Glen of Aherlow Winter Walking Festival draws walkers from all over Ireland
The Glen of Aherlow hosted Irelands first ever Winter Walking Festival last weekend, organised by the Glen of Aherlow Fáilte Society and the Galtee Walking Club.
Accommodation providers in the Glen hosted walkers from Belfast, Dublin, Roscommon, Wicklow Wexford and all around the country. For many it was their first visit to the Glen, with an expectation that they will return again following a very enjoyable experience.
Aherlow House Hotel was used as the base for all walks; the hotel is an ideal base point as its location on Slievenamuck and therefore it is a perfect start for any number of walks.
The Aherlow Failte Society hosted a welcome dinner on Friday night for visiting guests including; Christopher Somerville UK Travel writer, John G O'Dwyer, who contributes walking articles regularly to the Irish Times, Ciara Scully & Deirdre Byrne of Filte Ireland Dublin, Mary O'Halloran and Eimear Whittle of Filte Ireland South East.
The cold crisp winter weather allowed visiting walkers to enjoy the Galtees and the Glen of Aherlow at its very best, affording glorious views across the valley.
On Saturday 93 people made it to the top of Galtymore led by the affable Mike Moroney; Tipperary Amateur Radio Group (TARG) and AREN provided radio contact throughout the day for this walk.
Danny Bailey led another 93 peopel on a 17km trek across Slievenamuck and Margaret Magner led a group of 41 walkers along the Ballinacourty loop.
On Sunday, Rody and Josephine Tierney and Mike Moroney and Danny Bailey led off a group of 150 walkers from Aherlow House. This group completed walks of 12km, 15km and 22km.
A welcome mug of soup and sandwiches awaited the walkers on return to base. They all enjoyed the great interaction and sociability that is an important part of the festival.
The festival provided a very welcome economic boost for local business at this time of year with visitors getting value for money, a quality experience in a rural setting while indulging in their favourite hobby of walking. About 110 people stayed generating over 200 bed nights for the Glen.
Ferghal Purcell, Chairman of Aherlow Failte Society wishes to thank the tireless work of Helen Morrissey and all the staff at Aherlow Failte and also to thank the fantastic co-operation and organisation of the Galtee Walking Club, without whom, this festival would not have been possible.
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Weather for Clonmel
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
