John Ahern, a guide with Southwest Walks.
THE GUIDE is the first person up in the morning and the last to bed at night, which means my day normally starts at around 7am, when I check to make sure the day's picnic lunch is packed and ready to go.
Our walks run Saturday to Saturday and, on any given day, I could be anywhere from Donegal to Dingle, Antrim to Glenmalure.
I normally have between eight and 14 people in a group - any more and it's hard to make sure everybody has settled in and is getting on okay.
We get people from all around the world. Recently, I had 13 people representing 10 nationalities.
I love the countryside like only a latecomer can - I only took up walking in my mid-40s, after a whole career in transport, shipping and logistics. Back then the longest walk I ever put in was between a bar stool and the toilet.
I caught Lyme disease five years ago, from a deer tick. I'm fine now, but it's like malaria, it's always with you. It was very serious at the time, though, and as I was knocking at the door of Him Upstairs. I remember worrying if I'd ever be able to go walking again.
A good guide is made up of 25 per cent interest in walking and 75 per cent interest in people. The most important part of the job is making sure the group gels.
You've a bunch of people from different countries and disparate backgrounds and you have to be able to communicate with all of them because it's their holiday and you want them to enjoy it.
Guiding pulls together not just walking but history and geography, flora and fauna. There's so much knowledge to impart and so many stories to tell, and it's all part of the experience.
You have to keep an eye out, too, for the walkers who are struggling most, making sure they are comfortable without identifying them to the group as the people holding you up.
Normally, we'll be bussed to the start of our walk from a B&B or small hotel. We then walk from around 9.30am to 12.30pm, finding a nice place to stop and have our lunch.
We have a little quiet time then, just 10 or 15 minutes to enjoy the surroundings. People appreciate the chance to switch off.
Our walks are low-level, never above 450m, and usually centre on places of historic or scenic interest.
After lunch we head off again, normally finishing up in a pub somewhere at 4.30pm before checking in to our accommodation for the night.
The evening is often the highlight for me. We have dinner and, with a glass of wine inside them, people like to open up and talk about their walk that day and what they saw. It's when stories are told and friendships are made.
It's also the time when I can have a pint - up to that I'm on duty. Some will head back to bed straight away and others will stay till around 11.30pm. I stay until the end because I'm a night owl, even though I'm back up next morning getting provisions for the day's picnic.
It's a lovely holiday and, believe it or not, rain isn't really an issue. In Ireland there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear.
The biggest issue that ever arises is blisters, and we tell people to tell us early so we can deal with them. I'm lucky in that I've never had a blister in my life. Then again, ticks seem to love me.
In conversation with Sandra O'Connell