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Three videos featured this month from gerrym, Miriam Kennedy and ToughSoles. If you like hill videos take a look at the fresh approach taken about the Beara Borders by new contributor Miriam Kennedy
This year the committee moved the venue for the Gathering to the Hampton Hotel, in
Morehampton
Road, Donnybrook, Dublin. The new venue has good space, a bar and a good
audio-visual setup. It's easy to forget Covid and lockdowns but that was very much
on everyone's mind when we were planning the event. Attendee numbers were better
than last year but are still bouncing back.
The format was similar to previous events, with talks from two speakers, something
on the website along with the annual Mountainviews’ Awards for list completions and
contributions.
Peter Mooney's Talk.
Peter Mooney on OpenStreetMap (OSM).
Hillwalking depends on mapping and OSM underlies much modern mapping on the web,
including that of MountainViews. Dr Peter Mooney is an expert on the subject and we
were delighted to have his talk.
You can catch it here
if you would like to look at it online.
Michael Guilfoyle
Michael Guilfoyle on 'Coumshingaun to Vatnajökull (Iceland)'
Michael is an Irish Times hillwalking correspondent. His talk described geology of
the hills with references to a wide variety of places.
Maps in the responsive design
MountainViews Mobile Version
Simon Stewart, founder of MountainViews, described the features of the upcoming
mobile version. It's also called the "Responsive" version in that it can work with
narrow mobile screens and wider laptops or tablets. When we say upcoming, we mean it
will be launched some time in the next year, though you can try it out here.
Simon also mentioned various volunteer projects. There's a number of these you
can join. One of these (obtaining geographical and name information from EastWest
maps) is mentioned in a later article. There are also projects such as
publicising MV, researching "Heritage Hills", writing Short Summaries and cataloging
starting places.
Fergal Hingerty getting an award
The evening ended with an Awards Ceremony. Last year when we ran this,
MountainViews gave out 32 awards which was for two years (2020 & 2021). More awards
than before. We were surprised then that for the single year 2022, we offered 45
awards. Well done to all
who earned recognition for list completion or for contributions!
Featured Track of the Month Broad Majestic Shannon
This month's selection sees Colin Murphy (who's a bit less stern than he looks in the photo) as
he becomes the latest Arderin completist to broaden-cum-lower his horizons to tackling the
Carns. His route makes a relatively long and varied climb of Ballykildea Mountain, near the
fleshpots of Killaloe above the Shannon.
Colin Murphy on A long, meandering route to Ballykildea
Main walk Start: 09:25, End: 11:14, Duration: 1h48m, Length: 5.9km,Ascent: 422m, Descent: 177m Places: Start at R6705376813, Ballykildea Mountain, end at R6619373703 3.2km S from Start(statistics such as Ascent or Length etc should be regarded as approximate. Duration depends on the speed of the person making the track)
This was perhaps the longest walk I’ve ever done to bag a single Carn (almost 12km return), but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I took the Ballycuggaran Road off the R463 and followed it for about 2km, where I asked a farmer for permission to park outside his wall and he absolutely no problem. I walked along the road for about 300m and continued up a rougher track (BTW Google Maps indicates this track is drivable, but unless you’re in a rugged terrain vehicle, trust me, it’s not!)
The trail up through the section of woods.
Continued up with a wood on my left, continuing straight across a more substantial forest track to cut up along a narrow trail through a section of woods, (waterlogged in parts and had to navigate around a fallen tree, but quite manageable), before emerging onto yet another substantial forest track. Turned right and followed this meandering track as it eventually swung back eastwards, revealing a small glen on the right.
Watch for a barely distinguishable trail on the right at this point
At this point I missed a very narrow trail to the right, which crosses a small brook, and had to backtrack about 250m (if you come to a gate with a stile, you’ve gone too far) Followed this narrow trail as it ascended southwards, taking me on to yet another main forest track that I followed for almost 2km.
The final, long stretch of forest track (visible on right) leading towards the hill (centre)
At that point you need to leave track and ascend to the left up a rough but passable forest ride which finally emerges onto open, rising moorland, about 500m from summit.
The forest ride from the track that leads onto open moorland
A few sheep trails through the heather aid immensely here and will take you close to the high point, which is a slightly elevated heathery mound with a rotten pole stuck in it.
