Most walkers visiting the Knockmealdowns are likely to head for the eponymous mountain by way of the Sugarloaf with the starting and finishing point at the Bay Lough car park. The lesser visited western hills of the range are well worth visiting too. We started and finished at the Crow Hill car park (A in the map) and we did a circular loop taking in Knockclugga,Knockshanahullion and Knocknalougha. It is an easy 12 km hike without any significant ascents or descents.

There are a couple of curious man-made rock sculptures near the summit of Knockshanahullion: one is a dolmen about four feet high and the other, standing proudly erect a small distance away, is an unmistakable phallus shaped creation made from three stones and is about six feet high. Do they date from the megalithic period perhaps? Was the phallus shaped one the site of some ancient annual fertility ceremony involving druids and maidens cavorting in the nude? Alas, no. I assumed they were created in the last year or so but I was surprised to see a photo of the dolmen in Simon 3's report from 2003 in which he described it as "modern-megalithic" :-) The fact that it has remained intact nineteen years on is impressive and a credit to the people who built it. I don't know if the other one was there in 2003 or if it's of more recent vintage but they are both interesting and amusing curiosities and worth checking out.

A note for those intending to travel to the Crow Hill car park from the south: I drove from Carrigtwohill in East Cork and the satnav took me through a torturous route via Conna and Araglen. Avoid. Instead, take the M8 as far as Mitchelstown and thence via Ballyporeen. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/188/comment/23708/