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Made To Move Made To Move provides motivation and training for hiking, navigation and rock climbing. Mountain Skills and Rock Skills courses
(1)

This course is an ideal introduction to poor visibility or night navigation.We are back to the starting point about 2-3 ...
22/10/2026

This course is an ideal introduction to poor visibility or night navigation.
We are back to the starting point about 2-3 hours after sundown.
The course is great fun and you will surprise yourself how relaxing it can be to walk in the hills at night

Wicklow, Laragh/Glendalough
07-08 November
Comeraghs, Co Waterford
21-22 November
19-20 December

Mountain Skills 2 (MS2) builds on the skills learned on MS1 or previous navigation/hiking experience. Map and Compass supplied! A night navigation is a great experience in the mountains and a great confidence builder. Participants get the opportunity to work as a team and as individuals to lead navigation legs.
Using a compass, taking and walking on a bearing and a poor visibility/night navigation are included in the syllabus. Participants get the opportunity to work as a team and as individuals to lead navigation legs. Mountain features and contours are covered in more detail. The skills required to plan and choose an appropriate route are taught including steep ground and general hazard avoidance.
Cost: €150.00 per/person for the two day course.
Map & Compass Supplied.
Contact me and I will send more details about equipment and payment details.
No camping is required on this course.

We don’t hike huge distances and we don’t go very fast, so you don’t have to be super fit.
[email protected] if you have any questions.
Thanks.
Ken

Beautiful weather last weekend for Mountain Skills 2 in The Comeraghs. Lots of stars out in a clear sky. Slightly chilly...
22/10/2026

Beautiful weather last weekend for Mountain Skills 2 in The Comeraghs. Lots of stars out in a clear sky. Slightly chilly at times but we warmed up quickly as we navigated about finding some pretty small features. Everyone was well able to manage themselves and came well wrapped up. We even had some more (think col or saddle) Day two was all about magnetic declination and steep ground. We planned a small route including some steep ground. Should we keep going or turn back? If you have a simple process it’s usually easy to decide. Do we have to do this? We are just going for a hike! What is steep ground?
Lots of great assessing going on. It’s good to hear people ask about Mountain Leader and Low Land Leader and also hear plans of careers in the outdoors. There are so many options now with los of great courses and different path ways. Go for it!















It was a tough couple of days on MS1 at the weekend. The forecast was for a few showers but it remained wet both days wi...
14/10/2026

It was a tough couple of days on MS1 at the weekend. The forecast was for a few showers but it remained wet both days with some gusts. It is always difficult to learn while you are struggling to stay dry and warm but everybody did well and kept going. If you can navigate and manage yourself in those conditions then you shouldn't be too worried about getting outdoors when the weather isn’t optimal. As usual we packed a lot into a short distance. Despite the rain we had a good look at all the berries around with the blackthorn bushes full of sloes we had a chat about sloe gin (for medicinal purposes of course). Learning how to fold and carry the map in difficult conditions makes a lot of sense and having the right gear is a help on wet days, a group shelter and a matt to sit on are great to keep you off the wet cold ground and they are worthwhile carrying.
There was a bit of colour to brighten up the dull weather with some great nail polish brightening up the wet gear for my photos!!
Some members of Youghal Scouts were along working on navigation skills and perhaps up-skilling. It’s always good to see the amount of volunteering that goes on in Ireland. Mountain Meithal, Scouts, Mountain Rescue etc all are volunteer based organisations. Going out on wet windy days to train so you can be better and safer for the groups you are helping is not something we should take for granted.












It’s great to see a bit of sibling rivalry going on, even if they’re not all siblings. I had an early intervention from ...
06/10/2026

It’s great to see a bit of sibling rivalry going on, even if they’re not all siblings. I had an early intervention from a randomer asking for directions, he made his hike sound so good the lads were ready to go with him and leave me standing but they decided to stay when I told them about the coffee and buns I had ordered via drone delivery on the hillside!! 😂😂
It was a small but motivated group and we got to grips with pacing and contours quickly. The two days were entertaining to say the least with some great weather and another meeting with Mountain Meitheal. I warned them about making the paths to obvious and spoiling my fun…and they gave me a free bun!!😋
It’s all about building confidence and then putting the skills into practise, we found everything we were looking for, including some things we weren’t looking for, like big holes! But enough about that.
Everybody headed off feeling like they were looking at the landscape in a new way and hopefully the lads get to put their new skills to the test soon. Thank for coming along.

Next available date for MS1 in Wicklow is 05-06 December
Next MS2 is 07-08 November in Wicklow














It’s fair to say the maps I use take a bit of a beating. They are folded in the same spot hundreds of times, out in all ...
02/10/2026

It’s fair to say the maps I use take a bit of a beating. They are folded in the same spot hundreds of times, out in all sorts of bad weather, are dropped, stuffed, lost, found, sat on and even carefully cared for on occasion. But eventually they wear and I order more. The latest delivery just arrived from EastWest Mapping along with Barry Dalby’s book ‘Map Man’ which is signed by the author no less! The book is a must have, I don’t know why I waited so long to get it, I’m immediately looking forward to reading about the ‘False Teeth’ in the Blackstairs!!
The amount of details on the maps are great for my courses and this time Barry sent me a copy of his “Wild Nephin” map, covering Ballycroy National Park, Co. Mayo. The area is well worth a visit and has some very accessible routes for all levels of hikers and navigators. I was also sent a ‘Brandon Hill’ map, close to Graignamanagh, Co. Kilkenny. It's format would be great for local walkers and school groups that want to dip their toes into navigation. Check out the EastWest Mapping website for more details.
Thanks for the quick delivery Barry.









