Derrynoid Forest parkrun

Posted on March 20, 2022 by lindaharley

Event #81 parkrun #303 Regionnaire status regained (for now…..)

After “The Great Pause” it’s heartening to see planned new parkruns getting up and running, so to speak. I attended the 4th outing of Norn Irn’s latest, in Derrynoyd Forest near Draperstown, pretty much bang in the centre of the province. Note, the forest is spelled with a Y, but the parkrun with an I. No, I haven’t managed to find out Y just yet, but if you know, do tell!

Getting There:

From my house it was just over 50 miles. Take the M2 and keep going, onto the lovely smooth new bit of the dualled A6 (my sat nav still doesn’t know this road exists, and goes into a minor panic telling me to turn left. No, right. No, straight on.) From the little town of Draperstown, follow the Derrynoyd Road and a mile along you’ll find the forest. There is some parking on the left and right hand sides of the road, but the main forest and parkrun is the one on the right.

Course:

Three laps through the forest, on pretty good paths, but watch out for stones and fallen twigs. It’s a tough enough course, with a chunky hill near the end of the lap. Start and finish are at the same point, but allow yourself time to get there from the car park. The forest is a lovely patch of old woodland, with plenty of birdsong to be heard. It was fantastic to listen to – some twitchers were able to identify a chiff-chaff, and I believe there’s even a woodpecker here.

Facilities:

No loos on site, so make sure you go before you get there! Parking as above, there are a few cafes in town for post parkrun coffee and faffing.

Crowd:

There were just under 50 when I attended, including a few familiar faces who like me were reclaiming the “regionnaire” status. Though I hear there are a few more NI events happening shortly, so this is only a “for now” badge. And also a few people making their parkrun debut, which is always lovely to hear.

Gear:

I wore my green 250 shirt, and there were a few of these on show! I’d also got my apple watch and aftershoks bone conducting headphones with me. Blue hokka trainers – trail shoes would be a good option here. And I managed to find my cow bobble hat, complete with its little flag badge indicating that “I’verunalltheNornIrnparkrunssoIhave”. I must dig out my T shirt and add some suitable buttons.

Time:

I’m really slow at the minute. I’d even offered to be tailwalker, but someone had beaten me to that! But I walk/jogged my way round in 44 minutes, taking time to stop for the odd photo of the beautiful Sperrin mountains.

Course record is at time of writing just under 18 minutes.

Strangely Appropriate Song on Shuffle:

I put the Hamilton soundtrack on as I was setting off- the tailwalker told me he’d been lucky enough to see the show live, that’s still on my bucket list of things to do. “Rise Up” is always appropriate for hills, and I was heading for Coleraine afterwards en route to see my parents, which is where Hercules Mulligan is from.

And the rest:

My Dad’s uncle Bob used to be head forester here, and the area around Tobermore and Draperstown was Dad’s “patch” when he was a sales rep, so he really enjoyed hearing all about my run when I called in for lunch afterwards.

All my parkruns:

NI (and other) parkruns: summary list

Filed under: parents, Parkrun, running | Tagged: , | 2 Comments »

Garvagh Forest parkrun

Posted on August 7, 2021 by lindaharley

parkrun no. 288, event no. 74, completing Norn Irn regionnaire, and celebrating my parents anniversary

Commencing on 31 July 2021, I opted to skip the inaugural and instead attend event number 2. I also did a bit of “voluntouring” (it’s a thing) and asked if they needed a tail walker. And they were delighted to have me in this role! (See also Copenhagen and Jersey, it’s a good way to tick off a new run and also add to volunteer stats. Plus you get to go for a PB on your return visit!)

Getting There

It’s in a pretty central area of mid-Ulster, which means it’s 50 miles from everywhere! I jest – the journey from Lisburn took me just over an hour, and through such exotic locations as Maghera and Swatragh, where I haven’t been in years, but which have a charm and unchanged feel about them that makes me want to stay longer. Postcode is BT51 5NJ. There’s a very small carpark at the forest itself, so please leave it for other users, and volunteers who are transporting loads of kit. Runners should park in the church next door, but be warned the gates close at 11, so if you’re going into town for a coffee and bacon butty keep this in mind.

The start line is a good walk from the car park, so leave plenty of time to get there. What three words for the start is narrating.ignoring.barks

Facilites

The nearest loos are in Garvagh itself, well signposted and well maintained. There are various cafes in the town for post run sustenance and faff.

