All of Corraun's summits in 24 hours.

Eight of us covered the three summits of the Corraun peninsula over a 24 hour overnight backpack. We took the way-marked track from just north of Bealfarsad church (where mass is every second Sunday for those inclined) at Belfarsad (L749 986) heading all the way to where it dead-ends at a tiny lough. A further 15 minutes south brought us to a patch of ground between Lough Laur and the fortune cookie-shaped Lough Cam at F (L774 973). We pitched the tents and after some respite took the, at times, steepish shoulder direct to the 476m point and directly onto Corraun East at 541m. The views extended across Clew Bay and the plethora of drumlins, though Croagh Patrick remained shrouded in cloud. The remainder of the walk over the saddle at 421m to Corraun Hill was straightforward with a gradual decent along the well defined ridge back towards the lake we would spend the night. The following day's hike to Knockletragh (locally named as Tonragee after the village on its northern flank) involved a pleasant stroll across the undulating bog where we dropped our heavy rucksacks at around the 200m elevation (G (L765 988)) and continued up the gentle slope to the top, returning the same way. The older OS maps show a track leading westward from our bag drop-off point towards the road but it is very rough and in some places non-existent (hence its removal from the 4th edition sheet).It is possible to push westward and join the loop track near the angle at H (L756 989). A 400m walk southward brought us back to our staring point. Having backpacked on Achill for many years and always bypassing Corraun, I can say that we will definitely be back to cover these summits again. We met nobody in the time we were there despite it being a warm, dry weekend in July. This area deserves much greater attention than it seems to get. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/372/comment/17561/

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gerrym on Corraun Hill Highpoint

First a beware that the forest and tracks have change from that on my 1993 map and also that on Trailmaster West. Started out from eastern side of the hills, leaving the R319 as it follows the coast - onto a forest track at I (L804 997). There are opportunities to park and then follow track into the forest towards the steep sided corries reaching out to the northern side of the Corraun Hills, these really are impressive for the stature of the hills. After 25 minutes of walking through the forest I reached the Corrubeg river (J (L784 984)), following it up through difficult clearfell and then easier ground to the beautifully framed small corrie lough of Cullylea (K (L788 972)) - a large boulder provided a perfect spot to enjoy lunch nearly encircled by high rock walls. From here are several options to climb onto the higher ground nearly encircling the lough - i choose to climb steeply up 200m to the left of the lough (as on map) over scree and slippy heather clad ground - a tough half hour of puffing and panting, but rewarding going. The view from the corrie rim, across the opposite scree strewn side to Clew Bay and the Nepin Beg Mtns is amazing. Further easy climbing brings views down into the next corrie lough of Cullydoo and the long broad and stoney summit. There is a large cairn at the E end and a number of smaller ones along its 2km.The top brings ever wider views encompassing the range of mountains to the S (Croagh Patrick, Sheffrys, Mweelrea, Bens) the hills of Achill and the smaller though no less spectacular surrounding islands (Clare with its mini Croughaun) and again the full range of the mighty Nephin Begs.
A short drop to a broad col and swift ascent brings Corraun Hill itself, slightly lower than that just traversed. I then descended by the NE ridge back to the forest, getting very confused by the changes to the landscape but eventually getting back to the start. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/372/comment/2783/

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Of tractors and wasps

I set off up the track at B (L737 943) on what was a very hot July day. This is a great track to gain height and warm up. I didn’t get the chance to warm up too much however as a kindly turf cutter trundled up on a curiously small tractor and told me to hop in the back. By this he didn’t mean jump in behind him – there wasn’t room. Instead I climbed into the miniature loader attached to the back of the tractor. I was just about able to stretch out comfortably sideways on top of his pile of empty turf bags and rain gear and off we set for a bouncy drive up the mountain! Purists might shout foul, but let me just say that we only went about 1km, and it was great craic! It saved me about 15 minutes on a 5 hour hike, and I learned more than a little about the effect of severe turbulence on photography!

I disembarked at E (L751 948) where the farmer was heading NW to his turf plot. It was a straightforward ramble a couple of kilometres NE over short heather to the col between the two Corrauns. As I climbed up to Corraun East Top I was reminded of the Sheefry’s, as the relatively flat plateau was similarly topped by fields of shattered rock interspersed with short grass. There are amazing views of Clare Island guarding the entrance to Clew Bay, with its north facing 460 metre cliffs plunging from its summit. By walking a little further east and south from the summit of Corraun East Top the full glory of Clew Bay comes into view, with its myriad islands. Across Clew Bay Croagh Patrick takes centre stage, holding its head high above the long east-west ridge of which it is the dominant summit. Further away to the SW the flat topped Sheefry’s are easily identifiable. The summits of Achill are also easily visible, while Slieve Carr and Nephin Beg appear out of the heat haze to the NE.

It is important to point out that there appears to be a wasp’s nest INSIDE the summit cairn on Corraun East Top. I watched them buzzing around and crawling in and around the cairn for a while. It’s remarkable that they chose such a high and exposed location, but obviously the cairn provides the shelter they need while they ply their trade on the flowers of the abundant heather on the surrounding slopes. The walk west to Corraun brings more of that ‘Sheefry’ feeling, as it involves crossing a wide flat col of short grass and rock. There are dramatic valleys and cliffs on the north of the Corraun massif which can be appreciated as you look back at Corraun East Top while ascending Corraun. The circuit of the two Corrauns took me five hours, which seems to be an hour longer than that suggested by others, so my jaunt in the tractor wasn’t such an unfair advantage after all! I’d suggest this walk is kept until a fine day as it would be a shame to miss the fantastic views in all directions. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/372/comment/6490/

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Mist, mist and more mist!

Climbed Corraun Hill East Top on Wed 12 Oct 2011 as part of a round that also included Corraun Hill (See my comments on Corraun Hill for first part of the route). From the broad saddle (Pt 421) we went E very gently uphill to a cairn at D (L76839 95608). We then took a slight change of direction and went NE over increasingly stoney ground, past a series of cairns, to the summit cairn. Continuing thick mist ensured we had no views and made for a sharp turnaround back down SW to the cairn at D (L76839 95608) where we stopped for lunch. As we sat the mist started to lift and quite soon we had views across SW to Achill Beg and NW across the Sound. Before continuing down we went about 200m NW across the hillside to get a view down to the corries and small loughs below the N face of the Plateau (see photo). Although the mist persisted on the tops we were very pleased to have had an opportunity to see for ourselves some of the delights this hill has to offer for a future visit. From D (L76839 95608) we went SW down the long but gentle slope, over varied ground conditions, to the track at E (L751 948) which we then followed down to the road and back to the start. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/372/comment/6592/

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Rocky mountain high

See Corraun comment for route. Picture shows the broad, extremely rocky and intriguing summit & cairn. Whoever built it wasn't short of material. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/372/comment/6288/

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