The Mweelrea Mountains

Sunday 23rd March 2008

Last week I was in Ireland for the whole week; this was the second time I had been to Ireland, the last time was 2½ years ago when I visited county Kerry and walked up all the highest hills in Ireland. Last week I walked in and around Connemara, which is supposed to contain some of the best and most rugged mountains in Ireland, and based on this walk I would totally agree. I parked (I had hired a car for the week just as I did the last time I was in Ireland) at the northern end of Doo Lough and proceeded along a farmer's track across the top of the lough to a sheepfold and from there on I was pathless for the rest of the day. One of the great things about walking in Ireland is that there are no footpaths so you have make your own route through the mountains which made the journeys much more fun and challenging. There is also however a problem of access as there are no “Rights-of-Way” in Ireland so technically I was trespassing the whole time, luckily at no time did I get into trouble. In practice the local farmers turn a blind eye to walkers so long as they don’t damage their fences (and I did have to climb over a lot of wire fences during my week in Ireland). After crossing a bit of boggy ground (I would also get used to that) I climbed up the eastern ridge of the Glencullin corrie, along Ben Ludmore's northern ridge. This was a great, fun scramble that really tested my ability to pick a route. I started by climbing a gully then walked steeply to more scrambling until eventually I reached the start of the summit ridge. I really enjoyed this climb on a steep rocky ridge with bright sunshine and clear views all around me; it was wonderful, despite the strong wind. The views from the top of Ben Lugmore were stunning, the weather was superb and even the wind had died down while I was at the top. I was afforded with tremendous views of the hills around Mayo and Galway, which teased me with what would lie ahead during the week. They all looked really brilliant, rugged, rocky and fabulous; it was wonderful and I couldn’t believe I was blessed with such wonderful weather especially after the rain of the previous day. This rocky scenery is just what I thrive on, I go all over the country looking for mountains like this, but they are so rare. I couldn't help thinking that it was Easter Sunday and I hadn’t seen a single person yet; I bet Helvellyn wasn’t like this.

After enjoying Ben Lugmore’s other tops I dropped down to the col and crossed the broad slopes of Ben Bury on my way to Mweelrea as the weather started to get worse; the wind was picking up. I climbed up across the northern slopes of Mweelrea and eventually reached the summit just as the weather turned bad. It was still quite nice at the summit but clouds were descending and as I ate my lunch I even had some wintry showers. While descending Mweelrea it was very cold and cloudy, and the subsequent climb up to Ben Bury was dull and prolonged in the poor weather. I saw my first people of the day while descending Mweelrea, but I suppose I had probably started earlier than them which was why I hadn’t seen anyone till later. I never used to be one for getting up early but my new job has dictated it so I have had to get used to it so that even while on holiday I have been getting up earlier than I used to, and I am actually beginning to quite like it as it seems to have it’s advantages. Ben Bury, though, proved to be the worst hill of the three with an ascent that was mainly on boggy grass interspersed by occasional stones, but when I got to the top I saw that the northern slopes were much more interesting with sheer cliffs and precipitous ridges, so it was a pity it was cloudy.

Looking at the western ridge of Glencullin I decided that my planned route down was far too steep for a descent so I prudently descended the wonderful ramp into the corrie instead, which is a fabulous route that provided me with a close hand view of the crags below Ben Lugmore. In the misty conditions the crags were rather spooky, and I think it would have been a pity to have missed this fabulous natural ramp. It wasn’t an easy route, though, being very steep and a little exposed near the top, but it is the main route up these mountains. Any semblance of a path disappeared at the bottom of the ramp so from there I had to make my own way down into the corrie and back down to Doo Lough. You never get that sort of thing in the Lake District where the paths are everywhere and I really enjoy having to find my own way down a mountain. Passing the sheepfold at the shore of Doo Lough I strolled back to the road and the car, while thinking that I had just had a good walk with some fabulous scenery. The weather had been great at the top of Ben Lugmore, I was really lucky to have such good weather up there as it was the best mountain of the three, while the weather later turned rather harsh. It was, though, a fabulously rugged walk, so keep it up Ireland!