Course

It’s all on forest paths, wide and flat. There are 2 big loops and one final small one. It’s run clockwise, so most of the well signposted turns are to the right, but there are a few left hand turns around a twisty section, so keep your eyes open!

Gear

There were yellow weather warnings across NI, so I wasn’t too sure just what to wear! In the end I had on my long sleeved Jog Lisburn top, my purple volunteer T, and my second best Hokas. And of course my cow cowl.

Strangely appropriate song on shuffle

I don’t listen to anything while tail walking – you’re the eyes and ears out on the course, and need to be able to react to anything unusual. But I was listening to Classic Rock on the journey there, and singing along to Run To You.

Crowd

It’s away from the metropolis of Belfast, but there are keen running clubs in the Coleraine, Limavady, Portrush area who will no doubt frequent this as a nearby alternative (especially on a windy January morning when the tide is high at the Port….). There were 71 runners when I visited, and 83 at their inaugural. I bumped into some Jog Lisburn stablemates, and Andrew with “other Minnie”.

Time

I was tail walking at a brisk pace, so 54 minutes. The results themselves came through in super quick time, and I got my text at 10.39!

And the rest…

I arrived with flowers, card, non alcoholic bubbles, and some tapas style finger foods to wish my parents a happy 62nd wedding anniversary, where again the weather fairies smiled on us and we sat outside in the warm sunshine.

All My parkruns

NI (and other) parkruns: summary list

Filed under: parents, Parkrun, parkrunDANCER, running | Tagged: , | 1 Comment »

parkrun tails: Minnie earns her cow

Posted on April 22, 2017 by lindaharley

IMG_1516The Facebook group UK parkrun tourists is for those seriously serial and widely travelled runners who have been to more than 20 different events.  At that point, your name appears on the “Most Events” table, and as an unofficial means of recognising each other on our many jaunts, the cow cowl is worn a visible symbol of this acheivement.

I knew Minnie had been to many of the Norn Irn parkruns with me, but it wasn’t till I actually sat down and counted, that I realised she’d been at 19!  MUSA is a no-dog event, and the distant runs at Enniskillen, Limavady, Derry and Portrush were ones I had done on various weekends away, without her.  But she’s pretty well behaved on long journies, and has been to fairly faraway runs in Omagh and Rostrevor.

I’ve long wanted to take her with me to Portrush.  We’ve done the Waggy Races twice now over the same distance on the next beach along the stunning north coast, in Portstewart, where rather conveniently my parents live. So having checked the all important tide times, I plumped for 22 April as the chosen date.

The morning dawned cloudy but dry, which to be honest is perfect running conditions.  We left at a quarter to 8 and were pulling into the car park at 9.  I’d had a bit of a niggle with my back since my last Sunday long run, but Deep Heat seemed to be working its miracles, and I didn’t feel any problems when running.  Mum and Dad were there to see me off, and Cracker posted his customary Saturday morning status update as “Cracker says: Oh Minnie you’re so fine, you’ve parkrun at 20 sites, Hey Minnie! Hey Minnie!”

IMG_1530

I chatted to a few other tourists who’d got talking to my cow cowl, and some fellow Wallace folk.  There were just under 200 runners, but even starting at the back, with a wide stretch of sand it’s easy enough to weave through, and we soon found a good spot where we weren’t in anyone’s way, and Minnie could really stretch her legs.

Portrush is a tough course, even with light winds and low tide.  Yes it’s dead flat, but you need a certain level of determination to keep on going on an out and back course, and that finish line seems like it never gets any closer!

portrush

But I knew all my previous run times here had been in the 30s, so I was reasonably confident of a PB. And indeed I crossed the line in 26:26, my best time in quite a while.  But of course I couldn’t have done it without my best running companion.

Thank you Minnine, and well done!

minnies 100th 011

100 barkruns!

IMG_1763

Matching 100s

 

city park christmas day

Citypark

10572116_797480390283399_5711504792681986448_o

Wallace

1384304_646344868730286_299587364_n

Our first run at Wallace

Filed under: Dogs, parents, Parkrun, running, travel | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Hole!

