I came here with very heavy boots full of water and soaked far to far up my thighs having fallen into a hidden stream on my descent from Craignamaddy via Mullaghbane. I was glad this was a relatively simple 4.5km, mostly track and well grazed open hillside.

Following Track 2159 I was busy enjoying the scenery and managed to walk past the easiest access option for the hill. Backtracking it was a distinctive gate (open today) at the end of a long row of conifers.

Inside the gate there was an indistinct but recognisable trail created by a tractor used to gain access to the hill. Following this kept me out of the heather and heading in the right direction on soggy but good ground. Eventually I headed off this track directly to the fence line and followed that the last few hundred metres to the summit. This was harder going with a mixture of deep grass and heather.

I'm true Sperrins style the summit is marked by the meeting of fence lines and nothing else but has great 360 views of most of the Sperrin range.

I stayed here long enough to make a cup of tea and enjoyed watching a heavy shower come up the valley below Mullaghcarn.

I took a slightly more direct line off the hill to the earlier faint trail and retraced my steps back to Barnes Gap. The shower I watched earlier now caught up with me but didn't dampen the spirits on such a warm late afternoon.

At the end of the gravel track I'd highly recommend taking the lower Gorticashel Road as this descends right through Barnes Gap and is very picturesque as well as avoiding the noisy dogs at the bottom of the quieter waymarked road.

Total distance was 16.5km including Craignamaddy and highly recommended.

Detailed report and photos on my blog: https://niallharran.com/2022/07/02/sperrins-hike-part-ii-mullaghbolig-442m/
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Video on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Q-sIMgGyNbw
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. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/647/comment/23575/