rmilne on Mweelrea

Really enjoyed my ascent of this peak on 11 Sept 04, what a great hill!
I parked at DooL N (L82820 69529) 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 E (L798 988) 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. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/1246/

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Bleck Cra on Mweelrea

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. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/1521/

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milo on Mweelrea

My most recent ascent was 3 years ago. This was from the west side via a private green route originating near the high point of the road before it descends to the controversial Uggool Strand. While the road passed close to two dwellings there was no-one in to ask and no objection was made by a couple of people working not far away. An easy and direct route to the true summit, unlike the Doolough route over Ben Bury. Ask if possible and take care to avoid fences on the descent. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/423/

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Sweeney on Mweelrea

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

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djouce on Mweelrea

A great circuit from north of Doo Lough down to the Delphi Adventure centre. Very steep climb up west of Doo Lough. Cliffs - would be dangerous in poor visibility (see photo). Time needed - 6 to 7 hours. Great views in all directions over sea and barren landscapes. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/34/comment/419/

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