Yours truly at the top, marked by a barely standing rotten pole.
Return via same route. Car to summit and back took 3.5 hours.
NORTH: Snowed under
One of winter’s compensations is how otherwise ordinary hills like Slieve Rushen in
Breifne can be transformed by a fall of snow, writes Colin Murphy.
Colin Murphy on Slieve Rushen, (Sliabh Roisean):
It's amazing sometimes how winter can transform an otherwise ordinary little hill into something beautiful. Slieve Rushen is a tramp through heather to a broad mound with a slightly smaller mound marking its high point. But the views from the top on this snowy January day made the effort worthwhile. ... Click here ...
NORTH: Folsom Prison Bluestacks
In one of the roughest mountain areas in Ireland, one has to take (very) eminent
Summiteer eamonoc seriously when he describes an outing as 'one of the toughest walks I have
done in the Bluestack Mountains...not for the fainthearted'. It tackles three Carns in one of
the remotest corners of the range, with tough underfoot conditions pretty much de rigeur. One
for the masochist/completists amongst you.
eamonoc on A tough outing in the Central Bluestack Mountains
This route begins at some farm buildings up a minor road at the Northern end of Lough Eske, no parking issues. initially| walk, Len: 15.6km, Climb: 820m, Area: Cruach an Bhearnais, Bluestack Mountains ... Click here ...
NORTH: High, flat- topped coastal peak wirh steep approaches.
An updated short summary for Slieve Commedagh in the Mournes by markmjcampion, proposes
an epic route from 8km to the NW.
group on Slieve Commedagh, (Sliabh Coimhéideach):
Commedagh is the 2nd highest Mourne, a col separating it from Donard to the SE. It lies near Newcastle on the E edge of the range and has a broad, grassy top surrounded by steep, heathery approaches. The 35k Mourne Wall passes close by. Fine local views and also the Coolies, Sperrins and Antrim Hills. Beware - steep ground to the NE.
NE. From Donard Park J37499 30597 take forest track SW through ... ... Click here ...
SOUTH-WEST: The starter...
A linear walk from simon3 over the initial stage of the prodigious ridge running from
the Connor Pass over Brandon on the Dingle peninsula. The high start means relatively little
ascent is needed to get fully into the mountain environment, and following the two Arderins of
Beenabrack and Ballysitteragh the descent from the col before Gearhane is done a straightforward
green road...obviously from there it's possible to extend onto the really big stuff.
simon3 on A short easy trip to Ballysitteragh, two Vandeleur-Lynams and an Arderin.
This is a linear route starting from the Connor Pass at Q4902705587 and going over three summits.This impressive cairn i| walk, Len: 7.0km, Climb: 306m, Area: An Bhinn Dubh, Brandon Group (Ireland) A ... Click here ...
WEST: So close but yet so far
Fergalh’s attempt to bag Annagh Island in Mayo was foiled by a mere couple of metres of
sea, and with nothing to bridge the gap, it will have to wait for another day.
Fergalh on Annagh Island (1), (Oileán an Eanaigh):
We approached this island at low tide on a windy day hoping that the channel was narrow enough to cross. However it is around 2/3 metres across with the Atlantic swell rushing through and with no ladders tricky to cross. Even a landing spot for kayaks looks difficult from what we could see so congratulations to the two who did make it to the highest point not so easy. ... Click here ...
WEST: Forest Slump
A walk that looks perfectly capable of turning into Friday 13th or the Blair Witch Project if
you're unlucky from Colin Murphy and the wilds of East Clare. It's an ascent of the just-a-Carn
summit of Maghera through the forest, basically on tracks if you keep your wits about you,
although I'm unconvinced by the claims of 'fairly straightforward' and 'not unpleasant'
Colin Murphy on Near Maghera, East Clare (Ireland)
A fairly straightforward and not unpleasant walk up through a Coillte plantation. There is parking for a couple of cars | walk, Len: 2.7km, Climb: 255m, Area: Maghera, East Clare (Ireland) Maghera ... Click here ...
