admin, Author at Gap o' the North Hill Walking Club

Kilbroney Walk

admin News June 21, 2014

Tomorrow Sunday 21st of June our walk is in the Kilbroney area. We will have 2 groups out a C and B, B group’s walk is -Cloughmore stone -Slieve Martin-Knockshee, probably a 4 .5 / 5 hour walk, so quite a distance!! C’s will be a shortened variation of this.

This is truly where the “Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the Sea” and with the current spell of good weather an opportunity not to be missed to see the spectacular views over Carlingford Lough , the Cooley mountains and the high Mournes.

The weather is to be good, so sun cream, plenty of water and a hat are a must, as well as the usual deep tread walking boots, a waterproof jacket which will offer protection from the wind and a packed lunch.

Meet at the Gap 10 am for registration and safety briefing. We will be driving to Kilbroney.

Away Trip 2014 Kerry

admin News June 7, 2014June 19, 2014

This year’s away trip, (due to popular demand), is Kerry!! The date for the diary is the weekend of the 10^th -12^th of October. We will be staying in the Killarney Court Hotel, just a 10 min walk from the centre of Killarney. The cost is €200 per person sharing, (an additional charge of €40 will apply to anyone wanting single room occupancy), this covers 2 nights bed, breakfast, 2 evening meals, a packed lunch on the day of the walk and bus transport.

If the previous trips away are anything to go by, you will be guaranteed good craic, good company and a cracking walk. First preference will be given to club members and partners, (to ensure all current fully paid up members who wish to go are accommodated), if places are still available then it will be opened up to others. As always bus places will be limited and at a premium, so they will be filled on a firstfully paid up basis after which people will have to make their own arrangements, cost will be £200, whether or not you have a bus place, so it is in your interest to get your money in as soon as possible! Please note the bus will be leaving early Friday morn. time to be confirmed but take 10 am as a rough guess, likewise leaving Kerry, Sunday morning early, to be back to the Gap for around 5pm.

Anyone wishing to make their own accommodation arrangements and join the walk on the day will be asked to pay £20 /person to walk with us.

Deposits of €100 /person (non- refundable), are now due, final payment must be made by the 31st of August. Remember only payment in full secures a bus place!

Camlough Walk

admin News June 1, 2014

Sean and Brendan just checking the new 1:25,000 Activity Map for The Ring of Gullion Area, whilst out scouting today, making sure Camlough Mountain hasn’t moved since we were last there!! Check out the cross in the background, but better still if you would like to see it for yourself come join us next Sunday, 8th of June. We will have 2 Groups out B and C, following a similar route but with a little extra distance thrown in for the B’s.

Meet at the Gap pub Jonesboro at 10 am for registration and a safety briefing before driving the short distance to our starting point at the Bernish Viewpoint. Expect wet conditions underfoot in places and open hillside, so deep tread walking boots and a water proof jacket are a must. Gaiters and walking poles recommended. Bring a packed lunch and water, expect to be out for 4/4+ hours and to walk about 10km part of which will be on road.

Slieve Binnian Walk

admin News May 20, 2014

binnian4 Our walk this Bank Holiday weekend, Sunday 25^th of May, is in the Mournes. It is planned that both groups will take in Slieve Binnian, the third highest mountain in Northern Ireland at 747 metres. With some amazing rocky tors situated around the top of the mountain, its well worth the climb and effort to see them!

Our “B” walk will take in, in addition to Slieve Binnian, Slieve Lamagan. This will be a long and challenging walk, probably one of the toughest we do, so with that in mind anyone who has found any of the recent B walks challenging should consider dropping back to the C group on this occasion. Lamagan translates in Irish to the “hands and knees” mountain and that gives some indication of how you might end up climbing it!

Leaders on every walk have group safety as their number 1 priority and this walk will be no exception, with steep descents of both mountains they must be obeyed at all times. The frontman / backman policy must be adhered to and the pace will be set by the leaders.

We expect that this walk will be 4.5/5+ hours allowing an hour travel time in each direction it will be a long day. The earlier we leave in the morning the sooner we will start walking, please be at the Gap for 10 and we will be leaving promptly at 10.15

A bus is organised and there are still a few places available. Let me know if you are interested in a seat, price is as usual £5 and will be filled on a first come first served basis. (Note only payment secures a seat). We will be beginning and ending our walk at Carrick Little Car Park, parking here is very limited and it usually fills up early in the morning. We will be traveling by Warrenpoint, for anyone wanting picked up en-route.

As always basic kit is essential, boots and a waterproof jacket, you may want to take walking poles for the steep descents. Leaders have suggested taking 2 shorter breaks rather than our usual longer one, so you may want to consider packing your lunch accordingly.

Anyone with outstanding membership to pay, I need it asap!!!

The Cuckoo

admin Flora & Fauna, Uncategorized May 17, 2014April 27, 2015

In April I open my bill
In May I sing night and day
In June I change my tune
In July far, far, I fly
In August away I must

Description:The adult birds usually have blue-grey head, breast and upperparts, and horizontal barring on the underparts and white spots and tips on the tail.

Voice:The female has a rich bubbling chuckle, but the male’s call is the very familiar “cuckoo”. Generally, if you hear a Cuckoo singing you will probably not see it until it stops singing, and flies away.

Feeding: Caterpillars and other insects such as beetles and ants form the major part of the Cuckoo’s diet. Many of the caterpillars are the hairy or brightly coloured poisonous ones, but their digestive system is specially adapted to cope with the hairs and toxins. The female will also sometimes eat the eggs and nestlings of the host bird.

Nesting: The Cuckoo is a brood parasite, it lays its eggs in other birds’ nests and leaves the host birds to incubate and rear its young. Dunnocks, Robins and Meadow Pips are frequent host birds. Each female Cuckoo specialises in using a particular host species and will lay eggs with similar markings to the host bird’s eggs, and the young Cuckoo will imitate the begging calls of the host’s chicks.

When the Cuckoo nestling hatches, it instinctively pushes the other eggs and nestlings out of the nest.

Movements: They are a summer migrant, arriving around April and returning to central and southern Africa from mid-July to August. The juveniles follow in August and September.