Monday, February 27, 2012

Day 33 - County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Posted by Phil Packer
The stunning lake within
Dungannon Park, County Tyrone
Today I walked in the County of Tyrone.  County Tyrone is adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh with its county town being Omagh.  County Fermanagh lays within the historical province of Ulster, and is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland.

Last night, by pure coincidence, I met the parents and family of a young girl who is fighting a battle with leukemia.   A type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts", leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases. In turn, it is part of the even broader group of diseases affecting the blood, bone marrow, heart, and lymphoid system, which are all known as hematological neoplasms. Leukemia can also cause multiple organ failure.

A little bit cold, wet and tired after
finishing my 10  miles in County Tyrone
The family are strong supporters of the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children and today, in 12 locations, the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children urged people to wrap up warm and join them for their annual Winter Woolie Walk. In each location there were walks ranging from two to five miles and registration was £5 for adults and free for children.  All money raised will be used to provide vital support to local children, teenagers and young adults up to the age of twenty-four living with cancer in Northern Ireland.

One of the venues was the Gortin Forest Pollan Trail and this was one of the locations within County Tyrone that I planned to walk at today.

For information, the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children http://www.nicfc.com/ offers practical and emotional support to children, teenagers and young adults aged 0-24 living with cancer as well as their parents, guardians and siblings.

Sika Deer at the Gortin Forest Pollan Trail,
County Tyrone
They also offer support to children and young people whose parent or guardian has cancer.  A sobering fact is that every week in Northern Ireland three children, teenagers or young adults are diagnosed with cancer, leaving three more families to cope with a level of devastation that is almost impossible for most of us to comprehend. As a registered charity, the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for children rely on donations and volunteers in order to continue to deliver their support services exclusively in Northern Ireland.

I was delighted to register for their walk today at the Gortin Forest Pollan Trail http://www.omagh.gov.uk and I joined 120 supporters of the Northern Ireland Cancer Trust for Children up the course of the Pollan Burn as it tumbles down the mountainside.  We walked through the forests of Lodgepole Pine and Sitka Spruce and the views were magnificent and it was a pleasure to walk and talk to the super supporters of this tremendous charity

The coordinator for the day in the County of Tyrone was Ruth and she made me feel very welcome and had organised a great day. I bid a fond farewell to Ruth and the families and then set of for the second half of my day walking at Dungannon Park.

Tough day walking uphill through the
Gortin Forest Pollan Train in County Tyrone
The Park Trail is set amongst the beautiful backdrop of Dungannon Park and within a 70 acre oasis.  The paths surround the mature woodland, beautiful flowerbeds and a magnificent 13 acre freshwater lake. It was a beautiful location to end the day at and my 10 miles in East Tyrone have once again been educational and thoroughly enjoyable.

My best wishes to all the staff, children and families of the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children and if you would like to support them, the link to donate is here; http://www.nicfc.com/donate/

1756 miles to go and I am looking forward to walking 10 miles at Newcastle Promenade, County Down with the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team http://www.mournemrt.org/ tomorrow.

Kind regards,

Phil