WEST: Challenging, peaceful and remote
Any new approach to Ireland’s most remote spot – Slieve Carr – is to be welcomed, and
markmjcampion duly provides with an updated short summary.
group on Slieve Carr, (Corrshliabh):
This summit in NW Mayo may be the most remote and hard won of any in Ireland. It has considerable merit, having a magnificent grassy 400m ridge on the summit, which has an enormous burial mound and great views of Achill and most of the Nephin Begs.
There are at least 4 approaches, from all four cardinal points.
E. Park at F97586 16634 at a sometimes-locked gate. Ask permission at the hous ... ... Click here ...
Featured summit comment Sign of the Times roscorocket
It has not been a good start to the year for accessing our hills and mountains, has it?
Another recent manifestation of this problem is outlined by roscorocket in a post of
February 12. The post details a visit to Dart Mountain, in the Sperrins of County Tyrone,
revealing yet another unwelcome development re, the thorny issue of access. The accompanying
photo says it all. [Ed: it's been like this for some three years, as I understand
it]
Dart Access Issues Resurface
Unfortunately on a first visit to the Sperrins in a few years, I see that the access issues
which affected Dart in the 1990s and early 2000s seem to have resurfaced. These signs have
appeared at the summit and at the small parking area at the top of the pass, as has new fencing
on the mountain. Previously it had appeared that this issue had been resolved but the new
signage has been placed over the previous one which asked walkers to be responsible. Not sure
why this has changed but for the present it would appear walkers are not welcome on Dart, at
least not approaching from the North West
Photo: roscorocket
SOUTH: A challenging Kerry Binnion
Although relatively low, An Bheann Mhor presented many a pitfall when crossing its rough
terrain, writes eamonoc.
eamonoc on An Bheann Mhór:
A cautionary me set out for this hill after reading previous comments. walk to masts no problem, from mast on a clear
day summit visible about 2km distant, the initial ground met after leaving the mast was a bit unsavoury with many pitfalls for
weary hikers, after about 300mts the difficulties abate and some rough ground leads to the top. Fine views abound here, retraced
upward route back to ... ... Click here ...
SOUTH: Scouting in the hills.
Having wandered off the hillwalking trail thanks to the distractions of his Scout Group,
top contributor jackill makes a welcome return to the hills in the company of his scouts.
jackill on Kilclooney Mountain, (Fáschom):
It's been a while.
I think I was scratching with quill and ink in the dim candlelight the last time I posted a comment on MountainViews.
Time passes and the longer you are away from it the more difficult it becomes to come back.
The hillwalking never really stopped , it just got easier and less demanding by choice.
Since I joined my local Scout group in 2015 a new road to walk opened itself ... ... Click here ...
EAST: Far from the madding crowd.
A new short summary by member jackill of Curraghduff, one of the most remote hills in
the Comeraghs.
group on Curraghduff:
Park in the Nire Valley car park(S 277 128 )room for 20 cars, but note this fills up fast on weekends, walk up hill on a grassy then heatherly slope from the easten edge of the carpark following approximately a line of white wooden posts.
Walk through a small gate on a sheep fence and follow the track to the Windy gap(S30001 13400 ).
Do not cross the stile here but turn south east and follow the ... ... Click here ...
EAST: Avonmore Calling
A relatively languid half day along the Avonmore Way in Wicklow, courtesy of
march-fixer, who is to be commended for highlighting all the places where seating is provided en
route. One that goes through the hills rather than over the hills, but replete with some very
pleasant river and woodland scenery.
march-fixer on Avonmore Way
On a lovely bright morning we started from the car park in Trooperstown. Caution is required for the first couple of hun| walk, Len: 14.3km, Climb: 240m, Area: Wicklow (Ireland) ... Click here ...
EAST: A trip to Neolithic times
MountainViews revised slightly some comments on Baltinglass Hill in Wicklow lauding the
extensive millennia-old structures that top this fascinating little hill. Previously some
comments did not clarify ownership of the land.
kernowclimber on Baltinglass Hill, (Cnoc Bhealach Conglais):
Baltinglass is set deep in the heart of Wicklow’s historic glens, and the sight of the imposing ruins of the Cistercian Abbey built above the bank of the River Slaney are testimony in stone to the fact that people settled here at an early period to farm the surrounding fertile land. But those who scale Baltinglass Hill looming above the village will be rewarded with much more than exceptional view ... ... Click here ...
