Every Rose has a Thorn

The hill may be ungrazed but we certainly weren't!

George Monbiot, the English environmentalist, believes passionately in the removal of sheep from the mountains and the rewilding of the landscape (see his book 'Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life'). Although I happen to believe in his proposition, there is also a downside as we will see later.

Sherkin is an interesting little island with two pubs/restaurants accessible by hourly ferries from Baltimore. Walking is a big thing on the island, but nowhere was there a mention of our mighty Slievemore (I wonder why...). We walked from the ferry (not mentioning detour for lunch and a pint) at Sherk Pr (W02776 25721) to (almost ) the end of the road and passing through a gate to A (W00400 23785). Here we took a second gate to our left (i.e. away from the holiday home) and travelled along a mucky track before heading upwards to our left (south) over rock benches until we reached the ridge on the south side off the island overlooking the sea. Excellent views. However we now began to encounter a lot of dwarf furze in the knee high heather making progress a little uncomfortable. We headed eastwards towards the notched southerly summit (also 101m) at B (W00855 23562), the scrambling being made difficult by the presence of furze on every handhold. Absolutely wonderful views of Baltimore and its beacon to the east, Oileán Chléire to the west, and the shining ocean (almost) all the way to Galicia in Spain some 550 miles to the south, all from one of the most southerly viewpoints in Ireland.

From here we made our way uncomfortably to the other 101m and main summit.

I really do not recommend the following! From there we attempted to return to the road at C (W00654 23947) but had to retreat as the vegetation was well nigh impassible. So instead we made our way south eastwards back towards A (W00400 23785). Truly dreadful and overgrown, every metre hard won. My Beloved was with me and I'm not sure our marriage can survive too many more like this!

Anyway there are no sheep on Sherkin and as a result the vegetation is completely unlike anything you are likely to encounter elsewhere. Bainigí taitneamh as! . Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1381/comment/18256/

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Aug 2019 Summit Not Reached!

23 Aug 2019: We tried to get to the High Point Slievemore after walking to Point B but after about 20 to 30 mins of meandering through Furze, Briars and generally waist high vegetation we decided it was not to be. We will await updates before we return. Nice short boat trip from Baltimore and the Island has a lot of other attractions so well worth a visit regardless. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1381/comment/20639/

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Epic fail

This island is relatively straight forward to get around. Once the ferry drops you at the pier there are arrows marking the trail that can be followed, which is along the only main road running to the other side of the island. I was hoping to climb to the highest point at Slievemore, but the hill is not grazed and covered in gorse. There is a gate at D (W00472 23813) that leads down to a private house and it has private propert signs up, if somebody was feeling brave they could try to hop it and find an easier way up but trying to get up from outside the gate is awful. After a few attempts and getting a few friendly pricks to remind me of the task involved, I decided I had seen enough of the island and that it wasn't worth the hassle. This one I will have to put down as a fail. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1381/comment/20183/

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Twin tops of Sherkin Island.

Frequent Ferrys make this attractive island fairly accessable. I made the mistake of cycling to near the end of the road to the NW of Slievemore and consequently had to plod through some rank vegetation which was tough going, there must be an easier way maybe from Lough Ordree direction? Visited the two 101m spot heights. Nice island though. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1381/comment/17669/

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Great views - remote and quiet

Not a walk for shorts. Ciarraioch's directions are good but if you stray from the scarce tracks there is normally a choice between knee-high furze/gorse which fills your boots or if you go beyond the summit, head high bracken laced with brambles and briars which is slow and painful going. The easiest option by far is to retrace your steps to the road. It's worth it for the views from the top and even though you retrace your steps, the views on the way back are different and rewarding. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1381/comment/20037/

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