Get a-head of yourself on our wonderful walks
I truly believe one of humanity’s greatest medicines is walking. My dad was active all his life, only retiring from block-laying at the age of 75 years. Yet even then, he kept moving, thanks to his beloved little dog. Together they enjoyed regular walks around the Green Lake and, in later years, along the quiet roads of Drumbo. When the dog died, a part of Dad seemed to die with him. He stopped walking.
We pleaded with him, “Dad, get another dog.” He simply turned his head in silence – a gesture that spoke volumes. From then on, his health began a slow walk downhill that eventually lead to his earthly departure. I know the loss of his daily walks hastened his heavenward journey.
I walk a lot. My legs are my wheels, my Shanks’s pony. Walking has stood me in good stead. It’s kept me reasonably fit, taken me to beautiful places, unexpected adventures and, occasionally, into scenes that can never be unseen. Like the evening I rushed back to the office only to walk in on two work colleagues (I’ll put this politely) enthusiastically testing the sturdiness of an office desk. I froze for far too long before spluttering, “Excuse me, I forgot my coat.” I made a red-faced exit without my coat. They should have been the embarrassed ones, but somehow I was the one that walked away with all the shame.
When I lived in Cavan as a young man there was no ‘walking-culture'. Back then walking was a necessity to get us from A to B, particularly in rural areas. When I returned to Cavan after a lifetime of pounding city streets, I literally walked into a walkers paradise. My aunt called one fine day, “Will we take a spin up to the Burren Park and go for a walk?”
Sitting in the car I gazed at the sweeping landscape of West Cavan with a childlike wonder. My aunt sensed my awe for she drove in silence allowing the land talk to me, “Look what you’ve been missing, Gerard. You’d never find this in London!”
It was one of those cloudless blue-sky days, the sun swathed the hills in light, enhancing the drama of the ancient land.
Choosing one of the walking trails we took off, just as a couple of seasoned hikers, dressed in proper hiking gear, returned to the carpark.
In my jeans and trainers, I felt like a misplaced city man. As they approached we exchanged smiles. The man stopped, looked me up and down and asked, “Have you brought enough Dino-Repellent?” I smiled, uncertainly, then asked, “Why, are there mosquitoes?” He turned serious, “No, there’s a marauding Megalosaurus out there, be careful.” I was momentarily confused by his warning. Finally he grinned and gave us a potted history of the real Jurassic Park he and his girlfriend had travelled from Holland to walk in. That afternoon my aunt and I didn’t go for a mere walk, we journeyed back into the depths of a neolithic time in one of Europe’s finest prehistoric sites.
For me, one of the great strengths of Cavan and our neighbour, Monaghan, are its many walking trails. In Cavan I’ve walked through woodland terrain reminiscent of the Canadian Rockies, only to emerge into what seemed like a scene from Game of Thrones at the cinematic Castle Saunderson. I poured my heart out to an old friend while we traversed gentle forests that gave way to sweeping lakeside vistas in Virginia’s Deerpark Walk.
On a sparklingly clear St Stephen’s Day I looked over: Ulster, Leinster, and Connacht at the top of Fleming’s Folly, becoming wistfully tearful at the glorious sight. I’ve power-walked the functional Greenway that starts at Cavan General Hospital; and I’ve nursed a broken heart while walking the Turbet Island Loop in Belturbet. My significant Cavan walks are too many to mention here – but before I go I must mention Monaghan.
I have friends in Cavan who hail from Alaska, a land shaped by a rich glacial and Jurassic history. Recently, they welcomed family visitors to our heartlands. Blessed with glorious weather, our Alaskan guests embraced many of the local walks, with Rossmore Park in Monaghan being a literal head above. Seeing their photographs of the Drumlin Giants along the trail made me determined to get a-head of myself and go for a wonderful walk with the big-heads of Monaghan.