大象传媒

At the foot of the Mourne Mountains with the sea at his back and the flanks of Slieve Donard rising almost straight from the shore, Horatio Clare sets out on his second of four ascents of the great peaks of the United Kingdom, as Northern Ireland鈥檚 highest peak swirls in a mixture of cloud and sunlight.

Having travelled on the ancient sea road from Scotland to Northern Ireland, the relationship between the high points of the west coast archipelago of the British Isles becomes apparent - with hills of Galloway talking to those of the Mournes talking to those of Cumbria and Wales.

Exploring the stories, myths and legends of Patrick, Donard and Boirche, Slieve Donard, a conical up thrust of granite, is at one moment calm and kind and the next being beaten by screaming winds - the granite coloured sky and mist torn with streaks of sun which play over the emerald slopes.

Horatio takes delight in the minute details of the walk 鈥� grasshoppers, butterflies and glinting granite crystals - as well as conveying the grandeur and enormity of this mighty mountain.

At the summit shrouded by a sea of cloud, the wind howls, yet suddenly and amazingly, fleeting crystal clear images of the country below appear as gulfs of clear sky swoop over the mountain.

This is the second of four programmes for Christmas 2021 in which Horatio Clare travels to the four highest peaks of the four UK nations. Climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland, Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland, Scafell Pike in England and Snowdon in Wales, he sets out on an epic journey up the monolithic titans to take the temperature of this particular moment in time and our relationship with the outdoors.

Approaching the dozing giants, not in an athletic spirit of conquest but in a spirit investigation and curiosity, he arrives at the foot of each of them with no preconceptions, but with an open mind in the hope of climbing to the attic of each country and looking through the skylight to see how they talk to each other and how they talk to us.

Hearing the birds, smelling the fresh air, being shrouded by mist and cloud whilst also soaking up the light, shades and colours, with long periods of carefully recorded atmosphere, interwoven with music and lucid descriptions, this is radio that鈥檚 designed to take time to hear.

Music threaded through the programmes include works from a wide variety of genres by composers and performers including Amiina, Olafur Arnalds, JS Bach, Beoga, Gavin Bryars, Anna Clyne, Laurence Crane, Danish String Quartet, Dalla, Alex Groves, Leos Janacek, John Luther Adams, EJ Moeran, 脷na Monaghan, Anne M眉ller, Nordic Fiddler鈥檚 Bloc, Vikingur Olafsson, Morfydd Owen, Puuluup, Penguin Caf茅, Aidan O鈥橰ourke, Richard Strauss, Ralph Vaughan Williams, A Winged Victory for the Sullen and many more.

Books and sources used for research include:

Ben Nevis: Britain's Highest Mountain - Ken Crockett and Simon Richardson

Twenty Years on Ben Nevis - William T Kilgour

The English Lakes: A History - Ian Thompson

Below Scafell - Dudley Hoys

The Pinnacle Club for Women Climbers pinnacleclub.co.uk/journals

On Cambrian and Cumbrian Hills - Henry S Salt

Slieve Donard's Domain - Nicholas Russell

Snowdon: The Story of a Welsh Mountain - Jim Perrin

Portrait of Snowdonia - Cledwyn Hughes

Mountains and Desire - Margaret Grebowicz