[RWD version 1 ] Few visit the western Derryveagh mountains in Co. Donegal. The stars of this mountain range lie to the east clustered around Slieve Snaght and the hills which circle the Poison Glen. But the western summits shouldn’t be ignored, as the vistas from these are fantastic, not just to their peers to the east, but to Errigal and the Aghlas to the north, Arranmore and the coast to the West, the Slieve League Peninsula and even Benbulbin in Sligo to the south. There are no easy access routes to any of the Derryveagh summits bar Errigal, and the western summits are no exception. Be prepared for steep ascents, false summits, tedious peat hags and boot-sucking bog. But the rewards are worth it, despite the challenges.

We started this walk from a pull in after just crossing a bridge over the Sruthan Na Miol river about 500m west of the causeway across Lough Nacung, south of the village of Dunlewey. The initial ascent is steep and the footing often precarious following the course of Sruthan Na Miol river with its numerous pretty waterfalls which drains Lough Attirive. As we ascended, we were treated to fabulous views of a snow-crested Errigal, with the indigo-blue Lough Nacung and Dunlewey Lough nestled below. A series of flatter respites and additional steep ground led to the summit of Crockglass (489m). En route, we made a slight detour to admire the view over Lough Croreagh, Lough Nacung and Dunlewey Lough.

As we ascended above 400m, the snow lay ankle-deep on the ground, and numerous bog pools bore a skin of frozen ice. After attaining the summit of Crockglass, the spectacular vista of the snow-dusted Derryveagh range and beyond unfolded.

Turning west we tackled the 700m+ traverse to the summit of Crocknafarragh SE Top followed by a further 700m hike to Crocknafarragh (517m). The frosting of snow only added to the magnificence of the landscape, as the contours and ruggedness of the terrain was picked out in pin-sharp detail, and to the south and west, the terrain lay glowering beneath a sun sinking into cloud, so we were fortunate to have views as far south as Benbulbin.

Not wishing to tackle the steep and rocky descent from the col between Crocknafarragh and Crocknafarragh SE Top, we headed NNW in order to avoid the cliffs above Glentornan Lough. The terrain flattened out at the level of this seldom visited lake, nestled mysteriously below the snow-clad mountains we had just summitted. From there we endured a challenging bog trot with sapping peat hags, boot-sucking bog, hidden brooks and two streams in spate. Our efforts were rewarded some 500 metres from the road when the rose-pink snow moon soared above Aghla More. On hitting the tarmac road, we turned east for the short walk back to our Land Rover.