Wet Walking

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   It has rained all week - big, fat, unexpected showers that  loiter inside swollen clouds and wait until you step out of the house so they can attack.  I am not amused; I want to go outside and cut the grass and listen to the children squealing on the trampoline. Instead I have been forced to tackle the critical housework situation and listen to Gina practice the piano over and over and over again for her exam on Thursday. Hmm.
Well, you can't live in Northern Ireland for (nearly) 40 years without learning how to walk in rain. I was taught from an early age to never trust the Irish weather; even if you get up in the morning and the sun is splitting the trees, you must take your coat with you; if you've got sunburn, sunstroke and singed eyebrows from the very heat of the sun don't trust it - take your coat, you'll need it... Oh yes, been there, done that. We are practically born with wellies and raincoats on us in Northern Ireland - just incase.
So this week's hike was always going to take place in the rain. Anybody who has taken young children out for the day knows that it is essential to be prepared for just about every eventuality. Given last week's fiasco where Leo fell into the river and we had no change of clothes for him, I vowed not to be caught out again and filled the car boot with dry clothes for everybody, the quintessential raincoats, waterproof walking shoes + dry shoes (for not dirtying my car on the way home) and (very important) plastic bags to put the wet stuff into. Our picnics (to please Leo) were put into plastic freezer bags - maybe some day we'll get dry bags and rucksack liners but today was all about the humble plastic bag. We've also got walking poles (though this was really just to please the kids cause we don't usually need them!)
So with all that sorted, we just had to choose somewhere to go. There were several boxes to tick here:
1. Not too far or we'd end up carrying Leo
2. Not too steep or we'd end up carrying Rowan, Gina and Leo
3. Not open hillside today as we might need somewhere to hide from the (inevitable) downpour
4. Something interesting to look at or we'd lose the kid's interest
And the winner was......     
Banagher Glen & Forest
On paper it ticked all the boxes. Our little pocket book, "Northern Ireland. A Walking Guide" by Helen Fairbairn, described it as a series of tarmac lanes and forestry tracks, making it suitable for most of the family, taking you past a remote reservoir, an ancient oak woodland and a forestry plantation.

Leo smiles 'cause he got poor daddy to carry him. Again

And she was probably right, except that there are loads of directions to follow to ensure a wonderful, fulfilling walking experience - and we got lost. We didn't find the reservoir and we didn't even see the large snake-like monster called Lig-na-Paste which St Patrick is said to have imprisoned in the river and is there to this day. (Disappointing)

Gina on the Bluebell trail

Nevertheless, we did find a lovely uphill track framed by bluebells, sloping steeply into the forest. It was well maintained and had a pretty wooden fence which stopped the kids falling back down the hillside. However, it was too steep for Leo's little legs and he ended up being carried part of the way. Honestly, we got SOAKED! The forest didn't protect us from the sneaky sideways drizzle, but we figured out what hiking sticks are for - whacking overhanging branches so that the rain falls off them and onto the person behind you's head. I bet the hiking magazines don't tell you that!

3 happy, wet hikers

Gina's verdict: "Great. What's next?"
Rowan's: "Yeah that was pretty cool"
Leo's: "My legs are sore. My legs are sore. My legs are sore....."