Ireland day 1383. Saturday 12 July 2025- Air Crash Recce

Today’s summary	Val did a park run first thing and podiumed again. Meanwhile I drove down to Glenmalure to recce a walk round Table Mountain and Conavalla I’m leading next weekend. Nice to be out in the hills when it wasn’t cold wet windy and foggy. Managed to find the 1957 Provost air crash site. Really enjoyed it but felt very tired at the end. Probably because still recovering from last weeks upset stomach. Watched some more tennis in the evening and had salad for dinner.
Today’s weather	Warm dry and sunny all day. Light south easterly wind. Appx 25c.

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Table Provost air crash site Conavalla recce

Commentary

Eastern Ireland (in contrast to Tory Island!) seems to be enjoying an unprecedented spell of good weather at the moment. So the conditions were ideal for Val’s sixth park run this morning (she podiumed again!) and for my walk in the Wicklow Hills.

I’m leading a route round Glenmalure for the Club next Saturday so today, with good weather in prospect for once, seemed like an ideal opportunity to go and recce it.

As a result of our various sporty commitments, both Val and I were away early this morning. I was on the road by 8:30, with Val heading over to the Demesne shortly after.

I arrived at the Barravore car park just before 10am and was off walking just a couple of minutes later. It was busy up there, and the car park was almost full even at this early hour. The sunshine had brought out the hordes and people were camping by the river all the way up the Glenmalure valley.

But I very rapidly left the crowds behind and once I was a couple of hundred meters away from the car park, I don’t think I saw anyone else, except in the far distance, all the way round until right at the end.

It was a very good route, up the Miners Track to Table Mountain, then a pathless walk down the slopes in the general direction of Conavalla. Along the way, I managed to locate the tragic site of the the 1957 Provost air crash. Something I’d been wanting to do for some time.

I carried on through the peat hags, and eventually made it to the summit of Conavalla after almost two hours of slog. At least it wasn’t too wet underfoot – though some sections were still deceptively boggy.

Once on the top (which really is quite featureless), I had my lunch and to my amazement I actually briefly fell asleep in the sunshine afterwards.

From there, it was a fairly straightforward plod back down to Glenmalure and the car park, completing the loop. But for the walk next Saturday, I think I will skip the “short cut” straight down the valley slope direct back to the miners’ track. I tried it out today and although it was quick, and did save a couple of km at least, it seemed to have just too much ankle-breaking potential to make it worthwhile.

I was back at the car just before 4pm. So it was quite a challenging walk – and it took me longer than I had expected. I also felt a lot more tired than I usually do. My upset stomach on Tory Island last week (I lost 5kg in weight, incidentally) must have taken more out of me than I realised at the time.

It was a straightforward drive back, and I was in the flat well before 6pm. I joined Val in watching the highlights of the women’s tennis final at Wimbledon (a disappointing match, over in just two 6-0 sets). The we had salad and a beer for dinner. Next I really think I need a good shower, and an early night!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Setting off from the ford by the Barravore car park. Note the sun-protecting headgear. Never needed it in Ireland before!	Plaque in memory of the Provost pilot who tragically lost his life here in 1957

The summit of Conavalla. Not a lot to see, though with clear weather like there was today, there were good 360 degree views of the surrounding hills.	Lunchtime! An action shot. I actually fell asleep here shortly afterwards. Zzzzz.

The “shortcut” route I took back down into the Glenmalure valley was indeed short, but not particularly easy	I’m not sure you’re really supposed to camp by the river in Glenmalure, but lots of people were doing so today. Safety in numbers, I suppose. And the weather was exceptionally nice.

Air crash site – a lonely spot, and it’s easy to understand how the pilot got disorientated when flying low, in fog