Where is the third lake?

Climbed Table mountain and Camenabologue today,parking at Barravore,crossing the Avonbeg at the ford and heading NW along the table track keeping the river on my right until crossing it at a small crossing at C (T034 962).The track crosses forest road at times but can be followed all the way to the col between Table mountain and Camenabologue where there is an Army you are here sign.Table is an uninspiring boggy piece of high ground north of the sign but offers spectacular views over the Blessington lakes as well as Mullacleevaun ,the three lakes(although I could only make out two) and Tongalee.Heading back to the sign I climbed the short distance to Camenabolgue before retracing my route to the car.Distance 14.5km,time taken 3 hrs 55 mins,Ascent 642 m,Descent 621 Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/109/comment/18338/

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padodes on Table Mountain

Table may be a mountain you cross on your way to somewhere else (cairn on the flat top at D (T0191 9734)), but it has its own little secrets if you care to look for them. One happens to be the wreck of a light aircraft on its lower eastern slope at E (T0273 9729), almost in the hollow between Table and Conavalla. Together with the spot where a plane came down on Corrigasleggaun in 1992 with the loss of two lives, and another spot where a similar accident took place on Corriebracks in 2008 with the loss of four, this one forms part of a kind of Bermuda Triangle (at least in my fancy) on the SW side of the Wicklow massif. Unlike the two other crashes that are well documented, little seems to be known about the one on Table. I have never been able to find a record of it. (The list given by the Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Department of Transport only goes back to 1996.) When did it happen? What were the circumstances? Was there a loss of life? Considering that not even the engine was winched away for investigation, as would occur in more recent times, the accident must go back quite a number of years; and judging by the tortured strips of fuselage that remain, the landing cannot have been a gentle one. The terrain is rough and remote in this area and any survivor would have needed at the very least, in my reckoning, an hour of vigorous walking to reach the nearest human habitation in Glenmalure.

Photo: upper left, the crash site on Corrigasleggaun; upper right, the recent one on Corriebracks, marked today by a simple wooden cross; and below, the scattered remains on Table, looking towards Conavalla. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/109/comment/4525/

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Further information on the air accident

The aircraft was flown by a lt. Patrick Leo O'Connor. It crashed in bad weather on March 7th 1957. His family visited the site in September 2010 to place a plaque in his honour. Details of the visit were published in the Roscommon Herald, October 5th 2010. He was buried on his 21st birthday. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/109/comment/6767/

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The Provost wreckage

I climbed Table Mountain with the a view to examining the aircraft wreck on the NE slope of the mountain. I know a little bit about aeroplanes so here goes. The Engine is 9 cylinder Alvis Leonidas rotary engine. This type of engine powered the Irish Air Corp Provost aeroplanes which were in service from the mid fifties. This is the remaining wreckage of a Provost which crashed there in March 1957. The pilot who was 21 died shortly after the crash. The accident is featured in the Irish Times of 8th March 1957. Please spare a thought for the unfortunate pilot should you visit the mountain. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/109/comment/5892/

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csd on Table Mountain

Being rather flat, it's quite hard to discern the summit of Table Mountain. Nearby Three Lakes (though I only counted two!) makes a nice spot for lunch. The dreaded quad bikers are sometimes active in this area - watch your step! Picture shows the summit taken from the track up from Baravore. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/109/comment/643/

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