gerrym on Slievetooey Far West Top

There is no doubt that to fully appreciate this hill an approach must be made from the western seaboard, where ground falls precipitously over 1000ft to a battered Atlantic coast. I started from Glencolumbkille - giving a walk to the top of 15km and 4.25 hours along some of the most spectacular scenery in the country. Parking at C (G526 874), beside a slipway to the tidal reaches of the Merlin river.

A short road walk brings a track uphill to a signal tower at 222m (all part of a waymarked loop walk). The stunning views are turned up here and the dial can only go higher. A filmsy fence separates the 200m drop as walk along the clifftop to the dramatically jagged height of Sturrall. Walk along lower cliffs to the little harbour at Port (D (G548 890)), surrounded by hills and striking seastacks. Could also start from here as there is ample parking.

Climb up from sea level to cliffs over 200m again on Port Hill before dropping steeply down to the Glenlough river (E (G572 910)) - above one of the most dramatic storm beaches you are ever likely to see. Now the climb is really on as gain sight of the line of high cliffs where Sliabh Tuaidh meets the Atlantic and spawns a myriad of different sized and shaped seastacks. Continued height gain brought me to a point where the GPS read 365m to the water below. Rising air created mist near the top of the cliffs and hugged the ground at the top before disappearing. In this period of murk the seastacks took on an other worldly appearance and shafts of light created biblical areas of golden calm out to sea.
Head S for the top as the ground starts to drop along the coast towards Gull Island, looking across to Lough Anaffrin nestling below steep slopes. The top is quite stoney and has a number of small cairns. Views extend back along the coast already walked and north along coast to come, the height of Errigal and the Derryveagh mtns and the Bluestacks, south over Donegal Bay to the sharp line of Benbulben and the low line of the Ox mtns.

This was part of a 2 day walk and i camped beside the summit cairn but there is plenty of scope for different options to explore this hill and surrounding coast. (A fuller description will appear in the walks section). Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/580/comment/3818/

Read Less

High seas

From the summit of Slievetooey Far West Top, the views along the coastline to the west are quite spectacular. Tormore Island, which rises to 139M is visible on the left of the picture. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/580/comment/18493/

Read Less

All About The Journey, Not The Destination

I had a mixed day weatherwise, with dark skies, rain and flat light one minute, and blue skies the next, but it only added to the spectacular views to be had from the summit. If anything, the views on the approach if you come from the west at Port, are even more amazing along the coastal cliffs. On the way back I headed for Port Hill more directly, and found an unexpected bonus in the views around Lough Anaffrin - a stunning spot, tucked away from most eyes. Beautiful part of the country. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/580/comment/19930/

Read Less

Finest Coastal Walk?

Gerrry McVeigh's YouTube masterpiece "The Finest Coastal Walking in Ireland (Walks around Port in Donegal)" throws down the gauntlet to the rest of you who think otherwise. But no matter how wonderful your bit of coast may be it's hard to know if you will be able to capture its essence as perfectly as McVeigh has done here. The nominal goal of the walk will be Slievetooey Far W Top but the fact is that the whole route is top class.
The YouTube description says:
A walk along some of the finest coast in Ireland in the far west of Donegal. Starting in remote An Port and climbing up to reach a stunning stretch of cliffs, passing above sea stacks of all shapes and sizes. Dropping to sea level to visit the amazing storm beach at Glenlough Bay, watching seals and rivers dropping into the Atlantic. Climbing steeply to even higher cliffs and to Slievetooey Far West Top at over 1,500 ft.
Gerry has uploaded the exact route here at TRACK 2176. A short quote from his write up:
The cliffs kept rising and rising to over 1,000 feet before the pull of Slievetooey tore me away. Across the water to the north and west snow capped mountains told a tale of the harsh late March weather. A stiff breeze told me how cold it was as my boots crunched over patches of old snow. The broad stoney top of Slievetooey Far West Top at over 1,500 feet gave a vantage point back over the wild coast just travelled. From the summit cairn the clear air gave views across Donegal Bay to the mountains of Sligo, the Bluestack Mountains and the iconic hills to the north of Donegal.
Check out Gerry's Track and watch his movie. And I hope that, some day, you'll experience the real thing Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/580/comment/17724/

Read Less