Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more

General => General Chat => Topic started by: Bic on August 30, 2010

Title: Mournes
Post by: Bic on August 30, 2010
....well fantistic day had ...cheers for the suggestions...Bloody Bridge Car Park empty...sun was shining..though a bit claggy up top of Donard....look forward to more on my return in New Year...... :)
Title: Re: Mournes
Post by: ChuckMcB on August 30, 2010
Good stuff...so did you do the loop along the road or the Bloody Bridge up&down?

Quote
look forward to more on my return in New Year
The mountains will be waiting ;)
Title: Re: Mournes
Post by: RedLeader on August 31, 2010
Sounds like a top day out. What does claggy mean?
Title: Re: Mournes
Post by: suspectmonkey on August 31, 2010
What does claggy mean?

Funny you should ask that because in the last week I've come across the words "clagged" and "claggy" for the first time!  I'm reading Hamish's Mountain Walk (first dude to do a continuous circuit of all the Munros) at the moment and he used the word.  It seems to be a word we should have adopted by now because as far as I can gather it describes the Mournes 9/10 trips i.e. clouded in like Binnian on Sunday morning!
Title: Re: Mournes
Post by: ChuckMcB on August 31, 2010
While I was going with the muddy/sticky definition (http://dws-sketch.uk.oup.com/cgi-bin/onlineOde/print_entry.cgi?id=C003967720) of the word:

Code: [Select]
claggy
• adjective Brit. dialect tending to form clots; sticky: claggy mud. 
— origin late 16th cent.: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare with Danish klag ‘sticky mud’

But in context it would have to be pretty bad for the track up the side of Donard to get muddy, so you could well be right with the foggy/cloudy angle...Let's see if Bic explains....
Title: Re: Mournes
Post by: suspectmonkey on September 01, 2010
While I was going with the muddy/sticky definition (http://dws-sketch.uk.oup.com/cgi-bin/onlineOde/print_entry.cgi?id=C003967720) of the word

But in context it would have to be pretty bad for the track up the side of Donard to get muddy, so you could well be right with the foggy/cloudy angle...Let's see if Bic explains....

I went with the Wiktionary definition:

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Noun - clag

1. A glue or paste made from starch.
2. Low cloud, fog or smog.
3. (Railway slang) Unburned carbon (smoke) from a diesel locomotive or multiple unit.

Also came across these references:


Interestingly it would appear that from Scottish Gaelic/Old Irish the word "clag" means to cry or sound, or bell.  Now I'm making serious assumptions, but I'm thinking perhaps the origin of using "clag" as slang for cloudy/foggy has something to do with bells or fog horns in poor conditions?

Any way, link here for Wiktionary.  Sorry for the thread hijack ::) :-X
Title: Re: Mournes
Post by: Bic on September 01, 2010
....yes, done the loop that was suggested and it was as described... in that ...towards Maggies Leap a sign to suggest that you cannot go down the lane, though tbh not well placed, after having walked along the forest path you are more or less committed , anyhow i moved a piece of fencing and cracked on, the road again.... was as suggested and feckin dodgy with the traffic so will not be on that part of the route again.........lol......with regards to claggy.... thats all i have ever known it as.....low cloud/hill fog/mist....