Tobogganing

Snow prompted a frenzy of toboggan building to take advantage of the hills around Dundrum. We always went to my grandmother’s house which had a huge garden and lots of slopes. John the gardener was pressganged into action and knocked up a couple of toboggans with spare bits of wood and lengths of rope

Rosy cheeked, we ran to the steepest slope and went up and down for hours.  Sitting, lying down, two at a time, backwards, standing up – we became more adventurous as our snow skills grew. The slope became faster and faster as the snow packed down.

Steel runners were the most highly prized possession. Freddie Rogerson built a wooden sledge with steel runners which went fastest of all.  We were always delighted to see him as we knew that we could go faster and further on his high-tech machine.
The ultimate slopes were in Kilternan where the 44 bus would deposit you next to long steep slopes.  The mountains of Wales could be seen poking their craggy white peaks into the sky on the far side of the Irish Sea. ‘Gangway’ was the cry as you launched yourself headfirst down the bumpy hill.

Car tyres, fertiliser bags and fancy foreign steerable sledges all made an appearance in a frenzy of frozen fun. The transient nature of snow meant that maximum entertainment had to be squeezed from every minute, as the next day it might be gone. Twilight triggered the return journey on the bus, dripping melted snow and swapping stories of speed and daring.