New trail forms part of walking festival
FOLKLORIC tales of lake monsters, recent archaeological finds and the opportunity of panoramic views of the Sligo and Donegal coastlines will enchant the walker at the North Leitrim Glens Hill Walking festival this Easter in the stunning Glenade valley.
The festival run by the Holey Soles Hillwalking Club will also see the inaugural walk of the Arroo Trail Head on Easter Sunday, made possible by the inspirational co-operation between landowners and local agencies for the benefit of the general public.
A special festival evening event in the Glens Centre Manorhamilton will give the walkers and the public a chance to wind down with a film by documentary maker Michael Brown.
Now in its 25 th year, the North Leitrim Glens Hill Walking Festival will be exploring Glenade, or the ‘jealous valley’ as it’s known in local folklore.
According to Jim McMorrow, one of the organisers of the festival, Glenade is one of the finest examples of a glaciated valley in Europe.
It’s in Glenade’s landscape that some of the best preserved bones of Ireland’s last brown bears (dated 3,100 years old) were uncovered at Poll na mBear or Cave of the Bears in 1997.
Because of the consistently cool temperatures of the caves, archaeologists were able to collect well-preserved evidence from the bear and cub bones found, and DNA now links these bears with modern polar bears. It was the first time that there was evidence to suggest that humans and bears could have co-existed here. Walkers will hike above the caves.
Recreation Officer for Sligo and Leitrim, Deirdre Kennedy reiterates how special Glenade is, for its folklore, its wildlife and its people.
She proudly states how local landowners, Leitrim Co Council, Leitrim Development Company, Leitrim Recreation Forum and the Recreation Office have been working in partnership for a period of time to create the Arroo trail. The inaugural Arroo walk is on as the Sunday ramble of the hill walking Festival. It’s a family friendly event, she says.
The Arroo trail climbs to 244 metres and treats people to panoramic views very quickly. In a Special Area of Conservation there’s evidence in the landscape of rare flora and fauna.
Deirdre is excited that the general public will now be able to witness what she describes as “stunning views” and is proud of the collaborative work that made that possible. She sees the Arroo trail as a real addition to the tourism infrastructure of the North West. It is now listed as a national trail route. The festival would like to remind walkers wishing to take part that a leave no trace policy is in operation and that no dogs are allowed on the walks.
See https://sites.google.com/site/ hshillwalkers/ for more information.