Hill Walking in the school

All students in first year, as part of their P.E. programme, get to go on two hill walks. The first of these takes place in early September. Over the years these walks have proved to be very enjoyable and encourage our students to appreciate our mountains and natural parklands. Glendalough is our choice with a large number of marked walkways on offer.

5th and 6th year LCA students also go with the 1st years on these walks as it is part of their Outdoor Education Programme which leads on to a two day hike and camping trip in the final term.

 

Reports from a Hill Walk - 2009

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Mr O'Reilly With some of the students on the hillwalk	Two students On the hillwalk	Four Students On the hillwalk	Three Students On the hillwalk
Photographs by Aiden O'Reilly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raphael Onwunali : On the hill walk, we climbed up a mountain in Glendalough. We had loads of breaks for drinks. It took all day and we had fun. I did not see any animals there. Some of us were playing in the waterfall. We had a long journey on the bus going home.

Bernard Maughan: At the start of the hillwalk it was very hard, but it got easier. Mr.O'Reilly was at the front the whole time. Some of us fell in to the mud. A boy was pushed into a huge puddle of water and mud. It was exhausting but when we got to the top it was worth it. It was easier going down even though we were slipping and sliding . It was really enjoyable.

Niall Monahan: When we got to Wicklow it didn't look that hard, but we were wrong. There were no goats like people said there would be. When we got to the top there was a deadly view of a river that looked as black as oil. When we were coming down it was much easier. Then we had to walk about 2 miles to get to the car park. I can't wait to go back again in the spring.

Martino Ndokaj: We took the bus there. We started to walk. After ten minutes we were tired. After 3 hours we stopped for something to eat. The teachers told us that we were going to run down the mountain. I was really happy and I started to run. My shoe got stuck in the bog. We found it after 20 minutes. The I fell in the lake. It was gas. I changed in the bathroom. The we all went home.

Gad Kabaku: Last Friday I went on my first hill walk with my class 1.3. We took the bus to Glendalough. It took a while to get there but eventualy we reached our destination. Going to Glendalough I was hoping and looking forward for a challenge.And in the end I was left disappointed. But overall it was a good day.

James Montgomery : I just about made it to the bus at 8.30. The bus ride was an hour's drive to Glendalough.When we got there the shops were closed and it was sunny out. We walked past a small waterfall and the we started to walk uphill. I fell and hurt my knee and there were flies everywhere. When we got to the top we had lunch and then went for a walk across the mountain.One student lost his shoes in the bog but. luckily, he found them. The same student fel in the lake and was soaking. On the bus home I fell asleep67

Linas Stanislas: When we started to climb it was easy but when we went on it started to get harded and harder. There was plenty of mud and some of us fell in it. On the way back, myself ans a few people went into the river but it was not deep.

Nathan Nash: When we went to Glendalough all of us were excited. People were getting tired quickly. After 10 minutes we had to wait for others to catch up with us. After another 5 minutes we had to stop because people fell behind again. At the top there was slushy mud and I lost my phone and another student lost his shoe. We got to a gate and climbed over and asked a man for a lift. We had a great day.

Jake Caldwell: On Friday 11th of September we went hillwalking in the Wicklow mountains. We climbed a steep hill and started climbing the mountains. It took ages to walk back down. On the way back someone (not me) was mooning all the cars going by.

Philip Ward: We went to Wicklow on the bus. When we got there the shops were closed. We went up a mountain right to the top. We sat on top of the mountain having food, then we started going down. One of my runners got stuck in the mud. Then we had to go back down. It was very tiring. Myself and my friend went sliding down on our backsides and he fell. Ha! Ha!.At the bottom I bought an ice-cream and got in the river with my friends. It was cool.

David Hallows : The hillwalk was very hard. There was wet mud, slippy rocks and flies everywhere.My legs were very sore and my feet were killing me. The weather was good, it was really sunny. It was fun and very exciting. I felt very proud and happy with myself. I look forward to the next hillwalk.

Adam Mullen: It was a hot day when we started to climb the mountain. There were streams running down the hill. We saw deer running and grazing near where we were hiking. When we reached the top of the mountain we all felt very proud of ourselves. After we climbed back down, I got an ice-cream and then we all went home.

Lorcan Merriman: Going up the hill was much harder than I expected. It was difficult and the ground was swampy. When we got to the top of the hill I thought we were finished, but we had much further to go. We had to stop often for drinks. My shoes got caught in the mud a good few times but when we were finished it was worth it.

Nathan Kelly: It was very hard walking up the hill. Some people were falling behind so we had to wait for them. I did not see any deer but I did catch a frog and saw some tadpoles. Plenty of students fell going down the hill and we were all laughing. This hillwalk was all part of our P.E. course.

Dan Tam Mathew: On Friday it took us an hour to get to Wicklow by bus. We took our bags from the bus and started with me at the front of the line. But on the way up I was at the back. It was hard. I found the way down hard as well. The road was the longest part of the walk. We had a few breaks but I needed more breaks than the others. I saw a deer, tadpoles, frogs and dog prints.

