I am fortunate enough to live a few hundred metres from the Sheep’s Head Way which gives me instant access to a walking route around a beautiful peninsular jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean almost on the South-Westernmost tip of Ireland.
My love of walking also takes me on hikes along other long distance routes in Ireland and the UK and I use this journal to record my hiking experiences at home and away including sketches made en-route or from photographs when I return.
About the sketches
Some of the sketches are completed on site, others are drawn on site and painted later while others are made using photographs as reference after my return home.
While hiking, I carry a small sketchbook and a couple of pens in a waist bag (otherwise known as a ‘Fanny Pack’) but usually not my box of watercolours and brushes because of their weight.
When travelling, I take a larger sketchbook and sometimes use a Pentel brush pen to add tone to line drawings by taking some black watercolour from the tip of a Winsor & Newton watercolour pen.
Update – May 2019
Since completing the Dingle Way in September 2018, my hiking has been curtailed by some persistent minor health issues. An extended family visit to New Zealand provided plenty of short walks but nothing longer than a couple of hours. I do hope to be able to return to New Zealand in 2020 to experience some of their wonderful long distance hiking (aka ‘tramping’) routes.
I have been researching National Trails in Ireland but several of those within reach have no accommodation options on their sections, making a multi-day trip difficult to plan. I have considered camping but it’s more of a pipe dream than a realistic option as I have neither the equipment, experience or physical ability required to survive nights in the Irish landscape and weather, or to carry the extra weight on my back. So, for the time being, it looks as if single day hikes are the best option together with longer recovery times for my ageing limbs.
Update, June 2019
A recent MRI scan of my knee has shown that it has some serious damage so I won’t be hiking for some time while I try to get some physio before considering surgery.