Inaccessible Due To Wind Farm Construction

Unfortunately impossible to get to the summit of this hill at the time of writing. I intended to access on the wind farm road, from sandman's point D, but construction is well advanced now, with a gate and security hut at the bottom of the road. The security man was polite and friendly, but was definite on there being no chance of walking up the road as all visitors had to be authorised, signed in, and wearing safety hats etc. He wasn't sure, but was also doubtful that I could access from other directions, and said he thought the whole summit was cordoned off. I drove the short distance to the approximate start of Peter Walker's Track 2417 and managed to get a fair way up the hill, but the whole top seemed like a construction site, and was indeed cordoned off with ropes a bit further back from the works. It was a short distance anyway from the road to the summit, and I was most of the way there, with most of the height done also, so I didn't feel that I was missing out on much. The summit may be accessible again when all the windmills have been actually erected, but it looked like that could be quite a while away. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1177/comment/18507/

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A worthy little Binnion.

I parked on the E flank of the hill at the place suggested by Peter Walker and followed his route to the top. Conditions in March 2015 had not changed from those experienced by Peter twelve months earlier. Once off the rough muddy track the moorland consisted of rough patches of grass and heather and a series of peat embankments interspersed with marshy ground all of which made for heavy going uphill. On the wide grassy flat top my reading for the unmarked high point was A (C50497 04312). While there are expansive views across to the main Sperrins ridge and surrounding lower hills these are not unique and are views replicated from the tops of many of these lower hills. Perhaps the best comment I can make from my experience of climbing this hill is to recommend a route up and back which I followed on my descent and which eliminates the need to trudge over the rough ground highlighted by Peter walker and experienced first hand by me on my way up. On starting out , once across the gate, do not follow the rough track straight ahead but rather go left and follow the fence line around and then up past a small tree plantation. The going is much easier and less boggy that my ascent route. Once past the plantation cross over the fence and then follow it up over a mainly grassy slope to gain the summit . Return by way of ascent. Some 2.2km up and back. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1177/comment/17889/

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Swamp Thing

Eglish is a newly appointed Binnion, and it gloriously conforms to many of the more pessimistic stereotypes associated with the Sperrins. Especially given the recent weather it's distinctly reminiscent of a disastrous entry on The Great Irish Bake Off; hugely shapeless and way too moist.

I started at (B (C512 048)) on the minor road contouring the hill's eastern flank; it's easy enough to squeeze a car off the road. The skies were somewhat grief-stricken, and my usually enthusiastic partner-in-crime Mr Neelix T. Dog seemed much more interested in having a snooze in the back of the BMW. Undaunted, I hopped over the gate and sallied forth along the track marked on the map. This was certainly less vegetated than the surroundings, but it didn't seem noticeably less wet (i.e. it was saturated). I persisted with it for a few hundred metres before just gritting my teeth and heading straight for the highest point on the skyline. About ten minutes of squelching and swearing led to a fence junction (easily climbed over) beyond which lay the summit area. The map suggests the views to be reasonably open to west and east...someone blessed with better weather may be able to verify that on the ground.

I attempted to return much the same way, but the track I've uploaded suggests I didn't. Just over half an hour after leaving it I was back at the car, a bit cross and deeply wet following involuntary immersion in a bog hole. Evidently the dog knows more about making hillwalking pleasurable than I do. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1177/comment/15905/

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Options.

Option 1 you can access the summit via the gate entrance described in the previous comments but you should keep to the track which although becomes faint as you keep left at C (C51011 04838) this will bring you to within a short distance of the summit just hop fence into next field but this route can be slightly water logged or you can opt for Option 2 park at the entrance to the proposed wind farm road D (C51063 03984) and walk on a nice gravel road which will take you basically to the same spot as Option 1. It looks as if the wind farm may be extended in the future. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1177/comment/18373/

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