In a river of purple, 32 of us headed off with our guide Maja.

We walked through Slovenia’s capital, strolling towards the old town. Ljubljana is built around a river, a bustling and very clean city. Featuring many bridges, we also passed a dragon or two. The dragon is a symbol of Ljubljana and takes pride of place on the city coat of arms on Dragon bridge and on various statues and art works around the city and castle, through the impressive Prešeren square which is ssurrounded by fine architecture, plenty of shops, restaurants and bars etc., All the while Ljubljana castle dominates the skyline with cobblestone paving and many water fountains and pillars add to the olde world feeling.

This is also a vibrant city with markets, lots of colourful graffiti and retail streets. We continued through Tivoli Park which is very popular with tourists and locals alike. After a short but very steep climb up Roznik Hill, we were treated to a stunning view over this large sprawling city. Plenty of photo ops between the trees of both urban and rural scenes including churches, parks, distance mountains etc. It was easier to walk down but we needed to avoid mosquitoes…ooops. As with most days on our international fundraising walks, there are choices of routes for different fitness levels and also free time to continue your walks and combine them with your choice of sightseeing in these new cities. After returning through the park, with its acres of gardens, some of us headed to the ever-present Ljubljana Castle. There is a glass lift up the steep cliff side, showing beautiful views of the center of the city. We interacted with the castle mascot, a friendly rat named Frederik. Our ticket included the tower, more steps but great views, there was virtual tours, a quick prayer in the chapel with its very ornate ceiling mosaics.

We took a trip to the Castle Museum, with artifacts dating back to Roman occupation of Slovenian territories, clay pots from the 10^th century and more visits from Frederik. That night, we dined in a local restaurant for a traditional Slovenian meal of veg soup, local breads and chicken and sweat potato mash. A final slainte in a local bar to finish a lovely day where our fitness watches covered 17km in the 24 hours…

Our bus took us 15km away to Medvode in the area known as ‘The Green Gates of Ljubljana'. This days walk took us through corn fields, farm lands, aside Rivers Sira and Sora, with the Alps as our backdrop.  We were blessed with glorious weather, and clear blue skies. This vibrant blue looked great above our sea of purple in our rural setting… After covering all our kilometres we headed back to Ljubljana for lunch. Afterwards, the walkers spread out to see as much of the capital as they could at their own pace. Some visited the castle and some did a boat trip but we chose the tourist train, passing by the castle, the dragon bridge and circling parks and churches in the area. I studied History of Art in school and love all the old buildings with quirky features. We got more steps in while heading back to base. Tonight was quiz night, hosted by Claire and Cathy, our darling West Cork sisters. A very competitive quiz, with bragging rights up for grabs, myself, Roisin and Liam, three of us Corkonians with Mary from Galway took top place… up the rebels!!

Today’s itinerary included the medieval town of Kamnik, about 25km away. This picturesque town with red roofs and white wash houses, was an ideal place to kickstart our walk after getting our photos with the large bronze mammoth statue at the bus stop. This statue is to honor one of the best-preserved mammoth skeletons from this part of Europe which was discovered near Kamnik in 1938.The original is on display in the Natural history museum of Slovenia. We walked alongside the banks of the Kamnik River which flows gently from the surrounding Kamnik – Savinja Alps. This winding river sparkles with many whirlpools, springs and rapids, and although tempted to take a dip, we soldiered on.

From here we headed to Eco Resort Kamnik, where we got to feed some deer. Tonight was our honorary walker presentation, so purple t-shirts, comfy shorts and sweaty runners were swapped for our fancy outfits. This years well deserved winner was Breda Cahill.

Always a great ambassador for Cystic Fibrosis, Breda is an ever-pleasant helping hand in the walk committee. She has a magical backpack, that holds an endless supply of plasters, hard sweets, tissues, snacks, sprays and more. - I love sitting opposite her on the bus. Well done, Breda. 

I always find this night very emotional as we have a minutes silence for any people with CF who passed during the year. This year was especially tough as our group also had personal loses of family members. We also think of past walkers who are no longer fit enough to travel with us. No awards night would be complete without a singsong and a dance or two.

Today we packed our suitcases and headed to Lake Bled. our first stop was Vintgar Gorge. Here we donned our hard hats, for protection against the overhanging rock. We then started our adventure through this single file - it was a one way only,1.5km canyon, carved out by crystal blue torrents of the Radovna river. Plenty of breathtaking scenery here! When leaving the gorge and waterfalls, we headed on a steep steep climb up. The view at the top was spectacular and very popular with locals, tourists and hikers. The lookout point has views of Bled, Kamnik alps, the Ljubljana basin as well as mountain plateaus. Well worth the sore calves and leg muscles. After a quick pitstop, we headed off again. We had stunning views of Bled castle and the dry toboggining run.