MIDLANDS: A walk on the wild side
Although the going underfoot was difficult, member IrelandsEye reflects that its very difficulty
helps to maintain the wilderness aspect of Mauherslieve.
IrelandsEye on Mauherslieve, (Motharshliabh):
I am glad for the reports in here and the directions otherwise it would not have been clear to me how to get to mauherslieve on an 'approved' route. I started off at point A - from the post above R89506121 starA; through the gate and on what looked to me to be a farm road past a farmhouse and some sheds out the back there is a pathway that leads a trail through the woods; through a gate then thro ... ... Click here ...
MIDLANDS: Darby’s Bed
The small Duntryleague Hill in the Ballyhouras is topped by an impressive neolithic
dolmen known as Darby’s Bed, writes TommyV.
TommyV on Duntryleague Hill:
Very straight forward out and back route to the Dolmen near the top of this forestry planted hill. I followed jackill's route from the small car-park on the South side of the hill. However if you would like to have a longer walk to stretch the legs then following the purple arrows along the Darby's Bed loop as mentioned by hivisibility is another option. ... Click here ...
SCOTLAND: The Big Walk
Some Scottish mountains for the serious hillwalker to aspire to, courtesy of billbaggins,
who has essayed the incredibly remote summits of A'Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mor in the
fabled 'Great Wilderness' of the Fisherfield Forest in the north-west. This involves a hell
of a lot of walking and in his case a fair bit of cycling too, but the rewards are
commensurate with the effort involved; these are possibly the finest viewpoints in these
islands.
billbaggins on A'Mhaighdean, Ruadh Stac Mór and Beinn Tarsuinn
A’Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mór are two of the more remote Munros. Their summits provide some of the best views in Sc| walk, Len: 39.5km, Climb: 1748m, Area: Loch Maree to Loch Broom (Britain) A\' ... Click here ...
Sorry if we didn't mention what you posted .. there's a list of all contributors for recent
month(s) later.
After many years our secretary has retired from the post. We need a new committee secretary. Does minutes, handles some emails, assists with the Gathering .. that sort of thing.
Contact us at admin -at- mountainviews.ie
Position
In Brief
Ordinary members
For those taking an interest in the MV committee or indeed committees in general we
can also use some further "regular" committee members without a specific role. There
are many smaller quite finite projects that might suit regular members.
Publicity
MountainViews is a great resource based on over 1400 people's contributions over 19
years. Great that is if you have heard of it. And that's where we could use some
practical publicity help.
The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth
Quite apart from programmers, MV's progress can also use help from
people who can really follow through on tasks like creating lists, checking stats,
researching place names or geology. Whether on the committee or not we value such
people's contributions.
South of the main mountains of Snowdonia lies a tangle of summits and industrial heritage.
Fergal Hingerty pays the area a visit.
Early morning climb up Moel Penamnen
Early March sunshine greeted me as I drove down through Snowdonia and headed for my climb of
the day. One of the lesser know walking areas is around Blaenau Ffestiniog, south of Moel
Siabod and Yr Wydffa. Blaenau is famous for its slate mines and a zip line over a quarry.
But I had a different quarry in my sights.
I parked up early in the small car park just short of Crimea Pass and walked down ten metres to
a narrow passage and a stile to head up the first peak to the east. A short steep grassy climb
brought me to the top of the first ridge and from there it was a short distance to the summit of
Moel Farlwyd (577m). This was marked by a small cairn and a wonderful vista was in front of me
as I turned around.
The summit of Moel Farlwyd
Many many peaks can be seen from here, the Rhinogs, Moel Siabod, Cnicht among them. Moel Farlwyd
overlooked a lake and the distant twin peaks of Manod Mawr (near the end of the round) were also
in sight.
I descended steep grassy slopes towards the lake to the south-east and arrived at the col, from
where a steep climb up loose rock-tiled slopes let to the first ridge. Then an easier but still
steep ascent through pleasant grass filled slopes veering to the south-east led to the next
summit with a small trig pillar. The views from Moel Penamnen (623m) was much better, revealing
most of the hills I would climb later.
