wicklore on Garraunbaun

Yesterday was almost a year to the day since the last post on Garraunbaun. I found my way to the gates referred to by peterturner at approx B (S181 960). They clearly state No Unauthorised Access. I wanted to head up Garraunbaun this way and continue on over to Farbreague. Where there is a will there is a wicklore so I headed back down the road to find someone to ask permission for access. At the first house on the right as I headed back down I saw a bright yellow car with the logo of a stone-selling company on it. Remembering csd’s post about a quarrying operation at the summit I called to the house. No answer, but I rang the phone number on the car and lo and behold someone answered. (on a Sunday!) I got permission for Authorised Access with the warning that I stay well away from any machinery or the quarry itself. Leaving the car at the gates I walked up the track in about 20 minutes. It is completely churned up in places by the quarry trucks, and I passed endless bags of quarried rock waiting to be sold. I will give the name of this company to any serious walkers who wish to also ask for access, and who will respect the access given. Having said that, it is hard to have respect for what has happened to Garraunbaun. The turf operation looks like it has finished but the endless rows of turf seen in csd’s photo have been left to rot back into the ground. Plenty of stone quarrying is in evidence to the west of the summit, and around the broad summit area itself is the decomposing rows of turf. Also part of the summit area has been scraped away, perhaps for future quarrying. This apocalyptic scene is compounded by the bizarre site of a caravan on its side next to the mobile phone mast and a truck. (see photo) I would question whether the highest point needs to be revised for Garraunbaun. The surface being dug up has resulted in large mounds of turf piled up around the broad summit. I took a few gps readings, but what I thought was the highest point was 303 metres from the database figure when I tried to upload it. I have input a second reading that I took on the way to Farbreague but I am not convinced it is the summit. I think the highest point could be atop one of the churned up turf mounds. That’s all I wanted to say about Garraunbaun. Not a beautiful summit by any means, but that’s not her fault. I hope she doesn’t have to wait another year for someone to care enough to write about her again. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/800/comment/3690/

Read Less

Not for thrillseekers

I linked Garraunbaun with a walk over Arderin and Fearbreague. We left a car at C (C (S204 942)) and drove to Glendine Gap (near Arderin). There is a reasonably worn track over Arderin and onto Fearbreague. It is less defined onto Garraunbaun. We had no GPS with us and the day was misty so it was out with the map and compass. A good place to test my rusty navigation skills. Not too many features, so it was down to walking on a bearing and trying to judge distance. Allow 2.5 to 3 hours for this walk.
If you just want to climb Garraunbaun, park at the abovementioned spot and it is an easy there and back walk to the featureless summit. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/800/comment/6694/

Read Less

Way to go

Parked at the junction of road and lane at C (S204 942). Followed lane to "crossroads" which appears as a Tjunction. the grassy lane is offset a little to the left. After that a very pleasant walk up until you can see the top of the mast on the skyline. Then 250m of that special Slieve Bloom trudge through the undergrowth to the summit. As far as I can make out the summit is now the mound beside the mast. This may change as there is ongoing industrial bog clearance around the summit. 1 hour car to car and this seems to be an easier route than those of earlier commentators with no obvious danger of interferance with private property. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/800/comment/6048/

Read Less

csd on Garraunbaun

Poor Garraunbaun! Its summit area has been taken over by some sort of agri-industrial complex. We have turf cutters, a mobile phone mast, and a stone crushing operation all within 500 metres of the top. Then there's all the litter and associated crap that such enterprises generate. Not one of my favourites, it has to be said, and it would make a disappointing finale to an Arderin - Fearbreague - Garranbaun traverse. The photo I have uploaded is probably the least offensive of the ones I took. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/800/comment/2761/

Read Less

peterturner on Garraunbaun

Climbed Garraunbaun after summiting Farbreague from Clashroe. I had orginally liked the appeal of the road that goes very nearly to the top but the enterprise mentioned below has this road closed with two gates and a fence either side as well as a sign stating no access authorised personnel only. From Clashroe the forest around the valley between Farbreague and Garraunbaun (marked on the OSI 1:50k map) has been completely 'harvested' and new forest placed lower in the valley. On the positive side wildlife was good. I saw two groups of young deer (5 in total) and large amounts of frog spawn as well as a wide range of plants and birds. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/800/comment/3023/

Read Less