children and no dogs allowed. Children must be accompanied by an adult whose responsibility they remain. 

Bring a packed lunch and a waterproof jacket, comfortable footwear a necessity!!

If you’re very good Santa himself might join us in the forest for some mulled wine/ hot chocolate before he returns to the North Pole for some well deserved rest.

Afterwards we’re all back to the Gap for a bite to eat and entertainment, with a magician for the kids around 4 pm and music for the grown ups.

No cover charge, raffle tickets and an honesty bucket on the day to cover costs, so come join us for some festive fitness and fun!

Greer’s Quay is the starting point for our B Group on this Sunday’s Walk, 9th of December. The Quay was commissioned by Robert Walker Greer, a local landowner, in the 1840’s to help develop Carlingford Lough’s fishing industry. He also built the nearby Ballyoonan House- (later St. Michael’s College and then the Tain Holiday village) -which is situated on 14 acres on the shores of Carlingford Lough.

Our C Group will be starting at another well known Omeath landmark St. Jude’s Shrine.

Both groups will be taking in looped walks on Slieve Foye. New comers are very welcome to join us, as always we meet at the Gap O’ the North at 10 am. We’ll carpool and drive the short distance to Omeath. Walkers must have walking boots and a waterproof jacket, whilst Sunday’s looking to be the best day of the weekend it is always colder on the hills, so it’s advisable to wear layers and bring a hat and gloves. We will be out for around 4 hours so bring a packed lunch.

This is the last Sunday walk of the year, our next walk will be a Family Christmas Walk on Friday 28th of December. More information will be posted closer to the time.

This Sunday, 25th of  November we are walking in the Ravensdale area following the old walls of the Clermont estate. We will have a B and a C Group out, a rough outline of both walks is given below.

B Group Walk: will be a faster paced walk of around 7.8 miles with a height gain of 516 m, taking around 4 hours. From Ravensdale car park we will walk along forest trails rising steadily to the Park boundary wall up to Ben Rock. This is a good 40 minute stiff climb. Then we head North to Clermont Cairn. From there, our route takes us to the road.  We will walk the boundary between Clermont and the Forest Park, crossing the border at the Clontygora road cattle grid.

Once more we will follow the boundary wall and cross a stile to pick up the trails to a deep, beautiful gully and from there back to our cars.

With clear weather we will see great views of the Cooley Mountains, Dundalk Bay and possibly Dublin Mountains.  Carlingford Lough, the Mournes and the Ring of Gullion should also be seen.

C Group Walk: will also be around 4 hours, but will take a slightly different route at a slower pace.

New walkers are very welcome to join our C Group, you will need walking boots, a waterproof jacket and a packed lunch. Expect to be out for 4+ hours, and whilst some parts of the walk will be on paths, parts will be on open hillside on rough terrain.

Gaiters and walking sticks recommended as well as the essential boots and suitable hill walking clothing.

We meet at the Gap O’ the North, Pub Jonesborough, at 10 am, for registration and walk’s briefing.