Synopsis for Episode 4: Lower Bann Presenter: Anna Geary
This episode of Tracks and Trails is presented by Anna Geary who captained the Cork team to win the All Ireland Camogie championship. Anna walks and kayaks on this journey which starts at the top of Lough Neagh at Toome in Co. Antrim. In total this trip is 60km long but in fact it will comprise three different journeys. The first is from the top of Lough Neagh and the second is a short journey away to Bellaghy in Co. Derry, where Anna diverts to see the Seamus Heaney Home Place.
From there she travels to Portna where she will walk and kayak and finally she will take a route through the woods at Mountsandel near Coleraine. For the more adventurous this whole journey can be done in one straight run with a combination of walking, cycling and even kayaking.
On this route Anna leaves the northern most tip of Lough Neagh, the largest lake in Ireland and follows along a stretch of water just outside the town of Toome which over the last few years has become well known for the opening sequence of ‘Game of Thrones’. Near Toome Anna first meets Una Johnston who grew up in this area and then she visits a fisherman’s co-op famous for its wild eels.
From there Anna jumps ahead on the trail some 8km to Bellaghy to visit Seamus Heaney’s HomePlace Museum which is dedicated to the poet’s life. 20km away Anna picks up the trail at Hutchinson’s Quay and here the walk is along the banks of the Lower Bann River which is the longest river in Northern Ireland. It is divided into the Upper Bann and Lower Bann; Lough Neagh is the divider between the two. Anna is walking the Lower Bann which runs from Lough Neagh all the way to Barmouth north of Coleraine.
This section of trail runs alongside the river from Hutchinson’s Quay all the way to Portna Locks where the gates are made for the locks. Bradden Baillie hand makes the wooden spars for the locks on the canal and river and it is an artisan’s craft which Anna investigates.
After leaving Portna this part of Anna’s trail can be cycled along the main road or as Anna is doing, via kayak. At the kayak centre, local kayaker Chris Scott is Anna’s guide for the day, this excursion takes Anna from Portna to Movanagher, it’s only five kilometres but it is peaceful and scenic. The next and final stage of this journey is 20km away in Coleraine. It is the largest town Anna will encounter and it is near the mouth of the river Bann. Anna will finish her walk in Coleraine’s nearby Mountsandel woods and fort.