The outsole of my boot lasted a half hour and never made it out of the bog. From there to the summit and back it flapped antagonistically, attached only at the toe, nastily preferring to coil itself beneath my foot, particularly where the footing tended toward the treacherous. And having forgotten her hiking glasses, my wife entertained herself on the ascent watching the ground jump and leap through her bifocals. At least the trail didn't have the lithic ball bearings of Croagh Patrick, steep though it was for her 71-year-old legs. But from bog to summit, her grin never faltered. After two and a half hours, she scrambled the last little bit to the top, trying pointedly to ignore the sides of the trail that went down way too fast for her liking. Having called her best friend from the summit, we descended, something she enjoyed very much through her bifocal lenses. Or at least that is what she said. Later, looking at the view of the mountain from across Dunlewy Lough, she wondered how she'd ever managed to get up there. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/76/comment/6370/

I was first introduced to Donegal 20 years ago. It was the Donegal of Buncrana, Bundoran and Ardara; of kiss me quick tourist towns, warm beer, hiked up prices and bored part time pub staff.
I saw a bit of the sea and the land but in general was not much impressed by Donegal. That was pretty well the only Donegal I knew until Paddy's Day 2018 when I was introduced to real Donegal, its vast and mesmerising desolation and the reasons for why some of us are quite addicted to it.
A spot just off the beaten track, buzzing family owned pubs, simple unfussy fare, big hills only a few minutes away; and good ... the very best ... company helps.
So. Lá Fhéile Pádraig 2018. Errigal. I hate the wind. Should have held back on the beer and curry last night. Wow was it windy!
And the isobars. Them too. Blown on the hill. Blown off it.
I won't add much to mountainviewers' wide experiences and many words already written on Errigal other than just to say that I thought she was a magnificent hill. Not hard to get to, proper big hill track up, 360° Donegal drama and in the conditions, as wild an Atlantic thing as you could get.
For those of us who classify hills under headings, Errigal can go under the label Perfect.
Errigal from the Irish: the received English meaning "oratory" which I seriously doubt and might be better informed to find that the "gal/gail" in Errigal and Donegal be more than a coincidence. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/76/comment/19867/

Last climbed Errigal on St.Patricks Day 2003. Very windy at the top, views amazing. Picture below has Dooish in the background( part of Glenveagh National Park). Recommended walk: Go to the top of the valley at Glenveagh and climb towards the top of the Poison Glen, good chance of spotting red deer or the Golden Eagles. This area is the best walking country in Donegal bar none. Views are excellent. Visit http://www.geocities.com/donegalhillwalker/ Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/76/comment/1430/

Climbed on the third of July. I was up and back from the car park on the Southeast side of the mountain in under 90 minutes, but that meant moving quickly. Amazing views and an exhilirating experience walking the very narrow ridgeline in the buffeting winds. The first stretch was very muddy. My shoes have only now dried out. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/76/comment/1783/

Quite simply, a superb mountain! This was one mountain I'd been longing to climb since getting into hill walking just over a year ago. Having done Sawel earlier in the day, I'd hoped that the drive to Dunlewy would see the worst of the high overnight winds die down as forecast. Arriving in Dunlewy, there was no sign of this happening as the wind lapped up off the Lough.



Seeing some cars in the carpark at the foot of the mountain, I kitted myself up and nervously started the climb. The lady working in the Dunlewy Centre had told me they'd had heavy rain for the past 2 days and it seemed that most of this had been dumped on the bog which marks the initial part of the climb. The bog quickly leads to scree sclopes and the beginning of the real fun. In conditions I'd not experienced before, you could hear the gusts of wind coming before they'd hit you giving a couple of seconds to brace yourself. I had to crouch down a few times on some of the more exposed sections of the ridge towards the top - particularly the part after the shelter and I spent most of the short time I spent on the summit of Donegal sat on my backside. I'd read that one man's pass can be dangerous in high winds and being alone, I decided not to risk it.. it would give me a reason to return to the mountain. Apart from the wind, the conditions were perfect with high visibility offering superb panaromic views - it really feels like the top of the world on Errigal's tiny summit (does anyone know of a smaller summit?)



Met some more brave/foolhardy souls on the descent which can be tricky in places especially on the lower part of the scree. A terrifying yet exhiliarting experience - there is no doubt that you get a real appreciation of the force of nature when being buffeted by the wind on the summit. One of Ireland's iconic mountains and rightly so in my opinon (think there was a discussion about this some time back).. just can't wait to climb it again!! Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/76/comment/4176/

Very occasionally in this part of Donegal you get one of those long, hot summer days where the mountains seem a much less threatening place than on a cold, wet day with low cloud. I wasn't planning on climbing Errigal yesterday as I had already climbed 2 tops earlier in the day but the weather was so good and I had waited many years for an opportunity to climb this mountain so I grabbed it. I took the standard tourist route up from the car park on the R251. Keeping 30m or so to the right of the stream is a much less boggy affair than the eroded path. Once you reach the second stone cairn head immediately for the scree slope of Errigal. Once onto the solid rock I found the going quite easy with only a little scrambling required. I reached the 751m summit after only an hour. I had the summit to myself which is just as well as there is literally only room for one person to stand. There wasn't a breath of wind at all up there and I was able to stay in short sleeves for the entire climb. In the late evening sunshine the views were incredible. I could easily make out the Sawel-Dart ridge in the Sperrins to the SE and Benbulbin in Sligo to the SW. However the view south over Dunlewy Lough and the Poisoned Glen up to the bizarrely-shaped Slieve Snaght is one I will never forget. To me Slieve Snaght looked like the head of a king cobra or even perhaps a Sphinx (see photo). The view north was equally good over the high Derryveagh ridge to the Aghlas and Muckish. The lack of wind made the one-man's path to the second summit easy. I spent a good fifteen minutes enjoying the views before heading back by the same route to the car. I met two lads on the way down who had approached from Muckish Gap (!) and were on their fifth summit of the day. I eventually reached the car park feeling tired but immensely satisfied at conquering Errigal - the highest mountain I have climbed so far and only the third over 2000 ft. Total trip up and down - about 1 hr 40 mins. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/76/comment/6410/