Posted on May 26, 2010 by lindaharley

On Saturday – a glorious day with the sun beaming down – I took a trip up to my native city to see Jem’s boyfriend Matty perform in a production penned and produced by the performing arts and music students at Magee college. Based on the Glee TV show, the event was of course called… Maglee! I’d been rather frustrated by my experience as a theatre goer to the newly refurbished Playhouse theatre: the booking of tickets had to be done online, with stern exhortations to bring along ID when collecting them, the website gave no meaningful directions and no information on car parking nearby, and once I had arrived where I thought it was, there was no sign outside to confirm that I was in the right place.

No matter, I met up with Jem at the Diamond, we had a bite to eat at the Wetherspoons on the corner (for future reference, the tables upstairs by the window are the ones to nab) and then strolled around the walls. I pointed out the chapel of St Augustine – the little church on the walls – where my parents were married and where I was christened. From there we could look down on Free Derry corner, and I was relishing giving her a little bit of both family history and political significance during our pleasant walk.

The show itself was great fun, and Matty clearly enjoys performing. Congratulatory hugs duly dispensed afterwards, I set off for the 77 mile journey home. About 5 miles outside the city, I heard a loud bang, and assumed a stone had hit the car. This was followed by a juddering sensation, and I knew as I released my grip on the steering wheel and felt the car pull to one side that I had a puncture. I pulled over safely onto a layby and surveyed my position. I have changed a tyre in the past, but not for ages, and not on this car. But I started by extracting the spare wheel and tools and thinking about how to proceed. I could see that the trim on the wheel was held on with cable ties, so I’d need something sharp to cut those. I needed help.

a hole in my tyre

Thinking fast, I called Matty. “Is your Dad still there?” I asked, since I knew his parents had been at the show. They’d be heading home on the same road that I was on, and I hoped I’d catch them before they left. Sure enough, 5 minutes later their car pulled in behind mine and switched on matching hazard lights. His Mum is a driving instructor, so knows her way around cars, while he makes guitars (how cool is that!) and had his work tool kit with him, complete with knives. In under 10 minutes he’d done the tyre change, and they volunteered to follow me for a few miles at least to make sure everything was OK. They even spotted me stop 3 miles later to close the passenger door properly, and I was enormously grateful to my knights in shining armour for their care and concern.

Filed under: Musicals, parents, travel | Leave a comment »

Golden Anniversary

Posted on September 4, 2009 by lindaharley

Well it’s all over! All the organising and planning finally played out, and we had a rather wonderful family get together. Bit of a last minute hiccup in the DVDs: the so-called pro that I’d given the tapes to ages ago (as well as a large sum of money) produced, with less than a week to go, some poor quality disks that had to be redone (and even then, still weren’t working properly). I had a long cry, a loud scream, and then set about making the disks at least look good. I bought from PC World, for £15, some software that could use existing photos and turn them into labels for the actual disks themselves, as well as inserts for the boxes. And I have to say, when I was finished (last thing on Saturday night before the do…) the result was quite impressive! And anyway, it’s the boxes they’ll be showing to their friends, more than the actual contents.

The song went better than I could have hoped for. Everyone agreed to join in (even teenage boys who rightly pointed out that it was cheesy and stupid). Dr Drama waved her magic theatrical wand and sorted out harmonies and intros, and absolutely vetoed use of tambourine (too Sally Army). We were just getting ready to perform, using the ruse that I was going to recite a pome, when the photographer arrived! We hastily stashed the guitar behind the sofa, posed outside for photos, and then waited for him to leave, while my Dad kept topping up his whisky glass….

Mum, dad, cake and song

Mum, dad, cake and song

Eventually we got to perform, Mum and Dad were suitably gob-smacked and teary-eyed, and we all hugged and laughed.

Filed under: parents | Leave a comment »

Editing suite

Posted on June 26, 2009 by lindaharley

I seem to have spent most of today in edit mode: this afternoon was devoted to sitting in a dark room with a bloke in Newtownards who I’ve entrusted to edit the old camcorder tapes of my parents. This will be part of the Golden wedding anniversary present so I’d like a good job made of it. As we went through the rushes and I watched him edit, using me to identify which grandchild was which, I got the horrible feeling I could have done better myself. I did have fun though, using the number of candles on the cake, or the badge the child was wearing, and the “Happy Birthday to….” name in my quest for identification. And gosh it was spooky seeing all the kids when they were teeny. And more than a little embarrassing

7th birthday cake

7th birthday cake

seeing my hairstyles and outfits.

Filed under: parents, video | 3 Comments »