Road was blocked by a frustrated resident

June 2012. Having earlier climbed Bloody Foreland I decided on a last minute jaunt up Crocknaneeve. As the light was fading I took advantage of a minor road/ potholed track to reach a point just below the summit. I left the car at A (B87820 32438) and walked the short couple of hundred metres up to the summit. The summit area is heather and bog, and has a large cross and an altar. The cross can be powered up and illuminated by dozens of bulbs attached to it, at special religious events I presume. The views from this hill are fabulous, especially at sunset. To the south the whole range from Errigal to the Aghla’s was glowing a beautiful pink as its quartzite caught the last of the suns rays. To the west the setting sun cast Bloody Foreland into silhouette while the sky and sea glowed orange and pink. This is definitely a hill to walk at sunset!

Be warned – when I drove back down I decided to complete the loop of the minor road. I had started on the minor road no problem at T Dixon (B87888 33001). However when I came down at the other end of the road at C (B87447 32700) I found a car parked in the middle of the little road, blocking my way. The main road was about 30 feet away. I waited patiently but no one appeared. I knocked on the nearby house and had a difficult conversation with the resident. She told me that this end of the road is not public and that I would have to go back the way I came. I asked her about the large Stations of the Cross points that were situated along the road and asked was it not a public road as clearly it’s well-used for this purpose. She said no, it’s not public, and that she parks her car there to keep people from going up this way. The road is marked as a yellow minor road on the map and would have the appearance of being public. However I had no choice. The main road was literally 10 metres away but I had to turn tail and drive the potholed and difficult 2km back to where I had started. Clearly there are local issues here and this blow-in wasn’t going to get involved! Perhaps this issue will resolve itself to the satisfaction of everyone at some point, but until then avoid trying to head up at C (B87447 32700), and use the other end of the looped road for access instead. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1343/comment/15998/

Read Less

Nice stroll with rewarding views

Climbed this small hill on 14. June 2013. There is a small abandoned white farmhouse just alongside he minor road S of the summit, somewhere around B (B873 316), and room for one car nearby. From there it is a quick, easy ascent on open ground up to the flat area which can be seen on the picture; then a short stroll eastbound through boggy, uneven terrain (old turf cuttings I believe) will take you to a winding road track. Follow it for one or two hundred metres until you see a small track to your right -which can be seen to the right of the cross on the picture- that will lead you straight to the summit and its wooden cross. As I made it to the top, the wind had suddenly grown stronger and the bit of rain that had started falling had almost turned into hail, with the mist coming down too, so I could not really enjoy the coastal scenery to the N, which must be great on a clearer day. And as usual, it cleared up just after I left the summit ! Was able to enjoy nice views during the ascent and descent though, towards Cnoc Fola to the W, Taobh an Leithid to the S and the Seven Sisters to the SE, including the almost perfect triangle shape of mighty Errigal.
A friend of mine who lives in the area had advised me to climb one of the lanes starting N of the hill from Min Larach, but as I could not define which lanes were private or not, I decided to start from the SW and it happened to be a good idea (no fence nor gate to cross). He also told me there was an annual local pilgrimage/procession up to the cross, but I cannot remember which part of the year it takes place. I will update this comment as soon as I get the answer (has anyone heard about it ?).
Not much to say about the climbing, not as prominent as Cnoc Fola, but a short, easy walk offering rewarding views for such a low summit !! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1343/comment/15773/

Read Less

Fantastic views from this small hill

Crocknaneeve is a small simple hill that is very easy to access. What it lacks in its own quality it more than makes up for in the fantastic views it offers. This photo show Errigal and Mackoght to the south at sunset. Errigal can be considered as one of Ireland's iconic mountains, and this photo shows why! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1343/comment/15994/

Read Less

Coastal Hill

Thank you for the excellent directions wicklore .... just to say the car still blocks the lane at point D even at 8.00am Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1343/comment/19676/

Read Less