Walking in Mulrany
You can begin to deal with Christmas excess by joining a walking weekend in Mulrany, Co Mayo, on January 29th and 30th. Overlooking Clew Bay on the south face of the Nephin Beg mountain range, Saturday’s walk is an 18km loop on boreens and mountain tracks; Sunday’s is a nine-kilometre costal heritage walk. The cost is €169pps (no single supplement), which includes bed and breakfast, one dinner, two packed lunches and the two guided walks. 098-36000, mulrannyparkhotel.ie.
Aherlow festival
There is a new addition to the national walking-events calendar with Glen of Aherlow Winter Walking Festival, from January 29th to 31st. Led by experienced guides from Galtee Walking Club, the three walks on Saturday will be graded easy, moderate and difficult; Sunday’s walk offers a long or short option across Slievenamuck. Local hotels are offering weekend deals with prices of €75-€99 for two nights’ B&B with one dinner. 062-56331, 086-8314443, aherlow.com.
Birdwatching course
The second term of a course on birdwatching starts at People’s College, on Parnell Square in Dublin, on January 20th. It puts an emphasis on spring and summer birds, and aims to give you the skills and techniques to identify the birds of Ireland. The course will close with a four-hour field trip to Kilcoole, in Co Wicklow, to look for the first of the spring migrants and search for seabirds. 01-8735879, peoplescollege.ie.