Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Information => Introductions => Topic started by: FlyFishing on August 27, 2010
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It was great to find this site dedicated to the outdoors in Northern Ireland! I was born in N. Ireland, but emigrated to Canada with my parents when I was a child. I returned for visits when I was younger and enjoyed very much fishing some of the rivers "me da" used to fish in County Antrim.
I was back for a visit three years ago and enjoyed a fantastic day on the Six Mile Water River with Stevie Munn - and wished I could have stayed longer to enjoy some of the other hiking and walking activities I used to do.
Hopefully I'll be able to get back "home" again soon.
Looking forward to reading more here and learning about what is going on in the "Northern Ireland Wild!" :)
Ian Scott
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Hello and welcome :-) next time you are over I'm sure we could organise a night in the hills with Niwild .
On a more personal note the family and I are looking into moving to Canada so maybe when we visit you can take me into those wee hills somewhere over there :-)
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Thanks for the reply, Andy!
I have some special memories of hiking through the Mourne Mountains. One of those memories involves my mother taking out a roll of toilet paper for some odd reason (we were never quite sure why). The breeze caught the roll, unfurled it, and we watched as this entire length of the roll, all straightened out, went up and over the mountain.
A night in the hills sounds great! I do a lot of camping here in Ontario - we've actually got some extra trees around here - and lots of them - so crackling fires are enjoyed even on very warm evenings.
What part of Canada are you looking at, Andy? Funny... seems many from Ireland want to leave, and those of us who have can't wait to get back! :)
Ian Scott
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Lol my son had the same experince on his first wild camp number 2 on the coast of Donegal the look on his face will stay with me forever , the will I quit what I'm doing and run after it or the stick to what I'm doing with the look of panic in my direction :-)
Not sure where exactly yet but I like the sound of the east coast but the wife likes the west coast (north tooooo cold ) I will be following the wife as her job is the main reason we can choose . I have two young boys and all I want is a coastal life and better lifestyle for them
I know if I had the choice I would miss this small place called home and move to Donegal but life ain't fair :-( but Canada sounds perfect .. New zeland we liked but it's just to bloody far away . Where would you recommend living in Canada ??
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Lol my son had the same experince on his first wild camp number 2 on the coast of Donegal the look on his face will stay with me forever , the will I quit what I'm doing and run after it or the stick to what I'm doing with the look of panic in my direction :-)
LOL! I can imagine!
That's another place I want to visit again. Years ago, I purchased a beautiful Aran sweater from an old lady who knit it, in Donegal. But my first wife went and shrunk it. Funny.. it fit her perfectly after that. I need another one.
Not sure where exactly yet but I like the sound of the east coast but the wife likes the west coast (north tooooo cold ) I will be following the wife as her job is the main reason we can choose . I have two young boys and all I want is a coastal life and better lifestyle for them
I know if I had the choice I would miss this small place called home and move to Donegal but life ain't fair :-( but Canada sounds perfect .. New zeland we liked but it's just to bloody far away . Where would you recommend living ??
Ah... Canada is a massive country! I remember years ago, hearing from N. Ireland friends and acquaintances, "Och, yer lvin' in Canada now. Have ye run into soandso whos in Calgary?" not realizing that the distance between Calgary and the Toronto area is about half or more of the distance from Toronto to Belfast! :)
I've not visited the East coast myself but am planning a trip to Cape Breton next year on account of that is where my girlfriend is from. The east coast is quite like Ireland and Scotland in both geography and culture in many ways.
The west coast (British Columbia) has weather very similar to N. Ireland. Very little snow in Vancouver, mild winters, lots of rain. The East Coast can have some brutal winters with snow. Here in Southern Ontario, it can be hot and humid in the summer, and very snowy in the winter. My father once wrote a poem after emigrating about how much he hated the winters here. It's funny because N. Ireland is so far north, yet is much milder than here in southern Ontario.
I'm partial to Ontario myself - although it's not coastal, we have lots and lots of lakes, rivers, and places to get away, while the economy in this part is not so dependent on just one or two industries. The town I live in is an hour drive to Toronto, yet I can go five minutes out of town in any direction and be in the bush, on a river, on some rainbow trout ponds, or 20 minutes at a campsite.
Let me know if you have any more questions! And I'll look forward to that night in the hills :)
Ian Scott
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Will do on the questions :-) will let the boss read your replies
The night on the hills under the mourn drizzle awaits you :-)))))))
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Very good and thank you!
I really can hardly wait to get back. When I was there three years ago, I was shocked at the changes! But it was still beautiful although far more tourists than I remembered from previous trips. The Antrim Coast Road was almost as bad as the 401 highway here! Well... not quite, but it sure seemed busy!
I also visited one of the "cottages" my dad lived in when he was a boy, outside of Lisburn. It's name is "Mourne View." You can see the Mournes from that cottage too. New owners... nearly died when I heard the price they paid, vs. what it was worth 20 or 30 years ago!!
The old goat, that was up the lane that my granda used to take me for walks along up to milk the goat is no longer there either, heh.
Good to make your acquaintance, Andy.
Ian Scott
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Welcome Ian
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Hello and welcome mate.
Canada s a great country, i have family living in Toronto.
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hi bro
welcome to the site, remember to post up details and pictures of your days out in canada!
Me and a few mates visited BC years and years ago, but the place always stays with me its so scenic, i def will go back 1 day to get a proper trip through the woods get in a load of canoing and wild camping, I have load of family in toronto also they keep at me to visit some day that will happen also
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Thank you all, for your welcomes. Much appreciated. This is a friendly place!
MG1 - Canada is a great place but there's nothing like "home!" :)
NeilB - Can I post photos here? I'll have a look around my control panel and see what I can figure out. I have some photos of some of the fly fishing adventures I've been on, on my own website. BC is beautiful! I've been there a couple of times but didn't get much into the interior. Perhaps someday. But I'd really like to get back to N. Ireland first! A few years ago, there were some insanely inexpensive flights between Toronto and Belfast but they don't seem to offer them anymore.
Ian Scott
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Hi Ian, welcome to the forum!
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Thank you, SuspectMonkey! Interesting nick you have there. Hehe.
Ian