The next descent was down a gentle grassy slope and it was a simple stroll across a gentle
rise to the unmarked summit of Foel-fras (586m). The high point was at a fence at the edge
of the recently felled forest which wrapped around the top of the valley. From here a walk
alongside the fence followed. This was somewhat wet and it was a long dog leg to Y Ro Wen,
but eventually the faint track stopped at the edge of the forest and after crossing the
fence the final assault on Y Ro Wen ensued.
A man-made summit
The summit (599m) was marked by a large cairn and was at the very end of a long ridge of 3km or
so. So a long walk back along the ridge followed and then following another fence I went towards
Manod Mawr North Top and the extensive slate mine workings there. These provided a nice wind
shelter, perfect for a lunch stop. Then after crossing another fence the very steep final ascent
of Manod Mawr North Top started.
This summit (658m) was marked with another large cairn and the very extensive main mine workings
were much in evidence below. The slate mines here were set up by the late Methusalem Jones in
the 1760s and made Blaenau Ffestinog the biggest town in North Wales for many years. Recently
the quarry at Ceunant y Diphys was the source of controversy as the artificial hill made by mine
spoilings was proposed to be added to the list of Nuttalls (English and Welsh summits >610m with
15m prominence) by the renowned Myrddyn Phillips; purists want only natural summits
included.
Manod Bach
As it was a Sunday and no one working there a short cut along the edge of the mine workings
followed and soon I was on the open hillside where straightforward grass led to the summit of
Manod Mawr (661m) which was again marked with a large cairn. This was the high point of the day
and the final hill of Manod Bach was in sight above Ffestiniog. A quick descent led to the lake
of Llyn Bach which was at the base of the final climb.
Up to this point the terrain was easy with little or no vegetation, however from the lake
this was going to change. With no obvious track a difficult heather bash followed and
eventually I came to the twin tops both marked with a stone cairn. The top in the middle (?
Ed.) would appear to be the highest point of Manod Bach (511m)
Finally I dropped off the mountain after more heather, towards the edge of the mine workings.
Here I picked up a well made track all the way into Blaenau Ffestinog, a winding road
leading through the centre of the town before the long walk alongside the road took me back
up to Crimea Pass. This is a narrow road with no footpath, however there was enough room to
walk on the outside of the crash barriers. Eventually I reached the small car park at Crimea
Pass 23 km, 8 hours and 7 peaks after starting.
The route: the start is off the right edge of the map
North West Wales has extensive accommodation from The White House Hotel in Llandudno to more
expensive places in the likes of Llanberis and Betws y-Coed. It is accessible by car ferry
(Dublin-Holyhead) and by air to Liverpool.
Information
-- Fergal Hingerty
Using information from EastWest mapping
Volunteers working on "Mountain Names and Geographic Details Project"
Members of the MountainViews community will be aware that the database contains information on
around 1510 mountains plus around 600 islands. Much of the data was originally extracted from
Ordnance Survey maps of Ireland and Northern Ireland, supplemented by information, for example
on Irish names and translations, from MountainViews members and by using surveying
equipment.
In recent years, EastWest Mapping (EastWest) has
created 18 maps of mountain areas in Ireland (with an additional map of the Cooleys under
preparation). The newer ones (from around 2016) use “Bluesky” surveying and are a more accurate
source of information on summit heights and col positions and heights (the "topography").
EastWest has also investigated place names and where the summit names differ from MountainViews
names (mostly official names as as per Logainm) we are
creating a list of these.
EastWest has kindly given MountainViews access to its data and permission to update the
MountainViews database with the EastWest data. The work is being undertaken by several
volunteers and comprises two modules. The first, which is being coordinated by colleagues from
the Database of British and Irish Hills Hills-Database.co.uk,
involves looking at the contours or spot heights on the EastWest maps and deriving basic
topographical information for every summit including height, grid reference, prominence, etc.
The second involves cross checking all the MountainViews summits and islands to the EastWest
maps and preparing lists of the additional Irish and English names identified by EastWest. All
of this additional information must be collated and uploaded to the MountainViews database. This
work is currently under way and will appear in the database in due course.
This extract from an EastWest map has a name of Mullach for what MountainViews calls
Croaghanmoira North Top (CNT). Additionally looking at its contours provides evidence
that CNT is an Arderin, though in this case this was definitively established by
MountainViews surveying in Feb 2022.
