Smoke billowing from fires on the Mourne Mountains. Photograph: Family handout
Young country diary: We walked to the mountains but they were on fire
Mourne Mountains, County Down: At first it didn't seem like much so we carried on, but then it got worse – we could hear the flames across the valley
It all started at around half past 10. We were at Hen, Cock and Pigeon Rock which is a good route with views of the Mourne mountains and the sea. We were walking up a path when we saw smoke in the distance. It wasn't very much so we kept going. It has been unusually dry here, and the top grass was crispy, with squelchy mud underneath. We saw tadpoles in a puddle, but the puddle seemed small.
As we were going up one of the mountains, we saw how much smoke there really was. Soon after that we could see a ring of flames. We weren't close, but we could hear it across the valley. The smoke was starting to block out the sun.
We decided to head back to go on another walk. We were planning to try Bloody Bridge on the other side of the mountains, but as we were driving there, the sky became filled with smoke. We saw six more fires and 12 fire engines. After that we decided to play it safe and go to Tolleymore Forest Park instead. We walked along Shimna River and threw big stones into the deep pools.
I saw later in the news that the fires had continued for many days and had destroyed a huge area, and it said someone probably started them on purpose. The people who look after the forests say it could take decades to recover. I feel sad and angry about the damage that the fires caused to the wildlife. Benjie, eight
Read today's other YCD, by Ottoline, nine: 'Helping a butterfly into its new stage of life'. The Young Country Diary submission form is closed, but keep hold of the link, it will reopen on Monday 1 June for summer articles