Build your skills and confidence and learn to use a map and compass. We meet in Glendalough and have a great couple of d...
02/10/2026

Build your skills and confidence and learn to use a map and compass. We meet in Glendalough and have a great couple of days covering the fundamentals of navigation and then on day two we plan a hike using our new skills.
Mountain Skills 1 in Wicklow is a relaxed course suitable for people who want to hike and navigate with confidence. We don’t hike far or fast and we spend lots of time observing and chatting. I supply a map and compass for each participant so come along and have a new experience.
Book early.

Wicklow Dates:
03-04 October
31 Oct-01 Nov
05-06 Dec

€150.00 per person. Saturday and Sunday. 9.30am-5.00pm approximately, both days.
Map & Compass supplied.














Always great to see people develop skills quickly and have a clear idea of what they want to learn. Day one covered all ...
29/09/2026

Always great to see people develop skills quickly and have a clear idea of what they want to learn. Day one covered all the fundamentals with day two starting a bit late due to the heavy rain but we got there in the end with some great top and bottom rope systems being built. …and we ended the day in sunshine.
Lots and lots of questions and lots of gear placed…some dubious and some great, but thats what the course is for. Being able to identify badly placed gear is as important as being able to place good gear.
We gave a few routes a go despite a bit of damp rock. I like to get people climbing on their own anchors. It’s always a confidence builder. There were a few good climbing moves being made too!!
Thats it for Rock Skills till next year I think, there are some dates in the 2027 calendar already!!
Thanks to everyone who came along this year, hopefully you all keep climbing and enjoying yourselves outdoors.







I learn so much on Mountain Skills courses.What is the phrase 'a round circle’ an example of? Tautology (saying the same...
22/09/2026

I learn so much on Mountain Skills courses.
What is the phrase 'a round circle’ an example of? Tautology (saying the same thing twice or needless repetition)
What’s the difference between a steam and a river? You can’t paddle a canoe down a stream! 🧐 (fair enough)
What shape does a col or saddle make? It’s a Pringle!!… not the cheap knock off flat ones but the quality ones with the dip, up on opposite sides and down on opposite sides.

Last weekend deservers at least two posts if not more. There was so much going on!! The best thing about Mountain Skills is getting people together and having a great couple of days out, and last weekend ticked all the boxes. Great weather, lots of good humour, everyone developing their skills in their own way, building on their own strengths. I had Helen along as an observer, needless to say I had her give a few navigation legs and do a bit of work…why work when I can just sit back and enjoy the sunshine.
We covered all the syllabus…I was under pressure a bit due to lots and lots of questions. You know the course is working when people start discussing the map and feature amongst themselves and looking for things. And we had great chats with some of the locals (I might do another post on that one)
Thanks to Everyone who came along and good luck on the ML assessment Helen.








Super short trip to Wales recently with the Irish Mountaineering Club. Multipitch, scrambling and a bit of sport climbin...
15/09/2026

Super short trip to Wales recently with the Irish Mountaineering Club. Multipitch, scrambling and a bit of sport climbing. All while watching the weather and we were so lucky to avoid showers, we got lots done.
Great routes, great pizza and so much climbing in such a small area. We stayed in hut in Llanberis pass, thanks to them for hosting us. We looked out our window every morning to check the weather and look across the road to pick routes to climb on in the future. Such a great location.
Thanks to everyone for the cooking, the cleaning, the laughs, the discussions about crampons, the driving, the shopping and of course the climbing.
I’m free mid week in October if anyone wants to go again…crampons not included!!






This course is an ideal introduction to poor visibility or night navigation.We are back to the starting point about 2-3 ...
10/09/2026

This course is an ideal introduction to poor visibility or night navigation.
We are back to the starting point about 2-3 hours after sundown.
The course is great fun and you will surprise yourself how relaxing it can be to walk in the hills at night

Wicklow, Laragh/Glendalough
07-08 November
12-13 December

Comeraghs, Co Waterford
17-18 October
21-22 November
19-20 December
Mountain Skills 2 (MS2) builds on the skills learned on MS1 or previous navigation/hiking experience. Map and Compass supplied! A night navigation is a great experience in the mountains and a great confidence builder. Participants get the opportunity to work as a team and as individuals to lead navigation legs.
Using a compass, taking and walking on a bearing and a poor visibility/night navigation are included in the syllabus. Participants get the opportunity to work as a team and as individuals to lead navigation legs. Mountain features and contours are covered in more detail. The skills required to plan and choose an appropriate route are taught including steep ground and general hazard avoidance.
Cost: €150.00 per/person for the two day course.
Map & Compass Supplied.
Contact me and I will send more details about equipment and payment details.
No camping is required on this course.

We don’t hike huge distances and we don’t go very fast, so you don’t have to be super fit.
[email protected] if you have any questions.
Thanks.
Ken

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Kilkenny

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