David Bourke: ‘hiking is a great way to see the countryside’

Nestled in the rugged beauty of Co Sligo, the iconic Benbulben mountain has long been a destination for adventurers and nature lovers alike. For David Bourke, however, this majestic landscape is more than just a backdrop — it’s a way of life.

After finding a love for hiking and mountaineering, David decided to turn his passion into a personal venture. Combining his local knowledge and love of nature, David’s mission is to share the magic of mountain landscapes with hikers of all levels.

Growing up on a mixed farm enterprise in rural Sligo, David has had a hard-working attitude and a deep appreciation for the land from a young age. As one of six, his father also worked outside the farm in construction, which meant it was all-hands-on-deck to get the farm work done.

David and his siblings all went to college, but when it came to the future of the farm, no one wanted to take it on as it was so labour intensive.

“Every summer, all our friends were off to the beach, but we were stuck at home making hay and that sort of thing,” he says.

However, David did end up working in various roles in the agriculture industry.

“I suppose there was always the love of it, having grown up on a farm. It’s probably ingrained in you, certain values and that appreciation for hard work,” says David.

After studying business in college, he started working for an old feed mill that was owned by Odlums.

“Odlums closed down their milling, they didn’t keep pace with the times as they had a non-mechanical old style of milling that was labour intensive along with small outputs,” he says. “The bigger start-up mills like Avonmore were producing 100,000 tonnes per individual mill, there was no way to compete.”

He then moved to Wilsons Feeds which was based in Northern Ireland and stayed there for 10 years before moving to Robert Smith and Sons in Donegal.

During his time working in the sector, David witnessed a lot of change, particularly with the expansion of dairy enterprises. This resulted in the growth and increased demand for feed around Ireland. As a result, the importance of nutrition grew, which led David to complete a course in animal nutrition.

“When I first started out, business was mostly based on good relationships with your customers,” he says. “As time moved on, there was more of a desire among farmers to get increased solids and improve their overall management.

“From a marketing point of view, we were seeing a need to provide more nutritional advice, to show what we were selling matched the needs of the farmer.”

Grasping mountain life

While David was happy in his career, 20 years ago he took a trip that was life changing. He travelled to Morocco to visit a friend living there.

His friend was an international mountain leader, bringing people from all over Ireland to climb the High Atlas mountains.

David explored the mountains and local areas while he was there. At the time, his three children were grown up and were in college so it was the perfect time to embrace his new-found love of hiking.

“I came back and said to my wife Jennifer, ‘I’m going to join the hiking club’. I didn’t know where to start, but we went up the bog road one day and ran into the Sligo Mountaineering Club coming down.

“I joined the club in 2007 and spent several years exploring mountains in the west of Ireland primarily around Connemara, Donegal and Sligo,” he says.

From being an active member of the group, David learnt in-house navigational skills. And in 2011, he went on to complete the mountain leader course, a recognised qualification certified by An Bord Oiliunt Sleibhe, the Mountain Training Board Ireland and Mountaineering Ireland. The mountain leader aspect takes a minimum of two years to complete as there is tuition that has to be done under an instructor.

“You learn how to lead a group, where to bring them and where not to bring them, how to deal with people having health issues or injuries along the way,” David explains. “There’s a huge emphasis on navigation, because if you’re not fit to navigate safely on a mountain, you certainly don’t want to be bringing a group out.”

Guiding people

In 2016, after becoming a fully qualified mountain leader, David saw an opportunity and decided to launch his own business, leading guided tours across Benbulben, Sligo and the Wild Atlantic Way.

One day he was driving to work and came up with the name High Hopes Hiking, inspired by what his mission was.

“I said to myself, ‘What am I doing?’ The business is all about hiking and climbing high and that’s what people are hoping to do. Put the three together and the rest is history. It was a moment of inspiration and I registered the company name,” he says.

“My first event was a New Year’s Day hike and 50 people turned up for it. The business has gone from strength to strength and I retired in 2019 to focus solely on the business. I’ve no regrets, it was an oppurtunity to do what I love,” he says.

The groups in High Hopes Hiking are small, aiming for 15 people on each walk.

“I want to maintain it as a business that has an impact, to get to know people. I had a good relationship with my customers when I was working in marketing and I enjoy that part of my role now,” says David.

I retired in 2019 to focus solely on the business. I’ve no regrets, it was an oppurtunity to do what I love

Now a lot of people who go on David’s hikes hear about it through word of mouth or are repeat customers. The reach of High Hopes Hikes is nationwide, with people travelling all across Ireland.

“I think, over the last few years, there is a huge interest in hiking and hill walking,” he says. “Some people who would never have hiked in their life now want to get outdoors, give it a go and see the beauty of the countryside. I have a guy who comes from Charleville in Co Cork. He leaves at six o’clock in the morning and he’s here for nine.”

For anyone giving hiking a go this new year, David advises to wear appropriate footwear and layer up, as the weather will vary at different points of the mountain.

“Most importantly, bring a good attitude and a sense of adventure,” says David, smiling.

See highhopesmountaintreks.com

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