MEET OUR GUIDES
HELEN FAIRBAIRN is well used to being outside in all weathers and seasons — after all, she has written 10 outdoor guidebooks. Yet, she says there’s something special about walking in autumn. The berries and mushrooms give a sense of natural bounty and she often returns from an outing with a pot of blackberries to transform into apple and blackberry crumble that night.
Helen says autumn can be an exhilarating time for coastal walks, as the sea is enlivened by ocean swells. She also suggests waiting for the first frosts to attempt boggy mountain routes, so the normally wet ground is frozen beneath your feet.
Helen believes the greatest pleasure of the season comes from exploring autumn woodlands. This is the perfect time to bring young families into the woods, when there are piles of golden leaves to kick and the hunt is on for the biggest conker. And she suggests telling the kids about the Russian tradition of trying to catch a falling leaf before it hits the ground. Every leaf you catch brings a month of good luck the following year. She shares her favourite autumnal walks in Connacht, Ulster and Leinster on the following pages. For more about Helen, see helenfairbairn.com
ADRIAN HENDROFF has written seven walks books for The Collins Press, and several have been highly commended in the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild Awards.
Adrian also runs mountain training and skills courses and spends a good deal of time on Ireland’s peaks.
Autumn, he says, is a time to enjoy colour — when deciduous trees like birch, beech, oak and maple turn yellow, orange, red and gold. As a photographer and mountaineer, he finds the quality of light, especially at dawn and dusk, outstanding in autumn as the air is clearer., and he often slips outdoors at the crack of dawn to capture the impact of the light on the land.
This time of year is great for ‘cloud inversions’, he says, when you climb higher than the cloudline and look down to see a white blanket over the landscape. It’s also a good time to capture spectacular views of mists lingering along a valley floor, particularly over water catchment areas and lakes. Dramatic clouds, longer shadows and stormy days also result in unique experiences on a mountain or along the coast. Over the following pages, Adrian has picked his favourite autumn walks in Dublin, Leinster and Munster.
For more about Adrian, see adrianhendroff.com