Hiking

I live about 20 miles from the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Norn Iron. For years I looked at these as a lovely feature of my local area but never really gave much thought about exploring them. Then about 5 years ago I felt an itch that I should really get into them more, unfortunately it took another 3 years or so and some suggestions from a friend for me to actually get off my ass and do it. Since then myself and a few others have went on walks ranging from 3-6 hours in the Mournes on average once every 2 weeks.

Its the kind of activity that a lot of people think is beyond them physically but it really takes very little physical preparation. I was of very average fitness when I started, and most of the people who started with me were the same. You quite often see pensioners up there too and I have even encountered a 4 year old boy on top of Slieve Donard, who got there under his own steam. Mentally it can be tough though as it is a lot of time but the rewards both physically and mentally are well worth it.

If you find yourself up there alone its a great time to do some thinking, but on most occasions I prefer to be there with people I'm very comfortable around. There is a nice feel-good factor when finished, and the views while on the walks are spectacular. I've met people from all round Ireland who would not argue that the Mournes are the most spectacular mountains on the small Island. The mountains of Kerry and Wicklow may be higher in feet but they do not sweep down to the sea like the Mournes and do not have the same impact, so I'm told.

Physically it tends to be 90% a steady low intensity workout and about 10% hard stuff. But you can change these numbers by taking it very easy on the steep climbs, or running on the descents or gentle climbs. Running in the mountains is known as fell-running and is something I've only recently started showing an interest in. I did one run last Autumn and it was by far the most enjoyable 90mins tough exercise I've ever done. I lucked out on a beautiful day though.