Outdoor Odysseys

Emerging from a rut

The last word in the title for this piece nearly became “funk”. That would have reflected the absence of any longer hikes since the end of August and the dominance of any other preoccupations like experimenting with Generative AI or various changes that I have been making to my business affairs, especially in Ireland.

When I went about checking out the meaning of funk, I was directed to the concept of an emotional funk, with one of the proposed remedies being the taking of simple steps as part of progressing one’s emergence. While in the UK before Christmas, a day trip to Edinburgh along with sorting out other matters and generating ideas for the start of 2025 was part of the process. In some ways, getting out and about in Macclesfield is simpler than doing the same in Cork.

While stationed in Cork, it has meant finding ways to get places for shorter outdoor outings that cannot be frustrated by a sense of inertia. One trick was to get to Blarney to use some public trails that AllTrails brought to my attention; it also helped with ideas for around Kinsale too. These gain various names from the likes of Ardmadane, River Martin, Knocknasubh and Clogheenmilcon Fen. Putting them all together in some sort of fashion easily wiled away an otherwise dry afternoon when sunshine was coming and going. Going with the flow to an extent was the cause of my starting in Blarney and finishing up in Killeens. Varying the routes to add variety could mean having these on a proverbial shelf for ideas in advance of being able to make a short getaway.

Ballincollig Regional Park was another option that became useful, especially when I was not equipped for muddy trails. Though the place was busy with families while I was there, there were some quieter interludes along its network of trails. Some are part of a network called the Ballincollig Gunpowder Trails, reflecting the fact that there was a gunpowder mill in the place once upon a time. Many of these shadow the River Lee too, and that especially applies to the Otter Trail; the area apparently is a stronghold for otters, though their nocturnal or near-nocturnal habits make it less likely that you will see one. A city centre change of bus makes this one work for me, and connections are far off being seamless with nearby of shared stops and frequent running. That might help to extinguish any excuses in the future.

As described in a previous trip report, Kinsale is not so far from Cork city and the changing of a bus can be made to work well, especially on the return journey when a stop is shared between the required routes. The Scilly Walk proved its worth on the way to Charles Fort and then on by Middle Cove and Lower Cove before muddy tramping on the way around by Preghane Point. Brief, light if wetting showers came and went, interspersed with any spells of sunshine, as I progressively evaded humanity the further that I continued. While the price might have been muddied clothes and momentary wettings, the rewards of solitary ambling with clifftop views cannot be underestimated.

With other things in mind and not having information from the likes of AllTrails, I eschewed the tempting footpath leading to Preghane Point when I was last around Kinsale in August 2022; information on these things is not always available from a hiking map in Ireland. A little extra is needed to overcome any risk averseness, and time can be as important as possessing the right knowledge sometimes. With access issues being prevalent in Ireland, one’s curiosity needs to be curtailed to avoid the possibility of confrontation.

Building up a catalogue of getaways like this may just be enough to put a stop to any paralysis by thoughts that there is an insufficiency of time for such escapes. You do have a travel a little in Ireland to get to such nearby places because it is not as simple as finding a public footpath or other right of way and following that, as you would in England or Wales. Even so, the push need not require that amount of energy either. Anything that halts torpor has to be a good thing, particularly at this time of year.