Soldiers Hill is a somewhat squat eminence, but its location overlooking Inishowen's glorious western seaboard makes up for any (and indeed all) of its structural shortcomings.

Start from the viewpoint overlooking Five Finger Strand at (422537 A) where there is a spacious car park and a monument. Hop over the fence opposite and head up to the skyline. Various hummocks present themselves when the slope eases off; the highest is just before a fence and has a low cairn of white stones. The summit slopes are extensive and the best views (which are very, very good looking south) are obtained during the ascent. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1323/comment/15567/

Viewed from Five Finger Strand below, Soldiers Hill appears as an impressive cliff. As mentioned by Peter Walker, there is a viewing point high on the hill which provides easy access to its hummocky top after crossing the stile behind the parking area. A very short walk to the top - 10 or 15 minutes, but breathtaking views. On the sunny late August day I visited, the hilltop was covered in bright purple heather, with views beyond over the beach below, southwest to Binnion Hill, Dunaff Head, the Urris Hills, Horn Head and the Derryveagh Mountains. Good views to the north too along the northwest coast of Inishowen. Coming over a small rise at the top, I surprised three buzzards feasting on a pigeon just a few feet in front of me. They were a magnificent sight taking off so close by.

At the viewing point there were a few signs warning walkers off most of the land, stating that it was private property, and one intriguingly warning of "Poison land"! However there were no signs in the direction of the summit and the stile suggests access is fine. Handy little hill if you're out and about with non walkers and you won't be disappointed with the vista. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1323/comment/17646/

Inishowen...a salient land of salient wonders that somehow still remains relatively quiet. The coastline in particular is fantastic, with the huge cliffs somehow being exceeded in beauty by the sumptuous array of beaches. One of the very best of the latter is Five Fingers Strand north-west of Malin, a curve of sand and stones backed by towering dunes and the home of multi-tentacled extra-terrestrial nasties if the film 'Grabbers' is to be believed.

Lurking as a backdrop, above and to the right of the Fingers as one looks from the beach, is the lumpy eminence of Soldiers Hill. At (422537 A) is a viewpoint car park with a magnificent outlook south over the Strand. I went back to the road and crossed it, and hopped the fence easily with the aid of a few strips of wood placed for that purpose. With the top seemingly just a few hundred metres distant I deployed the time-honoured 'just go up' tactic, and a middling slope of stunted bracken and grass led to the skyline. Here the gradient eased off (unfortunately meaning I forfeited any depth to the view south) and entered an area of hummocks among which the highest point was obvious; there is a fence just beyond it and a few white stones had been grouped into a very minimalist cairn.

A round trip can be comfortably done in less than 15 minutes. Well worth the 'effort' if you're hereabouts. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/1323/comment/16056/