Early indications are that there will be a few changes to lists such as Carns and even an
Arderin or two. Some basic use of the data will be available probably within a month or two in
the existing MountainViews main page, but there is likely to be more extensive use in the
upcoming "mobile" or "responsive" version.
-- Mary Walsh, Volunteer
Other volunteers: Duncan Gawthorpe, Tom Condon, Simon Stewart, Brian Kennan, Jim Bloomer, Chris Crocker.
CHALLENGE
A place for those interested in Challenge Walks
Challenge Walks are a tough day's Hillwalking that can last anything
between 8 and 15 hours! Whilst there may be a shorter "Guided" option on the day - these
Walks for the most part, are "Self-Navigating".
These fantastic days tend to be the flagship events of the given Hillwalking Clubs who
so proudly host them. As such they entail the would-be participants to coming and visiting
many a corner of this island from The Giant's Causeway on the Antrim coast to the Mountains of the
Central Dingle Peninsula, from the plateaus and ridges of Maumtrasna to the rolling hills of
Wicklow.
And it is here on the MountainViews website, where for near on fifteen
years now, we have been a foremost resource to both inform and promote this discipline
within the greater world of Hillwalking.
The Challenge Walks Calendar continually updates as
details emerge from the various host Hillwalking Clubs. Here on this part of the website the
Walker can find all required information including how to register and GPX tracks of the
given routes. You may even find a previous report on a previous Walk that will go a long way
in giving an honest overview of what one can expect on the day.
So it is with great anticipation that all of the Walks within the Challenge Walks
Calendar will gladly return with gusto this year, after many having to be cancelled owing to
previous Covid concerns. Whilst some events may indeed take place first... the
following are those that have been confirmed so far...
Organised by The Bannside Rambling Club, the Walk starts and ends at Portballintrae -
this walk follows a beautiful coastal route along the North Antrim Coast passing by the
world famous Giant's Causeway.
A mighty challenge inspired by the mighty Tom Crean! Hosted by the Annascaul Hill and
Roadwalking Club, County Kerry - The Tom Crean Endurance Challenge starts by besting the
fantastic Mount Brandon and then on and up, and over, to traverse adjacent to the
spectacular Coumanare Lakes before journey's end at Annascaul.
The Fei Sheehy Challenge. 11th, 12th and 13th August 2023.
The Fei Sheehy Challenge
2023 A mighty Challenge over three days to cross the Galty, Comeragh and
Knockmealdown Mountains. Organised by Na Sléibhte Hillwalking Club - There are three
variations of walks over three great mountain ranges.
Many of these Walks can see full registration very quickly! In the case of the ever popular
Fei Sheehy Challenge for example, once the participants number 90 souls - registration
closes until the following year! So be sure to avoid disappointment as they say…
Be sure to remember also, how the Challenge Walks Calendar will continue to update and
publicise as more and more of these great Events are confirmed throughout the year.
So now as we’re starting to see a co ck-step in our daylight hours and barring the next
serving of wild weather or a “cold snap” that seem to be a whole lot more
frequent these days… there’s no real acceptable excuse for not getting muddy
and
boggy upon a hill or two in your own near vicinity.
This forthcoming year will see many a Hillwalking Club only delighted to welcome back the
avid Challenge Hillwalker as old friendships are renewed and new ones forged true.
Support a Challenge Walk Near You!
Onwards and Upwards Boys and Girls,
Keep Safe and Enjoy Your Day!
Jim Holmes.
Reports of many of the Challenge Walks and indeed news, blogs and more - can be found on . . .
CHALLENGE WALKS NEWS, REPORTS, BLOGS & MORE . . .
mountainviews.ie/challengenews
You should be able to find this link easily off the main Challenge Walks Page.
Another feature that's closely related to Challenge Walking and other services provided by
MountainViews is our page listing Irish Compleatists of the Scottish Munros. We could use some
recent compleaters reports for this!
mountainviews.ie/IrishMunroists
See some more info below on this new feature.
Using MountainViews Notifications - Daily, Weekly or Monthly.
MountainViews offers a way of being notified when new contributions appear on the
website.
You can request a notification with a selection of new items that have been added to be sent to
you by email. The main way of doing this is to click
On main screen click for notifications.
Same for new design.
