Easterwalkersallset
THE North Leitrim Glens Hill Walking festival takes place this Easter with walkers set to immerse themselves in the landscape of Yeats.
Run by the Holey Soles Hill Walking Club, the festival will be taking to the hills on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th April.
They will be walking through the scenery of the North West that inspired Yeats with a climb of Benbulben on Saturday and Truskmore on Sunday.
One of the oldest walking festivals in Ireland, now in its 23rd year the North Leitrim Glens Hill Walking Festival is an ever- popular regular calendar event during the Easter break.
With Sligos’ iconic Benbulben and the Glencar valley on this year’s itinerary and walks beginning and ending at the Glencar Tea Shed beside Glencar Waterfall, this year’s walks have a distinctly Yeatsian flavour.
Very much a labour of love, the festival was set up by a group of walker friends. One of its leaders, Noirín Clancy describes a sense of pride that was part of the motivation behind it
“We’ve always appreciated how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place and we love that the Festival brings people into the area,” she said.
“We live in spectacular countryside. Lots of people see for example the iconic mountain of Benbulben in the skyline every day and say to themselves that they must climb that or say to themselves they’ll explore Glencar one day.
“We say to them that we have a team of people at this festival that can guide you. Now is your chance!” she said.
The line- up of walks range from long and medium walks to a Sunday ramble so there’s something for different levels of fitness. Walkers are advised to ring festival organisers in advance if they have any queries.
The festival reflects the people who designed it and there’s always plenty of opportunities for socialising and having some craic.
This year’s festival is no exception with walkers being treated to tea and scones before walks and a dinner sched- uled for Saturday.
For those bitten by the travel bug an exciting part of the festival line up is travel writer and documentary maker Manchán Magan who will be giving a talk on his adventures at The Glens Centre on Saturday at 8pm. The event is open to the general public.
Many of the walkers return year in and out and the longevity of the festival is perhaps due to thefriendly atmosphere the voluntary organisers create.
“We’ve made friends with people who come back time and again. Its great to see them and reconnect ” explained Noirín.
The festival is supported by Leitrim County Council, Leitrim Tourism, Call of the Wild and Trail Blazers.
For more information please see https:// sites. google. com/ site/ hshillwalkers/
For further information on the walks please ring : 087 647 0902.