Johnry Simbulan: When we got to Glendalough I felt both nervous and excited. We climbed the big mountain. It was hard but enjoyable as well. Some of us weer so tired we needed many breaks.

 

Reports from a Hill Walk - 2008

 

Three first year students on the recent hill walk	First Year Students on their hill walk	Jamie Mooney of First Year on the recent hill walk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jake Duggan: When we got to Glendalough I could feel the disappointment of the shops being closed. So we started off onto a path heading towards an old mining town which is just a few old bricks and walls. We saw some goats and a few over-excited felows tried to chase them before being stopped by the teachers. At one stage we had a really long walk, walking on sleepers. Before we knew it, we were back at the bus and the shops were open.

Adam Nolan: When people got tired walking, we would stop and have a drink or something to eat. We saw some goats and once we saw a deer in the distance. Near the end of the walk everybody was clapping and cheering.

Curtis Roche: We hiked eight miles up the Wicklow Mountains. This was all part of our P. E. course. Walking down hill was easier. It was very enjoyable and we had good crack on the bus.

Eric Murphy: First we walked through a bit of forest beside a big lake. When we came out there were two mountains forming a valley with a stream fllowing down the middle into a big lake. We walked on and saw deer, goats and sheep on the mountain's side. We walked in a zig-zag path up the mountain and crossed a stream on sleepers. Then we went up even higher on other mountains. When we looked down we realised how high up we really were. We had a great view of the scenery. As we came down the mountain we were singing songs such as "Ole! Ole! Ole!" and "When the Saints go Marching In". Every one had a great time.

John Oladokum: The first walk was easy. Then it started to get harder. We took a break, then we started to walk some more.Walk. Walk. And walk. We took another break. We were all sitting on top of the rocks when we saw deer and wild goats.

Joshua Olaniya: The first part of the walk was fairly easy. Then it got harder and harder.We had to stop to let some goats go by. Some people, including me, drank out of the fresh mountain water. It was very tasty. When we neared the finish we started singing some songs led by Jamie.

Malik Ogungbo: On the way I saw wonderful scenery, rams and goats. The mountain also had some unusual rocks and stones.

Adam Craig: It was a lovely day for walking and the sun was shining. We stopped after about half an hour of walking because some goats had to cross the path. We went on uphill. We stopped at a fast-flowing river and some students started drinking out of it. While I was besdie the river I noticed something small moving; it was a frog. When we moved on we were moving on a wooden platform which we were told stretched all the way from Carlow to Glendalough. It was there to stop people walking on plants and stepping in bog. After about a half an hour walking on the wooden platform, we stopped at a view point. From there we could see a round tower and the two big lakes. It was a great view. Then we left there and started to make our way back to the car park and home.

Leon Mulvaney: When we were hiking we saw plenty of wild life, many sheep and goats. At the top we looked down and saw we were very high.

James O'Dwyer: We were walking on sleepers. When we reached the top of the hill we started to run down on the sleepers. But the teachers stopped us and warned us about the dangers of running. From there, we walked down the sleepers singing some songs.

Patrick Donohue: It was a gorgeous view of the valley on the mountain. It was a great day and really enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

Click on the image (left) for an audio visual slide show of the recent hill walk with photographs taken by Cade Ryan. Read about it in our School News page and in our Hill Walking page.

 

 

 

 

 

Reports from a Hill Walk - 2005

On a dreary Thursday morning, when the rain came pouring down, half of Moyle Park's 1st year students went on a hill walk to Glendalough. Our P E teacher organized it. When we arrived it was raining hard. It was cold and it was dark. We started climbing to the top at 9.00 a.m. All the way up to the top there were sleepers on the ground to prevent people walking on the soil.

We saw the park ranger coming down the hill while we were going up. From the top we could see a brilliant view and the two lakes of Glendalough. We stopped to have lunch a few times. On the way back we crossed a small bridge and went down a steep, rocky incline and a dangerous hill. We went back by an old deserted ruin. We got changed on the bus and got something to eat. Then we headed for Dublin. We were happy to be going home. We were glad to finish the hill walk.

Eamon Maughan 1.5

Thursday morning: 15th of September. It was a horrible day. It was lashing out of the heavens. We were going on a hill walk to Glendalough. We were at the school for 8.15. The bus came at 8.20. We were on the bus for about one hour. When we got off the bus, we started to walk up about 300 steps. Every so often we stopped for a sandwich and a drink. We finally reached the top and after a while we headed back. I felt soaked. We were back at the bus for 2.30. I was hungry. We got changed and got something to eat. Then we headed back. It was a great trip.

Eric McCusker 1.5

One Thursday morning our class went on a hill walk in the Wicklow Mountains. We got on the bus from Dublin at 8.30 and arrived at 9.30. We began to walk up a steep hill and stopped for a rest and to eat some lunch. Many people thought the walk was brilliant but many also thought it was too exhausting. It was raining hard on the day and some people said it was a lot harder to walk in the rain.

Dean Whelan 1.5