'From smuggling bibles to smuggling cocaine' - Nicola Tallant discovers Waterford for upcoming RTÉ show

Season 11 of RTÉ's hugely popular Tracks & Trails opens with crime journalist and podcaster Nicola Tallant hiking the challenging Boolas Loop in the Comeragh Mountains in Co. Waterford, followed by a cliff top trail starting out from one of Ireland’s most loved and picturesque seaside villages, Dunmore East. 

Speaking to Waterford Live, Nicola told us of the interesting people she met along the way, how important it is to get outside to clear the head and why she will definitely be making the trip back to The Déise.

"I got on really well", said Nicola who hosts the hugely popular Crime World podcast about criminals, drugs and organised crime in Ireland, "It's just so outside what I would normally do, that it sounded kind of nice."

"We spent four days filming, and I don't think I've properly been to Waterford since I was a child, and I was absolutely blown away by it. I swore I'll go back this summer, I thought it was beautiful and it's so understated.

"We did the Comeragh Mountains, and that was probably my favourite, the walk across the cliff, that was a good walk. If we hadn't been stopping and starting filming, and I was on my own, I would go over and back on that cliff all day long."

This magnificent 10km loop starts just outside the village of Rathgormack and is wild and rural, rocky and steep. The climb to the top is most definitely worth it for Nicola with view changes revealing rolling landscapes as well as hidden mountain lakes known as Boolas. 

Despite the weather not co-operating for a time, Nicola said when the sun came out it was just "super" and showed Waterford in "the most gorgeous light".

"I'm only a prop in this", adds Nicola, "The camera work and the film work that went on, is going to show off Waterford like never before. The drone footage is extraordinary, just wait until you see it. It is beautiful and it's nothing to do with me, it's all about the landscape. It really is a fabulous show."

As an avid cyclist, Nicola understands how the great outdoors can make one feel at ease, forgetting about the stresses of the average day and work life, to just take in the beautiful surroundings.

"My job is as normal as anyone else's really at the end of the day. Everybody needs to get their head out of work and the routines, and walking is great for that.

"I find when I'm walking, especially going up a hill, you sort of just have to concentrate on your foot, and where it's going to go down, it's that basic use of the brain. It's almost like survival so you don't fall, and there's a calm to that.

"It's something that gives you a break from the constant rushing around."

Living close to Wicklow which has an abundance of hill walks and trails, Nicola walks her dog twice a day and says she really enjoys it, however, she admits she is a flat walker.

"That Comeragh Mountains is a proper hike", she says, "but like any of that uphill walking, you dread the thought of it, then you get it, and the result at the end, those views are just incredible."

Nicola was joined for a section of this walk across the top of the ridge by local hiker Michael O' Donoghue ,who shares the geographical glacial history and some local stories with her.

"Along the way I met a very nice historian, who spoke about smugglers and the old sea legends, so that was fairly on par with my area.

"Michael (O' Donoghue) was saying how they used to smuggle, believe it or not, Bibles into Waterford and also beer and wine. I suppose it was in the days that you couldn't say mass.

"But it just goes to show, any commodity that you're not allowed is prized to have, humans are just that way.

"Whether it's cocaine or bibles, obviously things change over the centuries, but that was really interesting, looking at how they brought it in. Everything changes and nothing changes.

"Of course only last year you had the MV Matthew making its way up the Waterford coast and bringing in tonnages of cocaine, still using that same coast and really using the same means in more sophisticated boats."

In Dunmore East, Nicola meets a local swimming group who combine walking and swimming and although they try their best to sway her she decides not to join them for their daily dip.

"The swimmers were doing this thing called a swalk. They're a big group who swim and then go for a hike afterwards, which was really interesting."

Growing up near the forty-foot in Sandycove, one of Dublin's most popular swimming spots, Nicola remembers the freezing conditions she endured while racing dinghies in the bay every weekend as a teenager.

"We were soaking and freezing. We would be racing all Saturday and Sunday and my hands would just stop working. The cold was unbelievable.

"We would stand under the hot showers at the yacht club for hours and then probably have a hot whiskey, because it was medicinal, and I think I'm still not over it. Give me the Mediterranean any day."

As she reaches Ballymacaw Cove, the final stop on her journey, she reflects on how much Waterford has surprised her with all it has to offer the hiker.

"I find, you don't have to have a camera crew with you to be able to go up to people and ask them questions about where you are or what you're looking at", Nicola says.

"You can find people wherever you go that are interested enough in their environment to tell you about it, it's just a case of learning to communicate, take your head out of the phone, and meet some new people, because there is interesting things everywhere we go and it's always better to know what you're looking at. I always bow to other people's knowledge.

"You can certainly feel that sense of pride from people in Waterford for their county, and all it has to offer. I was so impressed and I definitely intend to go back this summer."

Tracks & Trails returns for its 11th Season on Friday ,April 5th, on RTÉ One.