Muckcross To Lord Brandons Cottage

  On Sunday 14 July ( Bastille day) Vive la France, the club outing was to Killarney. In Mediterranean type weather we left a town at 08.30. We travelled to Mucross house where we parked up. We headed  for Torc waterfall and continued up the steps, to join the Old Kenmare road. As we were a large group we formed into two smaller groups. The first group then went ahead with the second group to follow after an interval of 10 minutes.  The second group had some navigational issues to find the Kenmare road and after a vigorous work out we eventually got on track.
The sun shone from a cloudless azure sky as we made our way along the valley between Torc and Mangerton, with the Owengarriffe river to our left. Then on to Esknamucky glen between Cromuglan  and  Stumpacommeen mountains. Reaching the junction for Galways bridge we followed the path to Derrycunnihy church by the N71. We rested here and crossed the busy road onto the path for Lord Brandon’s cottage. The path which was formerly a Mass path is down through old oak woods.

It is approximately three kilometers from the Derrycunnihy to the cottage. As you descend there are some great views of the Upper Lake. Finally the path levels off to reach Lord Brandon’s cottage. There isn’t much left of the old cottage and the crumbling tower. But a modern cafe is situated here serving very welcome refreshments... The cottage which belonged to Lord Brandon was probably used as a hunting and fishing lodge , which were the pursuits of the gentry. The tower can still be seen behind the cafe. It has an interesting history. Apparently it was built by Lord Brandon to keep his wife under house arrest... In 1829 he discovered some love letters from Lord Melbourne to his wife. He was a very possessive man and had his wife confined to the house. She complained that she couldn’t get enough air so he commissioned the tower to incarcerate her... The whole scandal hit the courts and became public. Lord Brandon unsuccessful sued Lord Melbourne for  “criminal conversations  “  with his wife. Lord Brandon fled to France to avoid the publicity and died there in 1832. The whole affair didn’t do any harm to Melbourne who went on to become Prime Minister of Britain in 1834. He was a friend and adviser to Queen Victoria. Melbourne went on to have several affairs and was sued unsuccessfully by another irate husband...After refreshments we headed to the lake where three boats were waiting to take us on a magical trip through the Upper lake onto Mucross
lake and finally to  Lough Lein where we disembarked and continued by foot to the car park at Mucross House. The boatman was very informative and pointed out landmarks along the way. Eagles nest, Elephant Rock , old famine houses etc.  The scenery was spectacular with the mountains rising skywards all around.

Reaching the car park headed homewards. There would  be no post walk tea / coffee today. The club BBQ was timed for 18.00 at the Alley Bar...
As we gathered in the Alley the BBQ was in full swing, with a mouthwatering array of food ready.
Burgers, sausages, chicken and kebabs. Salads,  rice and pasta. As if that wasn’t enough there was pavlova, apple tart , trifle and an assortment of other goodies for deserts.....
It was truly a memorable day. The walk the boat trip and the BBQ were top class and enjoyed by everyone....
Thanks to all who helped in anyway. Those who brought food, those who prepared the salads etc. those who organized boats and walk.
Cronin’s butchers who gave an excellent deal on the BBQ food. The Alley Bar and staff. And anyone who helped in anyway.....a special thanks again this year to master chef supreme Cha.

 
 “ After a days walk
      everything has twice it’s usual value “.  .............. G M Trevelyan