After you click on the button, then each week that there new contributions for, you will
receive an email listing the more prominent ones. You can change this to each day or each
month.
There are various other notifications available, such as for following a contributor or
several contributors. If you select more than one sort of notification then you will still
receive one email per period, with different sections.
Each notification has a link to the original place in the website where the contribution can
be found for further reading.
Here is what a notification might look like in your inbox.
You can have daily, weekly or monthly notifications. You can turn them off or control when they are to appear at any time.
The MountainViews ANNUAL 2022, brought out in 2023.
For 2022 the Annual has 68 pages in 18 Articles about walking on hills, mountains, coast and
islands here and abroad.
(Information above and below are since we last presented such figures, which is generally a
month but can be longer when we don't have an html newsletter.)
Summary.
MountainViews now has 10156 comments about 1728 different
hills, mountains, island and coastal features out of the total in our current full list
(2205 on island of Ireland). We want to get a good gps track showing each of the
major ways to visit each
of these places and summits in Ireland. If you see an option to add a "Short Summary" then do
please consider creating one since another objective is to have a short summary for every summit
and island and coastal feature in Ireland. There's quite a few
opportunities for you to be the first to comment on a place, not so many on summits, however
lots of opportunities for islands and coastal features as we bring them out. We also have around
2700 shared GPS tracks, mostly in Ireland. Apart from a few popular areas, there is a need for
more routes in many different areas. Plain shared tracks without descriptions are welcome
however if you have time then do please add route descriptions with photos.
NOTICES
Notices
If you are contributing, please be careful to respect the interests of landowners.
Suggest access routes well away from houses, gardens or that could conceivably impact
farming activities. When walking, keep away from gardens or farm buildings. Use stiles
or gates wherever possible. Never do anything that could allow animals to roam where the
farmer did not intend. Ask permission where appropriate.
Take care if parking and do not obstruct roads, lanes and field entrances to access by
farm machinery, which can be large. Exercise your dog in parks or forests but avoid
countryside or open hillside where they may worry sheep.
Report suspicious activity to the police forces, as below.
If your car is broken into in an upland area report it to the PSNI or Gardai as this
will help them be aware of the issue and tackle it in future. Store the numbers. In
Northern Ireland use the PSNI non-emergency number 0845 600 8000. In the Republic you
can find the local Garda District HQs phone numbers at www.garda.ie/Stations/Default.aspx.
Specifically for the hotspot of Wicklow: the Garda Divisional Headquarters in Bray is 01
6665300.
If you hear of a problem area or route, write it up in MountainViews
which does everyone a service.
Report rubbish tipping in the Republic - ring EPA hotline 1850 365 121
Report recreational quads in national park area (in which they are banned). They are
also banned in the Mournes. For Wicklow please phone the Duty Ranger: 087-9803899 or the
office during office hours Telephone: +353-404-45800. For the Mournes ring the PSNI (as
above) or contact Mournes Heritage Trust. Put these numbers in your phone, take regs
etc. Let MV know of contact numbers for other areas.
If you have visited some of the less well known places, we would appreciate a place
rating and also "Improve Grid Ref" for summits and other places.
If you find errors in the basic information about places such as in their names, their
heights, county name etc please use the "Propose Places Database Change" option.
If we can, let's make MV have more than one route up a summit or to a place so as to
reduce the tendency for paths to appear. Your grid refs in comments for different
starting points show up on MountainViews maps as well as shared GPS tracks.
Visit the MountainViews Facebook page.
Visit the Challenge Walks Ireland page (jointly managed by MountainViews)
This newsletter
This newsletter
Editor: Simon Stewart, Homepage:
www.simonstewart.ie
Assistant editors: Colin Murphy
Summit comment reviews: David Murphy
Challenge Info: Proinsias, Jim Holmes
Track reviews: Peter Walker
Book reviews: Aidan Dillon, Peter Walker, Mel O'Hara
Videography: Peter Walker
Graphics design advice & cartoons: madfrankie
Development & support volunteers: Vanush "Misha" Paturyan
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Material is subject to our conditions of use, see mountainviews.ie/conditions/
Commercial users for individual items: please contact us.
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Quarterly May 2023
Colin Murphy on A long, meandering route to Ballykildea
Sign of the Times
