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Trostan 550m, Slievenanee 543m, Crockalough 402m,
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Forum: General BleckCra 3 hours ago
Thank you kevin carroll. If I can put a smile on that contrary face, the Matterhorn should be a cakewalk.

Re Main Area Display, logging

Forum: Suggestions simon3 13 hours ago
The suggestion is that the list of summits for a mountain area obtained by asking for More Detail for the mountain area show whether or not the summit has been climbed. This has now been implement...

Varied, strenuous wild Bluestacks walk.

Track 2209 simon3 a day ago
This varied route explores the two Ardnageers, Croaghbane, C walk, Length:21.0km, Climb: 999m, Area: Ardnageer SW Top, Bluestack Mountains (Ireland)

Meenanea: Bump on ridge with good views.

Summit Summary Collaborative entry Last edit by: simon3 a day ago
Meenanea is a summit of low prominence on the ridge from Cronamuck to Croaghbarnes. It is most likely that it will be reached as part of a traverse along this ridge. It has excellent views towa...

Cronamuck: Granite knob at the end of a ridge.

Summit Summary Collaborative entry Last edit by: simon3 a day ago
This summit can be reached using the ridge extending NE from Croaghbarnes and there are suggestions it could be reached from Commeen to the north on the R253. Cronamuck has views over towards Gau...

A circuit of the eastern Knockmeal hills

Track 2206 mcrtchly 2 days ago
Park at S112081 and walk north along the road for about 170m walk, Length:11.7km, Climb: 620m, Area: Crohan West, Knockmealdown Mountains (Ireland) C

A Cloon Horseshoe "mini Scavvy"?

Forum: General Conor74 7 hours ago
Think none of the Scavvies so far have tackled the Dunkerrons, and the Cloon Horseshoe at its heart - Mullaghanattin, Beann, Finnararagh and then moving all the way on to Knocknagantee and swingin...

Carrigawaddra: The Loo valley: yes you can!, but don't...

Summit Comment thomas_g 2 days ago
Parked at the gravel area at the road junction at Loo Bridge, walked towards Kenmare on the R569 to a gate, then followed the muddy track to a green field (savour it, it will be the last you'll se...

Walks Around Port 2

Track 2197 gerrym 3 days ago
http://youtu.be/jq7O1tarPuQ A second walk starting and fini walk, Length:17.0km, Climb: 578m, Area: Donegal SW (Ireland)

Agnew's Hill: Shapely scarply Sallagh Braes

Summit Comment simon3 a week ago
North of the summit and over a road is the 2km long arc of Sallagh Braes, a spectacular semicircle of a valley where the higher ground to the west (left) falls away towards the sea. This pictur...

Circuit of the Three Aghlas

Track 2204 Onzy 4 days ago
Route takes in Aghla More, Aghla Beg South and Aghla Beg, be walk, Length:9.1km, Climb: 669m, Area: Aghla More, Donegal NW (Ireland) Aghla More, Aghl

whats that about sex

Forum: General kevin carroll a day ago
Welcome back Bleck Craw, this forum has'nt been the same without you. While we sometimes differed on certain subjects( which I wont mention), your contributions were always entertaining if sometim...
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Antrim Hills Area
Rating graphic.
Trostan Mountain Trostán A name in Irish
(Ir. Trostán [DUPN], 'pole/staff' [DUPN]) County Highpoint of Antrim In County Highpoint, Arderin Lists

Height: 550m OS 1:50k Mapsheet: 9 Grid Reference: D17961 23599 This summit has been logged as climbed by 158 members
I have climbed this summit: NO (You need to be a logged-in member to change this.)

Longitude: -6.155349, Latitude: 55.045756 Prominence: 515m,   Isolation: 2.7km,   Has trig pillar
ITM: 717884 923582,   GPS IDs, 6 char: Trstn, 10 char: Trostan

Joyce's suggestion (INP, iii, 586) that this peak is so named because of its resemblance to a pilgrim's staff with a crooked top seems without foundation.   Trostan is the highest mountain in the Antrim Hills area and the 363rd highest in Ireland. Trostan is the highest point in county Antrim.
Trackback: http://mountainviews.ie/summit/361/
COMMENTS for Trostan 1 2 3 Next page >>
Antrim's Highest
Short Summary created by gerrym  8 Nov 2010 Consensus promotes the use of the waymarked Moyle Way to approach Trostan. From the south start from the small layby opposite the entrance to Glenarrif Forest Park (201207 (Point A)) or at Essathohan Bridge (190217 (Point B)). The Moyle Way can also be used from the west but is not as attractive -unless of course doing the whole Way!

