wicklore on Spinans Hill SE Top

Wary of csd’s forest ordeal on Spinian, today I sought and found an easy approach to Spinian which I did after tackling Spinian SE Top.
Initially I went looking for Simon3's starting point for Spinian SE Top. Having recently suffered the curse of a forest crawl and gorse field obstacle course I was anxious to have an easy walk on this wet and cloudy day. I found a new parking spot just off the road at Moortn Hs (S924 907). I asked at an intercom in the gate across the road and the lady said it was ok to park there. A track led north and almost immediately I reached the edge of the forest which can be seen in Padodes photo of Spinian SE Top taken from Keadeen-I was at the corner of the long finger of forest stretching to the left. Keeping the forest on my left I crossed fences and fields and soon came to the summit. The bad weather meant visibility was down to a couple of hundred feet so I can't comment on the wonderful views I know must be available from up there. I would urge caution when climbing the large stone wall enclosing the summit in wet weather as it was quite slippy. I got a start when I saw what looked like a large bull sitting near the summit (see photo) but on closer (careful) inspection it turned out to be a large boulder! Leaving the summit I considered csd’s comments on the awkward route over to Spinian which he had done in reverse. I decided to explore the possibility of a direct route through the forest. I followed a fence west from the summit until it reached the trees. The fence continued into the trees with a track beside it and I followed it until the track ran out. The forestry grew denser and the fence disappeared into the murky darkness. In the interest of aiding future walkers I valiantly plunged in.
To my surprise and delight following this fence was easy and soon brought me across the ‘finger’ of forest to the fields on the other side. I emerged from the dense forest at a hut. To return to the parking spot from here simply turn left, keep the forest on your left and reach your car in a few minutes. Padodes’ photo from Keadeen makes it possible to visualize all of this. I would recommend this as a return route if parking where I did as it was easier than climbing across many barbed wire fences on the way up. Note-the spread of forestry on Spinian is much more extensive than shown on the OS map. From the hut I continued on to find the main Spinian summit. (See Spinian for the next section.) Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/841/comment/3370/

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Brissels or Brussels

Climbed both hills on 16/12/17, following the main route described by others here on MV.

The forestry between the tops has thinned out a little (or so it seems by reference to previous comments) and further inroads are being made into the forestry with machinery that make the route much more obvious.

When researching this hill before my visit I found myself confused as to the pronunciation (Spinnian's?, Spynan's?) and was enlightened by, well, you guessed it, google.

Apparently in the early 1800s there was an English geologist named Thomas Weaver charged with doing a little research into the geology of Wicklow. He seems to have spent quite some time traversing the range and commenting on the geology of many lesser known hills.

His publication described the hills of Spynan's (Spinan's), Brisselstown (Spinan's SE), Kilranela (Cloghnagaune), Tinoran, and others in the Baltinglass area.

On this hill, "Brisselstown" as he spelled it, he noted that "Craggy protuberances stud the upper part and form the summit of this hill which is encircled by three concentric mounds, [...], which with the crags above display a kind of mural crown, perceptible at a great distance. The object of these enclosures is not at present known, [...], and the craggy summit may have served as an altar."

I certainly found the summit more interesting than the main top to the west, which is flatter with a number of shallow bog pools.

The same publication, Transactions of the Geological Society of London, Volume 5 (1821?), measured the hill at 1330 feet, which seems fairly close! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/841/comment/19812/

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csd on Spinans Hill SE Top

This shot shows Spinans Hill viewed from Spinans Hill SE Top. You can see the line of forestry blocking the way: I came from the right (north), handrailing the edge of the trees using the field visible. Even with this there was some pushing through forestry required, though the trees are not nearly as dense as on the northern approaches to Spinans Hill itself. The area around the summit of SE Top must have been a site of some importance in antiquity, judging from the number of cairns and other artefacts visible. Brusselstown Ring, which encircles the summit, is said to be the largest ring fort in Europe, and is supposedly the setting for the central action in the Bórama. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/841/comment/2781/

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padodes on Spinans Hill SE Top

The most impressive way to become acquainted with Spinans Hill is, I think, to climb to the summit of its towering neighbour, Keadeen. The almost aerial view from there shows the low, twin-topped hill to advantage, and especially the great oval hill-fort on the nearby east top, the Brusselstown Ring, with its crumbling boulder rampart. (An obliging arrow of sunshine lit it up for me as I took the photo yesterday.) The remains of another hill-fort on the sister top to the west is now smothered in forestry. I’ve seen the Ring variously described as a Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age monument, which leaves me none the wiser. There is no exact agreement either on the measurement of the axes of the Ring, with 320 x 200m or 300 x 190m being given in different documents. Wicklow people seem happy, at least, to sing its praises as the largest hill-fort in Europe. I have read that an outer stone defence, about 5km in circumference, but now almost razed to the ground, encompasses the two tops and their respective forts, but it is hard to identify in the photo. As far as place-names go, learned heads have conjectured that the “Dún Bolg” mentioned in the Bórama (cattle tribute feud) episode in the Book of Leinster is the name our embattled ancestors gave the Ring. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/841/comment/3004/

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csd on Spinans Hill SE Top

Spinans Hill SE Top is a much more appealing summit than the main top to the west. Note, though, if you're planning to approach from Spinans Hill that your way will be blocked by a wall of dense forestry. The tree cover is now much more extensive than shown on Sheet 56, so I had to detour to the north (losing some height in the process: grr!). The summit area of SE Top is littered with ancient stones, and the peak itself is in the form of an interesting rock outcrop. Great views of Keaden, Lug, and all the other west Wicklow favourites, as well as Blackstairs to the south. I left to the north to head back to my car (see Spinans Hill comment for location), but I can't really recommend this as it involves crossing a deep man-made trench and several fields full of livestock. Perhaps someone else will have better luck with the Spinans with an approach from the south. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/841/comment/2780/

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