Five boys from 2nd Ahoghill Company Section overcame dense fog and constant rain as they completed a two day expedition to Carnlough.
The expedition began on Thursday evening as we walked north from the Longmore Road towards Quolie Reservoir, before heading east to set up camp for the night near Cleggan Forest. We were joined by Josh, a former member, and Charlie, a friend of one of our senior boys.
After eating our fill of sausages, we settled down inside our sleeping bags and under our tarps just as the rain started to fall around midnight.
Friday
Unfortunately Josh and Charlie were unable to stay for the hike into Carnlough, and headed back home on Friday morning. The three remaining older boys set off towards the summit of Collin Top, leaving the two younger boys and leaders to pack up camp. Instead of climbing Collin Top, the second group cut through a tree break to reach the north-east side of Cleggan Forest to meet up with the senior boys, before heading east down the valley towards Carnlough.
The thick fog made navigation more of a challenge, but wasn’t enough to stop our progress. However the bull we encountered on a farmer’s lane was, and we adjusted our route accordingly. As we got closer to sea level, the rain eased off and the fog cleared allowing us to appreciate the beautiful landscape which had previously been obscured.
We arrived in Carnlough around 4pm, and decided to treat ourselves to a customary ice cream by the sea while we waited to be picked up.
Many thanks to Joshua Loughridge, Mark Lyttle and Alan Clarke for their help with transport before and after the expedition.