The Way is well used and can be difficult in places, especially if wet. There is varied walking - through the forest, following the river and then open hillside. The Moyle Way is left as head north for the summit - a fenceline runs up over the broad flat summit area, not far from the cairn and trig pillar which stand high over the eroded landscape. Views can be far reaching and spectacular on a good day.
Point A: D201 207 Point B: D190 217

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MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Trostan in area Antrim Hills, Ireland
 
Squidgy Slog
by tsunami  19 Feb 2013 We each have our favourite mountain, and those that stick in our heads can inevitably be summarised by one word - majestic, magical, and treacherous as examples. For Trostan I’m going with – squidgy! 550m of soul destroying, strength sapping Squidginess to be precise! Thankfully this has now been ticked off my County High Points list and I need not feel compelled to return.

The walk started out very promising. I parked in the picturesque Glenariff Forest and set off along the Moyle Way . Crossing a style opposite the entrance to the forest and along the gravel paths to emerge on the Cushendall Road at the old Essathohan Railway Bridge . I continued to follow the Moyle Way sign posts and crossed a style just the North East of the bridge and began the boggy “slog” up the slopes towards the mountain proper. Some welcome respite from the wet ground conditions was provided by the pretty Essathohan Waterfall at the edge of the forest – however this is where the going gets trickier.

I took the advice provided by some of the reviewers on Mountainviews.ie and turned to the right – away from the Moyle Way and along a firebreak skirting the edge of the forest. A fence and style is reached which then provides a guide almost all the way to the summit across the most unrelenting bog – only made easier in some places as it was still frozen. While it pays to always be thinking 3-4 steps ahead in this terrain, this was almost impossible when you couldn’t guarantee that you next step would be a dry one!

After 1hr 10mins of this soul destroying, strength sapping slog, the bog remarkably gives way to the most barren, desolate “moonscape” around the summit. On a clear day the views would be truly spectacular, but surrounding haze and valley fog limited the view considerably today. I spent 20 minutes on the summit - forgetting the painful walk to get here, only to suddenly remember that I had to return.

I made an “executive” decision not to retrace my wet steps, but to take a more SW descent and link up with the Moyle Way again. Crossing a style and two more fences, the waymarkers came into view and led me back down to the forest edge, at which point things took a dramatic turn for the worse! I wonder, could Moyle District Council tell me, what is the point of a way marked walk, through a forest which is impossible to follow by way of posts, totally impassable due to fallen trees and deep bog? I totally lost my way and had to rely on the compass and map to get back on track – 400m east of where I thought I was! Even after rejoining the path it again disappeared after re-entering the forest and I had to walk in the brook almost all the way back to the waterfall.

The best advice I can therefore offer today is thus. If you are bagging peaks, or ticking off the County High Points, avoid the Moyle Way completely, take your chances on the open mountain following the fence. If you are not bagging peaks, or ticking off the County High Points, avoid Trostan!
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MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Trostan in area Antrim Hills, Ireland
Picture: Looking north-east from Trostan summit towards Lurigethan
by slemish  27 Mar 2009 This was only my second time climbing Antrim's highest mountain and I would agree with the other comments - expect boggy wetness and plenty of it. Wellies an absolute must - even then I sank into the bog over knee height a couple of times. I parked at the Essathohan bridge and followed the Moyle way up as far as the lovely waterfall. Forget using the Moyle way through the rest of the forest - it's just too boggy. Turn right after the waterfall through the firebreak until you come to the edge of the forest. Then turn left and go straight up the hill, keeping the fence on your left until near the summit where you veer off right. The summit area is large and thankfully, devoid of peat. The sun came out just as I was approaching the large cairn and trig pillar on the summit at 550m, allowing fine views to the north-east. The village of Cushendall framed by the dramatic slopes of Lurigethan and Tievebulliagh was a breathtaking sight, Kintyre just about visible on the horizon. Good views also to Slemish, Slievenanee, Slieveanorra and Knocklayd. I was surprised to see large volumes of snow and ice still on the summit. It was incredibly windy and bitingly cold so I quickly descended by the same route. A bit of a slog to be honest but a true wilderness experience. Total trip about 1.5 hours.
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MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Trostan in area Antrim Hills, Ireland
Picture: summit cairn and trig at sunset		  
Monarch of the Glens
by gerrym  8 Nov 2010 The Antrim Hills are my locals but I have only climbed Trostan twice in my years of walking. To be honest i feel there are better areas to explore locally such as Fair and Torr Heads, Lurigethan or the steep sided hills heading seaward from Glenariff to Cairn Neill (I think this is the best walk in the Antrim Hills and have done it countless times over the years). Trostan is the highest hill hereabouts and it does have a few saving graces.

