A lovely forest stroll

Hewson Hill forms part of a NE-SW ridge of three heavily forested hills. Hewson Hill is the final hill at the SW end of this ridge. The three hills are heavily forested but as MV members Fergalh and Paddyhillsbagger have pointed out there has been storm damage to the trees at the summit of Hewson. I was there in 2012 and captured a photo of the summit area before the storm damage. To be honest even then it was tangled and difficult to negotiate in the immediate summit area, so the fallen trees just add difficulty to difficulty!

A leisurely 5km-return stroll can be had here, making use of a rustic forest track. Start at A (S53312 97542) which is the entrance to the track on the N80 road. From here follow the track SW through beautiful deciduous forest. Looking back on my photos now I see that I spent a lot of time looking at and snapping flowers and insects along the way. The track will lead you past the first two hills and on to the Hewson Hill summit area. Some bashing about will be required to find the summit area but there is no trig pillar.

There are limited views due to the forestry at the summit, but in places along the access track there are views north across to the nearby Rock of Dunamase. Although the state of preservation of the castle is very poor the Rock of Dunamase is a site well worth visiting, and it affords great views of the surrounding countryside and back to Hewson Hill.

I completed a 360 degree loop of the summit area of Hewson Hill before rejoining the track and the leisurely stroll back to my car. This is definitely a walk for the late spring or summer when the flowers are in bloom and the insects buzzing about. The Rock of Dunamase is just 1km away and a must if visiting Hewson Hill.

My GPS track for my walk on Hewson Hill can be found on MountainViews here: http://mountainviews.ie/track/2460/ Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1201/comment/15992/

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Summit difficult to access due to tangle of briars

Parked at point A on the N80. Had a pleasant stroll then through mature beech wood. Bluebells just emerging. Nice view of Rock of Dunamase which Greek astronomer Ptolemy marked on his map of Ireland almost 2000 years ago.
At time of my visit, March 2019, you can get to within 50 or 60 metres of the actual summit with minimal difficulty. Then the fun begins!
As mentioned by previous commentators, storms have felled most of the trees on the summit. The summit is now covered in a jumble of fallen tree trunks. The tree canopy is gone and light has reached the floor of the wood so that the surrounding area is choked with a thick tangle of briars and brambles. This makes access to the actual summit quite a challenge. I would advise anyone trying to visit this summit to prepare well. A sword and suit of armour would be useful but too cumbersome for most. A slash hook or one of those petrol driven hedge trimmers from a German discount store would be a good substitute for the sword. A heavy set of overalls or boiler suit instead of the suit of armour would give the summiteer a fighting chance against the briars. I would certainly advise against wearing good hiking gear. When making my assault I noticed that that the heavier the limited overhead tree cover the less dense were the brambles
To the best of my reckoning, the summit is close to a large, felled, but still living, spruce tree. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1201/comment/20477/

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Something to add interest to your visit

Around 1km to the north of Hewson Hill is the dramatic Rock of Dunamase. If using the forest path on the north side of Hewson Hill there are places along the access track where there are views north across to Dunamase. Dunamase is the ruins of a castle perched atop a dramatic 45 metre high rocky outcrop. The earliest historical reference to Dunamase is in the annals of the four masters where it states that Dun Masc was plundered by the Vikings in 843AD and the abbot of Terryglass was killed. Later, in the 12th Century, Dunamase became an important Anglo Norman fortification and was part of Aoife’s dowry when she married Strongbow in 1170. Although the state of preservation of the castle is very poor the Rock of Dunamase is a site well worth visiting, and it affords great views of the surrounding countryside and back to Hewson Hill.

My photo was taken on the north side of Dunamase, across a lovely field of oilseed rape crop. It’s a pity about the telephone wires crossing the sky, but I couldn’t walk into the field to avoid them in my photo Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1201/comment/15993/

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A stroll on Hewson

Hewson Hill is one of three heavily forested hills around 5km from Stradbally and close to the Rock of Dunamase. Finding the actual entrance to start this walk proved difficult as it is surrounded by a lot of privately owned land but I was determined to succeed as it is part of my local 100. Google maps got me to the actual road it is on and after that just be observant for a gate way on the left to the track. Poorly signposted but there was parking. The track was overgrown in places and the summit was very difficult to reach due to the amount of fallen trees from previous years storm damage. Limited views due to the heavy forestry but otherwise it was a pleasant stroll. Took about an hour and 15 minutes, not bad considering that I had a 10 year old and an 8 year old in tow. Views from the surrounding area of the Rock of Dunamase are well worth a visit. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1201/comment/18191/

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Tress blown over at summit

Turn right at first crossroads out of Portlaoise. Park at gate (B (S51858 96493)) and cross field to rough stile over fence, follow track to right and proceed up hill. At the moment there are many trees blown over at the top.

Always ask landowner permission to cross land, never ever damage fences and beware of livestock. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1201/comment/15849/

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