Bright sunshine, blue skies, mainly dry underfoot - not typical conditions for a Sunday morning in April. We were surprised to find the Glenmacnass car park already full at 10 a.m. and something of a festival atmosphere as visitors set up tables on the grass near the river or headed up the slopes towards Scarr or Tonelagee.
Crossing the road and stepping over the watery ditch at
GlMacnas (O11388 03049), there is a well-defined path heading east up the slope, quite steep for the first 150 metres or so and easier thereaftet. This track joins the path along the ridge at
A (O12495 02843), not far from a feature marked as "Lockspit Stone" on the E-W map (a standing stone on a local high point).
From there to the summit of Kanturk is a very easy and pleasant walk of a few hundred metres, with two well-defined paths to choose from, both marked on the E-W map - a minor path taking the direct line along the ridge and a slightly longer path leading to the south-west of the summit area. The longer option avoids an area of swampy ground at the low point of the col.
Kanturk summit area is interestingly "lumpy" with several granite outcrops.
The boundary or contact between the granite and mica schist is quite evident, both in the surrounding views and underfoot. As you survey the surrounding hills you can see the typical rounded shapes of the granite hills to the west, while the peak of Scarr stands out with its characteristic pointy shape, and Glenmacnass waterfall is a visually dramatic feature of the geological boundary. Walking from Kanturk towards Scarr the granite underfoot gives way to schist.
E-W mapping marks this summit as "Bracket Rocks", reserving the name "Kanturch" for the summit about a km south (known to Mountainviews as Scarr North-West Top).
Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/1469/comment/24413/
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