Mweelrea, Connaught's highest, presents magnificent scenery, but is a mountain which must be treated with respect. In poor visibility good navigational skills are essential. 1.Most direct approach is from the West. Start at L765688 A and take a rough farm track East. At end cross a gate and head SE for 2km to a river/stream junction L780676 B. With the river to the right continue up more steeply E to a col L793676 C and then go SSW up the ridge to the summit. 2. Starting from the Delphi Activity Centre L839652 D off the R335 follow the line of the Owennaglogh River west. Once beyond the forest go up SW to a col on the ridge above L806650 E and head NW to cross the minor top of Mweelrea SE Spur. Continuing NW descend to a high col and the start of steep ascent initially up NW and then due N around the rim of a deep corrie. 3. The most difficult route starts at the N end of Doo Lough L828695 F. Head SW and follow the Sruhauncullin stream up and into a large corrie. Take a broad grassy ramp up to the right - this is a steep traverse especially near top.. Once out on the broad flat ridge go W and contour around the slopes of Ben Bury to a col (already noted and referenced for route 1) before heading up steeply SSW to the top. 4. For Mweelrea circuit route see short summary for Ben Lugmore East top for initial access. From Ben Bury walk 1km SW to col before steep ascent to the south of 170m, which is rocky initially then gives way to grass. You will reach summit 1km from the col. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/4794/

Parked at Dadreen near the Silver Strand and headed up and across to meet the Bunanakee River. Climbed up along the river valley to the saddle between Ben Bury and Mweelrea at 650m, where spectacular views across Delphi and Killary Fjord opened up. Continued up the ridge to the summit and rewarded with panorama including Glassillaun and other Connemara beaches, the Twelve Bens and Maumturks, Tully Mountain and the islands of Inisboffin, Inisturk, etc far below. On 30 of June with long days and in the middle of a heatwave, the temperature was in the low 20s and the ground was dry and the footing was easy -- the main considerations were having enough water and sunscreen, and contending with horseflies on the lower slopes. Even so, this is a climb to be treated with respect and there is always the risk of the wind picking up or cloud coming in quickly. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/19958/

Really enjoyed my ascent of this peak on 11 Sept 04, what a great hill!
I parked at L82820 69529 G just before the end of the Doo Lough, aiming for the Ramp in the northern corrie. Weather was very windy with showers and I started at 11am having done Croagh Patrick already that morning. I was a bit worried about crossing the stream at the head of the lough, but the stepping stones were good. From the wee sheep enclosure I worked up the stream and into the corrie. In the heavy rain the waterfalls were most impressive and everywhere. Worth doing in bad weather just to see this (??). The Ramp was fun and a superb mountain feature. Occasional bits of path, but never hard. In the mist I couldn't see where it exited to the plateau, just lots of cliff bands. Finally the path made a hook round and I reached the col. As I approached Ben Bury in 40mph winds the mists cleared and I got a view of the summit that made it look like a steaming volcano! (see photo). It cleared more and more as I approached the summit. By the time I reached the pile stones on a muddy lump, aka the summit at L798988 H 66806 it was mostly clear and I had great views. very happy! Just over 2 hours up.
Enjoyed the views in spite of the very strong winds and then back down the same way. Corrie not quite as impressive now that the waterfalls had receeded and I could see, but still a fantastic place. 4 hours rt. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/1246/

Davy Spillane was playing in Matt Molloy’s “at” furry Germanics to whom he had been billed as a Celtic John McLaughlin or Christ himself. As he bate out sensuous and beautiful landscapes, they sat terrified in the light of a virtuoso they’d never heard of, to music they didn’t understand - and his exhortations to join in, might as well have been directed at a gallery of von Hagen exhibits. Inasmuch as golf is a waste of a good walk, so was this. At my earliest convenience I made for the nearest exit. This…….. was Mweelrea. For a pittance of an investment, Mweelrea gives you endless returns. A strolling start with a continuously ascending incline to the edge of as Dillon describes it, a “wicked drop” to Dubhlough. In a mirky morning, these are the kind of crags that smoulder, that boil and rumble like coals in a giant’s grate. Then, the contrast of a long trail across nothingness, and suddenly beneath the mist, what everything from here to there and from now until then is about, the glittering golden edge of Tir na nOg. To a child of the gentle Solway, of pastel greens and blues and Southern breezes, this introduction to real ocean will go with me to the gats. Still, I see golden islands in ink blue depths and the world’s end of a culture that stretched from the Caucasus; diverse but more cohesive than any empire. I could visit in a bit of vis but I doubt if she’d be so melodramatic. I recall an outward bound centre resonating with kee-ho-ing weans and some lightfooted parking between it and the lough, a thing called “the ramp” by which our kind ascend and descend, but where in the blackness I thought I spied my own death. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/1521/

Photo taken looking from near the summit of Mweelrea to the ridge above Coum Dubh on St. Stephen's Day 2000. Trackback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/256/