There are relatively easy approaches from either the SE or W, following the path of the waymarked Moyle Way which passes close to the summit. There is not a great deal of satisfaction to be had unless the walk is lengthened, fortunately there are excellent opportunities to do this. I would not reccomend taking in neighbouring Slievenanee (unless you are ticking it off) - my memories are of wet and more wet, floating bog, frost and darkness - balanced against the light of Rathlin Island lighthouse sweeping over the hills and a meteor streaking through the cold night sky.
The best approach is probably from Glenariff, following the Moyle Way from the S, through the forest onto the open hillside and then veering off for the top.

The summit area of Trostan is in marked contrast to the approaches - a barren landscape of stone and rock, with a trig pillar held aloft from the eroded ground around. The summit area is extensive and a walk around will enable full appreciation of the fantastic views. To the E the Irish Sea meets the Mull of Kintyre and N the steep cliffs of Rathlin Island are backed by the Scottish islands of Islay and Jura (with the impressive Paps clearly visible on a good day). The other significant hills of Knocklayd, Slieveanorra and Slievenanee are all visible. Further away the Belfast Hills and the length of the Sperrin Hills are also visible.

I would recommend dropping off Trostan to the E as there is a significant area of steep rocky bluffs which would not normally be seen if using the Moyle Way routes. The Antrim Hills and Glens may not be that high but there is a great variety for the walker and some really impressive scenery created the last time we had glaciers for company.
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MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Trostan in area Antrim Hills, Ireland
Picture: Scottish Coast
The iron man of Antrim
by kernowclimber  7 Aug 2011 Now set in relative wilderness, Trostan once lay at the heart of a busy mining district. Its mother rock is basalt, associated with volcanic activity and huge lava flows caused by the opening of the Atlantic in two distinct periods between 56 and 62 million years ago. In between lava flows, the basalt was considerably weathered in the hot, wet tropical climate of the time; red laterite (a soil rich in iron and aluminium) formed.

On Trostan’s E and N flanks the laterite was mined for iron ore and bauxite in the late C19th. To transport ores to the coast for shipment to Britain, the Ballymena, Cushendall and Red Bay Railway opened in May 1875. Trostan’s mines were connected to this by a branch line. Following the demise of iron mining, the mineral branch line was lifted in the early C20th. Trostan returned once more to magnificent solitude.

I started this walk not expecting much, having read some of the previous posts on MV. But I was pleasantly surprised! Yes, it is very boggy, but no worse than parts of Wicklow. Wear waterproof gaiters. Parking in a gateway near Essathohan Bridge, where the old railway ran parallel to the B14, we crossed a stile to the right of the stream heading up the Moyle Way (MW) past a waterfall cascading over rocky outcrops like a bridal veil. At the broad forestry path nearby, after some initial confusion due to yellow way markers pointing left and right, we headed straight across over boggy, grassy ground towards the trees.

We immediately picked up the MW again that revealed itself to be a well trodden boggy path delightfully weaving its way between conifers surrounded by, and garlanded with, emerald moss. We spotted some striking scarlet Sickener fungi amid the green. Streams meander through the trees changing character frequently: their brackish water sometimes languid and mysterious, at other times noisy and mercurial, tumbling over small waterfalls. Exercise caution crossing the slimy stones, and watch the slippery exposed tree roots! The walk reminded me of trekking in parts of the Pacific coast range in the western US.

The MW then handrails the forest, rising steadily over open heath land. We left the MW and climbed straight uphill between a maze of vegetated peat hags crossing a stile at D17831 23345 (Point C) towards the summit plateau. Here the thick cap of peat has eroded away revealing the underlying iron stained basalt layer that resembles the gravelly volcanic landscape in parts of the Canaries. From the summit the distant views were breathtaking: bun-shaped Ailsa Craig, source of the finest curling stones, and the smoky grey peak of mighty Goatfell on the Isle of Arran behind the Mull of Kintyre clearly visible; the beam of light from Rathlin Island lighthouse constantly winking at us in the fading light. We returned via the same route, 1.45 hrs in total. Don’t be put off by the boggy ground. With its fascinating geology, varied terrain, solitude and extensive views, underrated Trostan really rocks!
Point C: D17831 23345
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by davidholmes  5 Sep 2003 Climbed this hill on St Patrick's Day following wet weather. Park in Glenariff Forest Park (Small fee for non-members) and walk to end of forest road, cross the Waterfoot Road and follow the Moyle Way through the forest. Cross the Cushendall Road and follow river from bridge up past very picturesque waterfall. Good spot for picnic. The path then runs through the edge of the trees until it meets a fire break. Follow this up to edge of forest. Very boggy underfoot for most of the way and the going is easier in the trees. Firmer ground on the Trostan side of the forest fence. Moyle Way doesn't go to the top so veer off when it suits. Wonderful views of the Antrim Hills and Scotland.
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COMMENTS for Trostan 1 2 3 Next page >>
(End of comment section for Trostan.)

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