Round-up of outdoor news by
FRANCIS BRADLEY
October in South Kerry
The fourth South Kerry Geofest (southkerrygeofest.com) will take place over the October bank holiday weekend, in three main centres: Sneem, Cahersiveen and Valentia Island. The three-day programme includes walks of various difficulty (including Carrauntoohil, below), a charity cycle, fishing, arts, cultural and social events. A Halloween party is planned for Saturday night in the Royal Hotel, Valentia. More details from Nicola Duggan on 086-8115976.
Conkers bonkers
The Irish Conker Championships (www.irishconkers championship.com) will take place in Freshford, Co Kilkenny, over the bank holiday weekend. The festival starts on Friday 23rd, and includes non-conker stuff: arts, crafts, barbecue, music, walks and so on. On Saturday, the selection and drilling of the championship conkers takes place. And on Sunday, Ireland’s conker aficionados do battle on the village green. Contact Brenda Cooper on 087-6207882 or Aileen Dooley on 087-9967954.
Orienteering courses
Coillte, in conjunction with Setanta Orienteers, has built new, permanent orienteering courses at the Hell Fire Club and Massy’s Estate, Kilakee, Co Dublin. The course is always open and you can spend as much time as you like figuring out the map and navigating the control points. coillteoutdoors.ie.