We are walking this Sunday 16th of October, starting and finishing in Ravensdale village our route will take us along the Cadger’s pad….This was the route by which the herring girls of Omeath carried their fish to market 200 years ago, each with a creel on her back with two stone of herrings wrapped in seaweed. It was still an important route after the fish stocks disappeared in the late 19th century: within living memory an Omeath woman told folklore collectors that she “thought nothing of putting a bag of (live) hens on my back and heading over the Cadger’s Pad to the Fair Green in Dundalk”. The word cadger took on the meaning of begging in Victorian times but in its original meaning dating at least to the 14th century it meant pedlar or dealer. There are songs and recitations about the fish cadger around the Mournes and in West Donegal.
All walkers meet at the Gap O’the North Pub Jonesborough at 10 am. Walkers must be wearing walking boots and have a water proof jacket. Bring a packed lunch. This walk will take around 4 hours and is suitable for newcomers.
We are not walking on Sunday 30th of October instead we have a night walk on Saturday 29th of October. Head torches will be needed!!! Then back to the Gap for a hoolie.