Season of Mushrooms

Mushroom Family


A week or so ago I continued my journey around the Ulster Way. Starting from the lonesome Starbog Road on a dullish Friday afternoon. I had to lift Tess over stiles at first something she hates. Whenever we came to a wall or stile later on she made sure she jumped over herself!
The Way led across soggy bogland with views over Larne Lough. I had a moment of trepidation in one place when I saw a field of cows and what looked like bulls. We skirted gingerly around this field. None of the bovines paid us the slightest heed.
We passed a soggy boreen on our way to Sallagh Braes. Sallagh overlooks the North Channel and the town of Ballygally. It is a semi-circular cliff-face. Looking down I had the impression of a giant amphitheatre. Smoke rose from a farmer's bonfire. Undulations in the land evoked thoughts of burial mounds and ancient settlements. The area was one of the first settled in Ireland by all accounts. A little further on is Linford Ancient Site - a place which still has to give up its secrets to archaologists.
This is autumn and the fields were filled with mushrooms of all types including the infamous psilocybin or 'magic mushroom'. If I were twenty years younger I might have picked and dried these beauties!
We walked for about three hours passing a natural rock formation dimly reminding me of the sphinx.