November 9th, 2019

Photo taken on the afternoon of the 9th of November, 2019 in the direction of Lough Arrow and Castlebaldwin. Glad to report I made it back to my car before those rainclouds made it as far as me. Approach to these peak from Drumkeerin side is a bit of an industrial more and is a bit depressing. Nice enough views from the summit though. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/590/comment/20689/

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Why does this hill not get more visitors?

As with most (I would guess) the reason for our visit to the Arigna area was to take the county top of Roscommon. Given that there are only three MV tops in the whole range, we decided to take in them all as part of a 22km hike on a fine Sunday at the end of April. There is no doubt, as three5four0 has already said, this is the finest in the range. Despite this, it is clear from the stats that only about half the county toppers make the short trip up to Seltannasaggart and less than half of these ventured on as far as Carrane Hill. For those of you who have made the trip to the area and have not taken in this summit you should have. Not that it is an exceptional peak, but it is far superior to the other two in the range, so if you have come over, you should bag it along with the other two and get a whole range in a day!

Our walk started on the very banks of Lake Allen, near the miners way route and took in Seltannasaggart SE and its summit. We abandoned our original plan and headed straight on from here to wind our way through deforested areas and over ditches, drains and barbed wire fences. I would suggest to back track from the summit of Seltannasaggart to the track junction at C (G903 195) and head West South West from there along a track until reaching a junction at D (G88657 19403), where you turn right. You have long since left Roscommon at this stage and are now walking through Leitrim on your way to Sligo. A small range that spans three counties!

At the junction at E (G872 209) hang a left and cross the county border into a wooded area, over the river and take your first right. If memory serves me correct, it is around here that you will see the first of the big yellow signs that direct you towards Carrane Hill! I must apologies, as having had the phone with my GPS readings stolen in the mean time I cannot provide any further points. However, it is pretty straightforward, follow the tracks to the RSJ gate of yet another wind farm. Unlike most others in the area this one will recommend not entering! Hey, it was a quite Sunday afternoon, we had already walked 15km at this stage and our route out was getting a taxi from the small village of Geevagh! We walked on through until reaching a building near the summit from which we turned right and headed directly for the summit over open country.

The summit of this hill offers very good views, as Simon has already mentioned, its pretty unique cliffs are pretty interesting. We descended heading for the starting point mentioned in previous comments. Word of caution though, the descent down the far side is tougher than has already been mentioned! It’s a bit of a slow old slog in fact, with many unseen holes underfoot! Worth the effort though, mind you don’t bank on being able to get a taxi out of Geevagh too easily folks! Still, a hill that I would recommend taking in if you have come to the area to bag an uninspiring county top! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/590/comment/14889/

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The Finest of the Arigna Mountains?

Climbed Carran the same day as Seltannasaggart (& SE slope county top). Parked on the grass verge, just down hill from the start point mentioned by simon3. Followed this lane up, through a gate, past an abandoned farm and straight up hill. The summit gave fine views of the surrounding countryside and towards the Bricklieve Mountains.

It may be possible to link this summit in a long walk from Seltannasaggart, as there is a windfarm on Carran Hill, and it appears to be linked to the one on Seltannasaggart. Certainly there is an access track to the turbines, within sight of the summit cairn. (see simon3's photo) Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/590/comment/5940/

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Navy Seals only for this approach

I decided to try Carrane Hill from the East side as it looked on my map as if there was a forest track going most of the way up and indeed there is. It's possible to park at a forestry gate at F (G86423 20492) although your car probably won't thank you for driving it to here. This road looks to be the one taken by Trailtrekker as I also encountered the sign in the picture. Kept to the right of this track where I eventually encountered another gate, this one stating that it's Carrane windafrm and no unauthorized personnel beyond this point for various safety reasons and CCTV in operation. Looking at my GPS and not wanting to back track and drive all the way around to the other side of the hill as I was planning on taking in Boleybrack after this, I made a dash for it. Just before I reached the turbines and compound, I went into Navy Seal mode and veered of right into the trees to avoid any potential CCTV detection. 20 metres later I was out on the tussocky, heathery hill about 300 metres away from the unusual cylinder shaped trig. The top was covered in cloud but just as I was about to turn my back to leave, it blew over and the views then nearly blew me over. This hill is worth it for the views but I would advise an approach from the Western side to avoid any windfarm trespassing and also for the better views. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/590/comment/20462/

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simon3 on Carrane Hill

One place to start is G (G8408 1965), which is about 1km SW of the summit. There's rich and varied vegetation on the way such as thick rushes and heather. Carran Hill is a scarp which, unusually for Ireland, has its steep cliffy side facing SW.

The picture shows the cliff with the summit cairn. There is also a pipe like trig pillar. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/590/comment/3982/

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