eflanaga on Silver Hill

Started walk at IE (G88651 88712) (210m) at Disert in the shadow of Carnaween. Having parked the car I walked the short distance down to a small cottage. Here I used a style beside a gate to cross over to the service road which runs for some distance up and beyond the windfarm towards Silver Hill. I passed through the second gate with the warning signs and at the first bend left the track to follow my bearing of 30 degrees to a hill named Meenacloghspar IF (G89238 90072) about 1.5K from start. Great views in all directions from the top. From here I took a bearing of 37 degrees although Silver Hill was quite plain to be seen in the distance on a clear & sunny but cool morning. There are what appear to be a number of marker posts (white top/blue bottom) following along the path of both bearings taken to this point. My next target was the lower height of 444m on Cullaghacro IG (G89585 90631) which required negotiation of a wet area. The first part of this, through peat hags, was easily navigable, however, in hindsight it may have been better to gain height and make for the upper level of Cullaghacro as the ground, once you cross the fence halfway between Meenacloghspar and Cullaghacro, is quite marshy requiring a degree of zig-zagging to find the driest route through. Even so it wasn't terribly difficult but may be so in more inclement weather conditions. Passing Cullaghacro I negotiated another fence and made a beeline on a bearing of 67 degrees straight for the top of Silver Hill, 1.2K away, the ground improving rapidly with ascent. The climb is relatively short and not overly difficult. The top of the mountain is covered in grey rock slabs which, presumably from a distance and in sunlight, glints silver, thereby explaining the hill's name. An obvious cairn appears as you near the summit. On reaching this another smaller cairn is visible 100m away just past the tarn and near another fence. On first glance I presumed the larger cairn at IH (G90659 91280) (GPS) marked the top (GPS gave height here as 597m) . In common with CSD below I was perplexed when I reached the second cairn II (G90694 91376), (the first still looked the higher of the two), as GPS reading gave the height at the second as 609m. I'm presuming that CSD's grid reference for his 'higher' point refers to the first cairn I describe. This highlights the discrepancy you often get with GPS. Regardless, the views from either cairn are quite spectacular as described by GerryM below. From here it was a case of an about turn but with a slight deviation to the north of my outward route in order to tackle Carnaween (See for second part of walk). Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/278/comment/2625/

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Misty Silver

Like csd I drove up the boreen from the Glenties road and parked by the sheep pen on the crest about half a km from its end. There's plenty of room for one car, but it could be a problem after heavy rain as the surface was a bit mushy (what, rain in Donegal? Surely not). Headed down southwards to cross the stream and follow the track up the hill, then out onto easy open ground to the summit. A few outcrops gave some optional scrambly playing. As for garrettd this was my final VL, having finished Paddy Dillon's list in 1999, so I made sure to go to all the summits. As far as I could tell in the mist the heights were pretty similar. Took a more direct line down to the road end, which was a mistake as the ground was much boggier and it meant running the gauntlet of the unfriendly farm dog in the yard. The farmer called it off but the only reaction I got to a friendly wave was a scowl. Bit of a contrast to the Kerry farmer a few days before where we had blethered for ages, until his wellies started to fill with water! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/278/comment/18728/

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csd on Silver Hill

Coming from Glenties, we turned off the Ballybofey road and parked beside a sheep pen at MagraBg NE (G8956 9297), where there's room for one car. After backtracking on foot for about 100m, we left the road at a gate on the left and followed the track up the side of Silver Hill, which starts by the stream at the bottom of the field. The track peters out eventually, but gives you a good start up Silver Hill. There are no fewer than three separate cairns adorning the summit area, I reckoned the one at J (G90653 91281) was the highest, which seems to agree with the co-ordinates on MV. The picture shows this cairn and the view NW. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/278/comment/1086/

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Every hill has its silver lining - my last VL

To justify the near 400 mile round trip from Dublin, I had planned an ambitious assault on 10 peaks including the all important Silver Hill, my last VL. In truth I only became properly aware of the VLs in about 2010 but had been diligently ticking off the 2000 footers in Paddy Dillon's, Mountains of Ireland since I managed to find a copy in the UK (unavailable in any bookstore I checked in Ireland at the time). Thankfully there is a great deal of overlap in the two lists!! I had finished Paddy's list on Slieve Snaght in July 2012, which on account of the remaining unticked VLs was somewhat anti-climatic.

I started my last VL hike at the bend on the road at K (G894 884) and took in Binnasruell, Silver Hill, Cullaghcro and Carnaween. I set off with some trepidation on account of others' experience with wet ground and interminable wire fences without styles. Both are sadly still in evidence. Where there are styles, they come in pairs, right beside each other. That joke about waiting for buses came to mind. I lost count of the number of prominent looking fence posts on these hills which promised much but seemed to signify nothing special at all. Despite the remoteness, the visitor book in the metal box on top of Carnaween revealed four other summiteers on that peak already that week!

I reached the summit of Silver Hill at 3.30pm on 22 August 2014, roughly 21 years and seven months after I first ascended, unknowingly, my first VL, Tonlagee, Co. Wicklow. I'm unsure about my encore - the 97 Arderins I have left seem too much to contemplate for now. Many thanks to Mountainviews - a superb resource for walking in Ireland which I heartily recommend to all my walking contacts when I get the chance.

As far the 10 peak plan, I had to make do with 7. At approximately 65 miles per peak bagged, it's debatable how economical it was but the last VL had to be done one way or the other. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/278/comment/17631/

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gerrym on Silver Hill

Climbed Sunday 29.5.05. Parked at chapel on Glenties to Ballybofey road (L (G896 943)) and walked short distance downhill to take road on left. This is initially tarmac but as gain height changes to gravel, cross metal gate and pass sheep pens as follow course of Owegarve river on right. At head of valley can veer off track to the right towards the thunderous sound of water dropping steeply and can then follow the river upstream. Cross at first opportunity to opposite bank as the river is deep and there are very limited crossing points. I took off for the adjacent rise towards the W side of Silver Hill - the ground soon levels out and there is an extensive area of annoyingly wet ground with peat hags to negotiate. Once past this can pick up a fenceline which climbs over firmer and rockier ground all the way to the summit area. Good views into the Reelan river valley past the steep face of Binnacally to Gaugin at its far end. To the N views are dominated by Agla , but as gain height Slieve Snaght comes into view. The fence is quite substancial but I wonder at its use as it has fallen into serious disrepair at the summit where can cross. The summit area has small cairns and there are two little tarns, with some more slightly lower to the S. Views to the E are to the bigger hills of Lavagh Beg, Lavagh More and Croaghgorm. To the S Donegal coastline, Bay and into Sligo and Mayo with thier own distinctive mounatin ranges on show. To the W the Atlantic stretches out to the horizon beyond Arran Island. In the immediate vicinity there are five large wind turbines working away silently to the SW. The Eany Beg river has also been dammed creating a lough (was not on my map which is a few years old) to faciliotae a hydro scheme. I camped for the night on the summit and had the pleasure of watching the sun set over the Atlantic from the comfort of my sleeping bag. Also got some cracking pictures as the sun went down and the shadows lenghtened. Had a good sleep and was up at 8.30 the next morning to continue exploring the westerly side of the Bluestacks. (see Carnaween for continuation of the days walking). Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/278/comment/1731/

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