Mangerton Mountain

Sunday 11th September 2005 

I was in Ireland for a week walking in County Kerry over the highest mountains in Ireland including the fabulously named MacGillycuddy’s Reeks. After flying to Shannon Airport the previous afternoon, the following morning I drove (in a hired car) over to Kerry and through Killarney. I parked at a viewpoint near Tooreencormick (a battlefield site) on a minor road off the N71 with my target for the day, Mangerton Mountain, clearly in sight across the moorland in the sunny weather. Walking to the end of the road, I headed off along a track that followed the Finoulagh River up the hillside; although boggy at first the path improved as the views across the Killarney National Park and MacGillycuddy's Reeks revealed themselves. Eventually I came across an old broken wall and followed it's boggy course straight up the hill onto the ridge that overlooks the Devil's Punch Bowl. With most of my hard climbing over I was now able to enjoy myself as I walked up to the north top of Mangerton before returning to the ridge straight up onto the broad plateau of Mangerton Mountain. After the dramatic northern cliff that overlooks a couple of lochs, the flat boggy summit was a bit of a let down. Although the awesome-looking hills of MacGillycuddy’s Reeks could be seen, hazy in the distance, the plateau rather spoilt the view. After returning to the relatively bog-free northern edge I proceeded east around the top of Horses Glen towards Stoompa. This somewhat arduous moorland crossing brought me to the rock-strewn summit, where I satisfyingly found a splendid cairn on top of a hill, which was much better than the radio mast on Mangerton! 

Any trace of a path now evaporated as with quite a bit of difficulty I descended the steep, heathery and stony slopes of Stoompa. At one point I completely missed my footing and literally went head over heels! Thankfully I survived to tell the tale and all that remained for me was a tiring and frustrating moorland crossing below Lough Garagarry to the outward path. This was a very challenging section of the walk because I had to get through pathless tracts of heather, bracken and gorse, and I also had a river to cross: the Owgarriff River, which had just enough stones in it to prevent me getting my feet wet. Then when I was almost on the path I came across a fence that was blocking my way; the only way around it was to follow the fence back up the hill and across the Finoulagh River, so it was with considerable relief when I finally arrived at the path and returned to the road and back to my car. Alright, not MY car, but the one I was using during this holiday. The effect on me was the same whomever the car belongs to. I was thankful to be back at the car after a very tiring walk in very warm weather.

Moel Siabod

Monday 29th August 2005 

This walk started with really bad weather, heavy rain was pouring down all around me, but astonishingly, it didn't last. I had decided that I would walk up Moel Siabod, a hill that I'd been up before, but not by the way that I had intended so now I wanted to correct this. Parking at Pont Cyfyng I headed off up a path to the disused quarry below Moel Siabod. Passing a dammed lake I headed uphill to the now flooded quarry past spectacular waterfalls cascading into the quarry lake in this, no doubt, once busy area. I continued below the southern cliffs of Moel Siabod past Llyn y Foel, where I had taken a different route the previous year. Then, I had followed a clear path that clung to the foot of the cliffs before climbing steeply up a scree slope onto the summit, but this treacherous route was not what I had intended as I'd wanted to walk up the ridge of Daear Ddu, so this time I headed across the mud beside Llyn y Foel towards the foot of the ridge, which was when I got a bit stuck. I could see no path onto the top of the ridge, and in the rain I couldn't begin to climb onto it (believe me, I tried!). Eventually I followed a path that ran westwards beside the ridge gradually moved away from it to gain the top some distance west of the summit. This was not the ridge-top scramble that I had been looking for, so it looks like I’m going to have to go up this hill again! (I eventually succeeded in 2007.) As I neared the top of Moel Siabod the views southwards opened up as the rain finally stopped, and once at the summit I discovered that the clouds were lifting everywhere and the sun had come out. By the time I finished my lunch at the summit I had glorious views all around Snowdonia including across Dyffryn Mymbyr towards Snowdon and up Nant y Benglog towards Tryfan and the Carneddau. Therefore I now had bright sunshine for my descent along the north-eastern ridge of Moel Siabod scrambling over the rocks all the way. I had great fun on that descent and enjoyed myself immensely as I jumped from rock to rock, basking in the sun. The rain of the morning was forgotten as I took my time slowly descending the fabulous ridge, knowing that this would end my weekend in Wales. I had work early the next morning, so with regret I was leaving Wales early, mid-afternoon, but I knew it wouldn't be long before I returned.