After being rained off on a stormy day several weeks ago, we returned to complete the Raghtin More - Urrishills ridge, this time starting from where we left off, at the car park above Mamore bridge. The track up to the col was of the usual soft type, but quite good despite that. There was however an unusual amount of clegs, forcing the better half to quickly change from her shorts to trekking pants in a blink of an eye, while i tried to kill as many of them as possible. Climbing up a small sharp slope before a gentler rise to the summit of Mamore Hill, the last of the morning mist disappeared into a blue sky and the promised good day by the weather men arrived. We continued with the descent down to the Gap of Mamore and followed the old quarry track (the one on the north side of the Gap and not marked on the map) before ascending up through heather and then a faint path to the first top for a spot of lunch. There is a small path following the ridge over Croaghcarragh to Urris Hills and this tended to go straight up the sharp slopes on the far sides of the small descents on this ridge walk. But if you looked carefully, there is in some places, a more contouring path which rises to the right of these small cols in an arc back up onto the ridge.

The good weather gave far ranging views all around, in complete contrast to our previous visit, the summit of the Urris Hills gave one surprise, after the earlier clegs, we now encountered Ladybirds which was a much better experience, despite finding them everywhere on our clothes and rucksacks. We descended to Lough Fad (a wonderfully dark lochan with a rocky ridge behind) and followed the river downhill, till we met the the tracks to Lenankeel, then the road back to Mamore Bridge.

Whilst supping a pint in the Rusty Nail, the barman enquired were we had been walking. After we had told him, he said there was a path right to the summit of Raghtin More, from in front of the pub and that is the way some in the pub would climb the hill. Might be of interest, given that the eastern slopes are of the soft variety or when the river cannot be forded. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/727/comment/3249/