The owner of the lodge in the early 18th century had been William Conolly, speaker of the Irish House of Commons. A few walkers went inside the building which, we were told, had been a hunting lodge built in 1725 from the stones of a prehistoric cairn that had originally been at the top of the hill. When we reached the Hellfire Club itself, we took a short break. However, it soon leveled out and, with the young scouts from the Balally Scouts Den showing us the way (a few of the more enthusiastic walkers had tried set off on steeper paths), everyone quickly fell into just enjoying the walk and the beautiful views to which we were being treated. Our particular route around the Montpelier Loop might have been categorised as ‘ Moderate-Easy‘ but the slow upward gradient of the first kilometre worried a few walkers that the route might get more taxing.

While the walk might not have necessitated these staffs, they certainly helped those, who used them, to get into the character of being a great explorer for the day! The scouts had brought a variety of staves to help as walking sticks to steady walkers along are way. Before the wind managed to take the banner skyward, we all set off on our invigorating 4k hike. Over 40 individuals, including young volunteers from Scouting Ireland, gathered around the Bloomfield banner in the Hellfire Club carpark before 10am on a windy but sunny Saturday morning (21st September). We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful morning for our first Hellfire & Back sponsored walk. Hellfire & Back raises over €8,500 for Bloomfield residents

To hellfire and back