Seeking solitude on Mullaghmore

I set out to hike Mullaghmore to catch a glimpse of what it is like to climb mountains back home - the immense unspoiled vastness, a sense of peace and quiet; solitude.

I did not quite find it.

The limestone of Ireland, the granite of Namibia.

It is a warm summer’s afternoon when we make our way towards the folded limestone hill and just as the burst of warmth has brought all the little flies they call ‘midgets’ in Ireland out, it has encouraged many walkers to swarm out and enjoy the sunshine.

The occasional “howya” said in passing is returned by those descending Mullaghmore’s top and I am surprised that even this moderately easy hike sees avid tourists with full hiking gear and walking sticks striding by as if they were marching in the Alps.

We take a halfway break and look down at the scenery.

I cannot enjoy it as much as I thought I would, as the many houses that spread over the land, the roads, cars and the incessant sound of a tractor working the fields is distracting me.

I yearn silence. I feel the urge to sit, not say a word, not hear a human sound and be with my own thoughts.

I don’t get it and we continue our walk to the summit.

I keep my eyes pointed towards the mountains on the North, where the limestone stands untouched, unfarmed and, for European standards, unspoiled. Maybe another day I will venture further into those hills and continue seeking solitude, but for today the cards are dealt.

We make our way back to where we started and I throw a last look at Mullaghmore. At times I imagine a presence in mountains, a recollection of the past, and I wonder if Mullaghmore misses the solitude it must have once known as much as I yearn for it now.

I wonder if me constantly looking to feel the same feeling of freedom that I know from home is forming a barrier between me and happiness. For are we not supposed to appreciate and accept different places for what they are?

But those thoughts are fleeting, because deep down I have a feeling that if I continue to seek places of solitude, no matter where I am, I will find landscapes of greatness. Solitude fills voids within us and sets us free. It is the most beautiful sensation I know. It is better than happiness.

So I turn my back on Mullaghmore today and will continue searching for solitude tomorrow. And the day after. And hopefully for the rest of my life.

I cannot wait to see where it will lead me.

The epitome of freedom.