By Susan Lambe

What did the cheese say when it looked in the mirror?

Hallooooooooooooo-meeee 😊 #CheeseJokes

But more on that later.

Thirteen BARFlings, one IMC Hut, and the first game of Jenga of the weekend involved parking all the cars without reversing into the stonework.

Mission accomplished, we moved on to a game of Rustic Stepping Stones on the way to dinner. Some soggy socks gained, some pints of plain consumed, some Wicklow IPAs investigated, some tales of Glenmalure history shared, hop-skip-jump-splash back over the stones, and gear ready for the morning’s adventures.

Andrew wasn’t feeling it. The lad never looks sad. He looked sad.

“What’s wrong Andrew?”

All pockets emptied, no key. Turns out, key was currently located some 130 miles north of the locked roofbox containing all his fell running gear. One of BARF’s most goatiest of mountain goats was resigned to a tarmac jog in his road runners. Not ideal.

As Andrew headed off with a headtorch to check the car park for the glint of a key, Steven “You Are My Sunrise, My Only Sunrise” Morgan was all set for his early morning jaunt to the lake. He saved us all the effort of an early alarm call, and Glendalough provided in spades.

The rest of us gradually emerged from our chrysalises (chrysali?) like the magnificent purple butterflies that we are. But what’s this. Young Andrew’s back in smiling mode, brandishing half the contents of the cutlery drawer. “YouTube and two forks” he declares. He’d successfully dismantled the lock mechanism from his roofbox, gear liberated, forks will never be the same again. Game on.

Once breakfasted, the BARF butterflies spread their collective wings and flew. Three separate groups took on the ridge lines and summit of Lugnaquilla. At 925m, Leinster’s high point offers a trig point on a fine stone circlular construction. We were treated to stunning views and strong gusty winds. The 18k gang, with guest appearances by Sam & Pippa, caught up my solo 13k effort just before the summit, which made for excellent group pics.

The 26k mountain goats of Rónán & Andrew caught us up on the descent to Art’s Lough.

After all that exertion, a sunshine-y lunch at the Glenmalure Lodge was well earned by the F(ellrunning) element of BARF.

Meanwhile the R(ockclimbing) element were doing things on cliffs with a clatter of ropes and carabiners, wish I knew what that might have been, I’ve never been there (or tried that) but the photos look nice.

Later, the more buoyant of the BARFers headed to the Upper Lake in Glendalough. A brief but spectacular squall line whipped up the waves, and had onlookers (and Clarke) questioning our sanity, as we stripped off for our swim.

The sheets of rain swept through, the tourists fair galloped towards the car park, and we were left with a hape of ducks for company. After the faintest of rainbows, the clouds left us, the water calmed down, and we were treated to one of the most beautiful swims of the year.

Must be time for more food by now. Sadly no halloooomeeee, but it turns out the overly complicated sauce recipe works perfectly fine with a rake of sausages, burgers, veg-on-skewers and associated paraphernalia. Big thanks to Andrew for hauling the barbecue all the way from North Down; it was very much worth it.

After the One Night Wonders headed back up the road to Belfast, things got physical. Table bouldering was a new one on me, not being of the climbing persuasion. 10/10 would recommend as a spectator sport. Young Eva was easily the most determined, despite being one of the smallest there. Alexa made it look easy, while Rónán’s “long way round” attempt will have generated some interesting bruises.

The under-18s were definite winners of the Mobility Challenges – the adults were more likely to dislocate shoulders with that broom handle, while the kids generally tied themselves in happy knots. Watch out lads, Christine has a new game of contortion already planned for our next outing.

Tabletop Jenga was quickly replaced by the supersized floor version. I was a wee bit concerned that architect Jeff repeatedly brought things down with a crash, but apparently “that’s what structural engineers are for”.

And so to bed.

Our final day was a gift from the weather gods. We scattered into a collection of Arderin-seekers, biking at Ballinastoe, and riffing on the general theme of the Spinc loop (with added bracken). Not much to add, mainly because I was flying solo today, so all I have are the pics, but really what more do you need. Smiles, blue skies, mountains for days.

Aren’t we so fortunate to have all this within easy striking distance of BARF headquarters.

Thank you Andrew for masterminding our adventure. I had an absolute blast. Here’s to the next one.

Enjoy the views. We did.