Spence's Mountain

The townland of Glasdrumman, where Spence's River flows gently down to the sea, is close to Annalong, a small fishing village in County Down.

The popular seaside resort of Newcastle is several miles further north. Spence's Mountain itself skirts a section of the famous Mourne Wall.

My [late] uncle and aunt have a lovely cottage in this vicinity, which commands a splendid prospect.

You couldn't really wish for a finer setting: forest, mountains, a lovely river, wildlife. The scenery is spectacular.

There's an old, disused quarry higher up the mountain with its very own natural swimming-pool. I often swam here on fine summer days.

This was the location of a terrible tragedy on Saturday, 1st June, 2013.

My uncle had an admirable organic vegetable garden adjacent to the cottage, where a large variety of fruit and vegetables thrived. Comfrey was mainly used as compost.

I've been visiting this part of the Mourne Mountains for a large part of my life.

There are several pictures of me, as a baby, being held outside my uncle's first cottage at the other side of the river. Surnames such as Newell and Burdon are familiar to me.