After a couple of days of doing nothing but eating, sitting around, playing board games and having some nice family time I decided to push myself a little and walk up the Mournes.
The weather forecast was clear skies and near freezing temperatures. I wanted to see a location I had visited during one of my Summers over here; "the devil's coach road".
I love this type of dramatic name, which is very appropriate for the huge gully that runs down from the summit of Slieve Beg.
This was the end of my hike and I hardly took any pictures due to the strong winds, intense fog and icy slopes. I was happy enough to do some good exercise and enjoy the high Mournes but I also enjoy capturing some of those beautiful scenes the Mournes has to offer.
The fog was very intense but luckily on my way back from the Devi's coach road there was a brief opening which let me see some delicate light over the beautiful Annalong Valley.
I was already starting my descend and realised the ice was making things very difficult for me. I only fell once but could have fallen many times. It was extremely slippery and dangerous. It took me longer to go down than climb up since I had to watch every step I was taking. Someone not so lucky had a fall on the path and got a nasty injury.
I continued my way down and took a few more pictures but the conditions were not ideal for photography. I really enjoyed my walk though. I like pushing myself physically and after a few days of comfort it felt great to be up there in the cold, lonely and beautiful high Mournes.
Some people struggling not to slip on the icy slopes