Happy but tired we headed on to our next hotel. I really enjoyed today with all its different components, the Gorge, the mountain path, the breathtaking views and lake bled is magical. Bled is a quieter smaller town than the bustling capital of Ljubljana but very charming and of course, another castle.

We had dinner in the hotel buffet tonight and a little celebratory cake to mark both Roisin’s birthday this week and a number of significant birthdays this year from 80th down to 21st and any with a zero in between.  We also took a quick walk down to the lake, to see the churches, castles and island all lit up by night. very fairytale-Ish and of course more steps....

Today we stayed in the Lake Bled area which is definitely worth the walk.

Our plan was first to navigate around the picturesque glacial lake. This lake is surrounded by forests, mountain ranges, swimming spots, wooded pathways and boardwalks. We stopped here for our group photos, with the castle and island in the background. the total walk is 6km, but there were plenty stops for photos, a coffee and also some brave souls took a quick dip. (the lake was very pleasant and refreshing).

After lunch we took the Pletna – which is a large gondola like row boat – across the lake to Bled Island and the Church of the assumption of the Blessed virgin Mary. We had a little singsong to speed up the trip. In the famous church we lit a candle, said a few prayers and as is tradition, rang the bells. Then we climbed the many steps up the tower to glorious panoramic views. Here we saw the trail we had walked that morning and our swimming spot too. There are also a small museum and café on the island and it is very famous for its 99 steps. After the trip on the lake, some of us decided to hike up to Bled castle which stands on an outcrop 130 meters high, overlooking the lake and town of Bled.

This castle dates back to the 11th century and is not only the oldest castle in Slovenia, it is the highest in the southern limestone Alps. I found the 364 steps a challenge up, I can walk all day but steps and steep paths murder my calf muscles. It’s my walk challenge… if it was easy, it wouldn’t be as much of a test… and as mentioned before, the view is always worth the pain.

So, we sat on one of the terraces and ate ice creams while soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the views around us. There is also a museum here, a large wine cellar and chapel, all with the Julian Alps as a back drop. We headed down all those steps, which were easier descending. that evening, we again had a buffet dinner, with delicious local cuisine and rounded off with a singsong.

Today was a very busy day, the Slovenia Camino on the Julian Trail and Lake Bohinj. Here we walked a variety of terrains through valleys along the country side, passing Heidi like houses, nestled under the Alps. We meandered along at our own pace, which was a very comfortable speed. Later we divided into two groups, depending on our fitness levels. I was on a track through the woodland trail, with a quick water stop at the old ski jump – a reminder of Slovenias Alpine Heritage. We headed to Bohinj, lunch then a quick dip in a very cold lake and a ramble around this quant village. It iss famous for its crystal-clear lake, dramatic mountain backdrop, tiny church and a monument to hero mountain climbing teams. There's always time for an ice-cream, beforee getting back on the bus.

Arriving back to Lake Bled, we now had our last few hours of free time before heeading home the next day. It was well spent as we headed to a café on the lake to indulge in Lake Bleds famous Bled cream cake, with a flat white, watching great scenes in front of us. Glorious views right on the lake, with Bled castle looking down on all, views across to Bled Island and church, the gondolas, the ponies and traps, and the world sauntered by.

After a delicious dinner we headed to a private room and had our awards night where we all got our certs and plenty photos. This years walk was in memory of Bridie Maguire, a founding member of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. Bridie was the first CEO of the charity. CFI is over 60 years running, and a lot of our walkers, their families, CF parents and pwCF have very fond memories of Bridie.

A little memento was presented to two of Bridies granddaughters, Lucy and Kate, who participated in the walk, representing the Maguire family. The Photo of the Walk winner was announced and lastly next years destination was revealed ……. BULGARIA for 2026.

On our final morning, we headed back to Italy and our 3.30pm flight was delayed due to thunder/lightening storms near Trieste. Our delay was over 8 hours, but we did what any group of 32 Irish, purple t-shirted travelers needed to do. We opened the duty free and had a sing song and little boogie in the departure area. 

On Wednesday, we all arrived home safely, very tired but no injuries, great memories and fab photos to remember another successful walk.