13 of us gathered at the car park at the foot of Slieve Croob on Sun 24th Feb for a linear walk to Slieve Croob Inn. It was a fine day, with a manageable breeze and reasonable visibility. David Gordon was leading with his usual good humour and enthusiasm.  This is an easier walk than any of those in the Mournes and also shorter, so you could say that David was breaking us in for the more challenging walks over the spring and summer. We walked up the path to the summit of Croob, with a detour to take in views to the North. On a fine day, you would be able to see Lough Neagh and the Sperrins, but it was misty, and we could only make out Scrabo, Strangford Lough and the Belfast Hills and the city itself.  Croob has at its summit several ugly communication masts, sentinels of the modern age, but the real delight of this mountain, unexceptional and insignificant in itself (in a person, you would call it plain),is the view you get of the entire Mournes range. Put simply, this is one of the best views in Ulster with the mountains disappearing into the Irish Sea at Newcastle.  So, it was such a pleasure to find a spot for our lunch, sheltered from the wind, just below a rock on the eastern side of Croob and this unsurpassed view of the Mournes. David did his usual trick of throwing chocolates bars at us! A good gossip and craic, and we were ready for the off again. As we were preparing to set off down the mountain, several fell runners passed us. As we walked along many others came into view, most stick-like and wearing orange tabards. They were in an orienteering competition and we equipped with charts. We climbed Slievenisky (sounds a bit Russian!), more of a hill than a mountain really. Throughout the rest of our walk, the same marvellous vista was in front of us. The Inn was now in view, and the fell runners were still pouring over the hill sides. It was no time at all ‘til we were down at the Inn for a welcome and restful drink. We had been lucky with the weather, as we have been so far this year.  Thanks to David for organising this walk.

A very enjoyable easy day’s walking started from Killynether Wood on the side of Scrabo Hill, Newtownards in mild but cloudy weather. There were 17 of us setting off through the woods to reach Scrabo Tower. Unfortunately the view from it was limited.  The tower is closed during the winter, but the view even from the base of it must be spectacular. David Gordon had reconnoitred the quarries below the tower. Most of us had never seen the quarries. They really are so spectacular; they are worth a visit on their own. There are north and south quarries out of which stone was quarried for the tower above, the Albert Tower and many of buildings in old Newtownards and the surrounding area. The landscape that greeted us was like something from a cowboy film! After leaving the quarries, we went up to a picnic site for lunch. We were an enthusiastic bunch discussing ways of broadening the appeal of Outnabout, by including more events like picnics and outings.  Time then to go back to the car park for the next delight planned for us by David Gordon, our enthusiastic leader for the day! Many of our party had never been out to Nendrum , a 10thcentury Benedictine monastery site on an island in Strangford Lough, now reached by a number of road causeways. The tide was in and it was not hard to imagine the peace and tranquillity which must have been such a feature of the life of this isolated community. The pub was now beckoning, but before having that drink at Daft Eddys, David had another short walk planned on Scretrick Island. This walk, like the others would have been glorious in sunny clear weather. We then all finished our day with a welcome drink in Daft Eddies. It had been a most enjoyable day, and our thanks go to David for organising it so well.