Two for the price of one

I climbed this mountain for the first time recently. I started off at the sand bank road car park, before Leitrim Lodge, walked up the lane opposite car park before coming to a gate. After coming through the gate, I turned left and headed toward Hen mountain. The rocky tors provide a nice frame for a photo of Rocky mountain and also afford good views toward wee Slievemoughan, Slievemoughanmore, Eagle mountain and Shanlieve. Thereafter I crossed pathless terrain toward Cock mountain and Slievenamiskan. The gradient is a bit steep is places but eventually in the middle of the ridge between the two mountains very fine views open up of Spelga Dam and of the mountains from Meelmore to Slieve Muck. Having climbed Slieve Muck, Pigeon Rock, Slievemoughanmore, I think Slievenamiskan is probably the best viewpoint to study the reservoir from given its proximity to the reservoir and views of other mountains. The advantage of taking this route is that it is possible to climb Slievenamiskan and Cock mountain in a very short time span: two for the price of one. Similar to Eagle and Shanlieve. After climbing Cock mountain, I descended toward the valley between Cock mountain and wee Slievemoughan. After lunch I headed up wee Slievemoughan. This was my first time on the mountain. From the summit Spelga Dam is hidden from sight but it is possible to see Butter mountain and Slieveloughshannagh in the distance. Thereafter I joined the path between Hen and Cock on one side and Rocky mountain on the other, heading back toward the car park. The full walk took 2.75 hours. The highlights were the views from Hen toward the western Mournes and the views of Spelga from Slievenamiskan and Cock. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/641/comment/6298/

Read Less

paulocon on Slievenamiskan

Slievenamiskan provided a gentle start to our Spelga Dam circuit. The mountain is accessed by a small footbridge crossing Northern Ireland's longest riber, the River Bann (we hopped the wall just down from the house beside the dam) and it's heathery rock-covered slopes got the heart-rate up during the short walk to the summit. From here, there are good views across to Hen and Cock Mountains. The summit doesn't offer a whole lot but it's an excellent starting point for a circuit of the dam. From Slievenamiskan, we quickly made our way across to nearby Cock Mountain. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/641/comment/3948/

Read Less

Slippy slopes!

I started where the Mourne Way crosses the Spelga Pass road; there isn't really anywhere suitable to park here so it probably wasn't the best idea. There's a handy bridge across the river, and then it's straight up the steep and very slippy northern flanks of Slievenamiskan (careful here, especially if coming down this way). Note that the dam itself is out of bounds, if coming back this way, you must cross downstream of it. My picture is taken looking towards paulocon's vantage point.

There's no trig pillar at the summit, so I took a reading at what I estimated to be the highest point. Even the summit is quite a boggy place, so gaiters are advised! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/641/comment/6150/

Read Less

Dam fine

Followed Harry Goodman's excellent directions to bag this summit. One minor point - the 'sturdy bridge' is now in a bad state of repair and a large section of the concrete is missing. Still, with the Bann very low in the summer, it would be easy enough to descend to the river and hop cross. The initial bit of the route was very steep, but firm underfoot, the gradient easing a little only at around 370m. The summit itself is fairly well defined and has great views over the Spelga Reservoir & Dam. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/641/comment/23203/

Read Less