Hidden Huntley Experience I’d been saving up the Hidden Huntley experience with Walk it Off NI as a post lockdown treat forever, and this along with tickets to Paddy Raff and the thought of my first shopping trip for clothes in more than a year, provided me plenty of happy daydreams to keep... read moreI’d been saving up the Hidden Huntley experience with Walk it Off NI as a post lockdown treat forever, and this along with tickets to Paddy Raff and the thought of my first shopping trip for clothes in more than a year, provided me plenty of happy daydreams to keep me going through the time-warping spring and summer of pandemic year 2.0.
It was a time when, like many, I gained a renewed appreciation of being outdoors in nature. Whilst there was a touch of cliché about it in my case (growing veg in the backyard etc…!) it seemed to me that Nikki from Walk It Off NI had caught the mood with her passion for harnessing the simple joy of walking and absorbing the beauty of our surroundings. To add to the attraction, the Walk It Off NI Hidden Huntley tour included an al fresco artisan lunch to end the afternoon, in the Victorian walled garden of a former linen house on the outskirts of Dunmurry. I booked for mid-September, always a beautiful time when the light is at its most vivid.
Our meeting point was a picnic table under a canopy of leaves just beginning to take on their autumn colours near The Stables café in Lady Dixon park. We had lucked out with the weather which was bright and dry, with just enough end of summer heat to take the chill off the air. Nikki immediately put us at ease with introductions. Although like many natives of Belfast I’ve been to Lady Dixon manys a time, as we got underway and set off towards the walled garden I began to realise that walking the familiar paths with Nikki added a whole new dimension. I learned about the history of the linen families who had originally owned the land, then bequethed it to Belfast City Council for the benefit of the citizens, something I must admit I had not appreciated before! As well as sharing her knowledge of the local heritage, Nikki ensured we also had time to chat amongst ourselves or just walk along in companionable silence. She is true to her motto – your time, your place, your pace!
The walk was well-adjusted to the fitness level of the group and as we were all fairly active we were able to tackle a few steep treks on our walk. At the top of one incline we emerged panting from the trees and were rewarded with a panoramic view down over the rolling hills of…..? (none of us could pinpoint the name of the toytown of green fields criss-crossed with hedges that unfolded majestically in the distance…somewhere on the way to Lisburn we reckoned!)
I would describe the heart of the Walk If Off NI experience as one of seeing your surroundings with new eyes, and appreciating the knowledge of others to bring little details alive, whether it was tips on which of those plate sized mushrooms growing out of a tree trunk it would be safe to eat, or the unexpected scent of needles rubbed between the fingers as we stopped to admire the elegant fir trees fringing our path – fruit gums? Pear drops….? Not the smell of pine anyway all were agreed. In the rose garden, tips were traded by the keen gardeners among us, then for the last leg of the walk Nikki led us off the beaten track and along a woodland path I’d never come across before. It was an added bonus of the day to discover new and unknown routes for future walks.
We made our way out of the park and headed down Dunmurry Lane towards our final destination, ‘Hidden Huntley’, a charming cream-coloured country house set in its own grounds, where we were to have a gourmet lunch made from home-grown ingredients. Our hostess, Antonia Malcolm, greeted us at the gate and led us around the grounds to the walled garden which we entered through a perfectly preserved covered gateway complete with old tools hung on the walls and cobbles underfoot. We made our way into an airy greenhouse and set to filling our plates at a leisurely pace from the lovely buffet laid out for us. Along each side ran wooden shelves stacked with jars and labels. Jam-making was definitely in the offing!
Antonia seated us at a table in the afternoon sun. Behind us the garden wall was laden with ripening pears. Across the lawn windfalls dotted the grass under mossy apple trees. Both fruits made an appearance after a delicious main course of pate, salad and breads, in the form of a choice of two truly unforgettable tarts. It would have been rude not to have a slice of each! As we enjoyed the scrumptious spread, Dilly, a little dote of a terrier, meandered under the table doing a great job hoovering up any crumbs. It was only as we chatted over lunch that I realised several of the group had come together on a birthday outing. It was testament I felt to the easy spirit of camaraderie created by Nikki that whether you came alone or with others, a Walk It Off NI walking tour is very much a shared experience. The afternoon came to an end with a relaxed wander around the garden, coffee in hand, admiring the many little corners seemingly unchanged in 100 years, with some taking the chance to buy a pot of Antonia’s homemade jam and others looking up particularly unusual plants on their apps.
Nikki is full of interesting gems to share about the countryside that we are lucky enough to have right on our doorstep and really brings it alive. I feel sure she gathers more nuggets each time to share with future walkers! All in all, the Hidden Huntley experience was a treat for the senses that left me feeling refreshed and educated me in how much enjoyment there can be in seeing the world around me with new eyes.
read less - Caroline Clarke
