We decided to go to the Mourne Mountains for the June Bank Holiday weekend. The weather was due to be good and from research, we knew there were lots are good quality walking routes. We bought a map of the mountains and decided on a route that took in three of the four highest peaks in the Mournes: Slieve Bearnagh (739m), Slieve Donard (853m) and Slieve Commedagh (765m). The route would be approximately 17.5km. As we had already hiked in excess of 20km a couple of times in the Wicklow Mountains, we were confident that the chosen route in the Mournes was achievable. Keep reading to see how that changed.
So to access the Mournes, one of the best places to stay is in and around the town of Newcastle, Co.Down. To keep costs down we decided to stay in a campsite, located in Bloody Bridge, called Mourne Camping. We chose this campsite, as we didn't have a tent and this site had a small hut where you could hire bunkbeds. Lucky for us, no other people had booked into the hut so we had it to ourselves. The hut came with a small cooking tent, an outdoor fire and a picnic table. Sitting at the bottom of the mountains, it really is an idyllic location and even though, not luxurious, it was a really special place to stay.
The next morning we headed off to our start point. We parked the car in a car park about half a mile before you reach meelmore campsite. You will see it easily on the map. The route starts off following the Trassey Track. It is very stony and quite hard on the legs but is on the level. You follow this track until you come to a Y junction. To follow the route that we took you take the track to the right. An alternative hike is to take the track to the left, climbing up Hare's Gap and hike to Donard, Commedagh or both. Turning right we began to climb following the track between Meelmore and Bearnagh until we met the famous Mourne Wall.
The wall is over 6 feet in height and runs the entire length of the mountain range. The route we had planned told us to turn left once we crossed the wall and follow it up to the summit of Bearnagh. This was the first thing we had underestimated when planning our route. On the map, the Mourne Wall was clearly marked. We had taken it for granted that wherever the wall was marked, we could walk. This was not the case. It was not possible to follow the wall to the summit and would have been dangerous to do so. As such, we amended our route and followed a faint track ascending around the mountain. We didn't reach the summit but made it within about 20 meters.
Now to the next underestimation of the day. Our chosen route was to continue following the wall descending down Bearnagh until we were to reach Hare's Gap. Again, there was no specific track, just what I can only describe as an avalanche of rocks which got progressively bigger and steeper. The photo opposite only gives a small flavour of what we were faced with. To be honest, I don't know how Johnny didn't kill me. I would have, if I was him. I was the one who had chosen the route and it was turning out to be very difficult in very hot sunny weather. At times we were sitting down trying to ease ourselves down the rocks. The walking poles proved to be invaluable. A small slip could have had very serious consequences. When we reached the bottom and looked back up at what we had come down, I couldn't believe how long and steep it was. When I say my legs felt like jelly for about 10 minutes afterwards, I'm not exaggerating. Once we reached Hares Gap, we continued the track forward towards Slieve Donard. This track was on the level but again quite rocky.
The sun was very strong at this point and we were beginning to tire. We realised that we had not anticipated the amount of water needed for this hike on a very sunny day and began to worry about if we could continue. We continued walking until we could see the difficulty of Donard and stopped for lunch. We had some decisions to make. Do we continue, do we turn back or do we amend our route? After a much needed lunch and water, we decided to go with option three, to amend our route. If we went up Donard, we would run out of water, no doubt and with the tiredness we were already experiencing, this would be dangerous. Facing us was a steep climb up to the summit of Slieve Commedagh. We had seen some people climbing up it while we were eating lunch so knew it was climbable. Off we went, slowly climbing up the steep hill. There was no track so we were literally making our own path. Although it was very steep, once you take your time, you'll get up it.
Once at the top we crossed the wall and walked over to the summit of Commedagh (765m). It was strange because for the whole day we were in the hot sunshine. As soon as we reached Commedagh's summit, we were covered in cloud and couldn't see anything. We were unsure if the weather was changing so quickly continued on our hike. From this point we were on the homeward trail (Although we were still a couple of hours away from the car). We followed the wall as we descended from the summit. Again it was quite steep and rocky but nothing compared to earlier.
For a short upward section we decided to walk on the wall. There are man made steps in the wall to help you hoist yourself up so we assumed it was safe to walk on. I was nervous walking on the wall. The odd stone would move slightly and I was getting dizzy looking at my feet while walking so we got down. On the route back to Hare's Gap, we also summited Slievenaglogh en route. Once we reached Hare's Gap, we took a break for a few minutes and then began the descent down the Gap until we met Trassey's Track where we had walked so many hours before. By this time we were worn out, sun burnt and dehydrated. We made our way along the track only stopping to wash our faces in a stream (I felt like Bear Grylls) and then continued on until we reached the car. The most important part of reaching the car was getting more water. The amended hike had taken us seven hours. I can't imagine how long it would have taken us if we had continued with our original route. We were disappointed that we didn't summit Donard but it will always be there and our safety was more important.
The Mourne Mountains are spectacular. They are challenging and not to be underestimated. If you are considering hiking in the Mournes for the first time, there are a few things that are a must. The first is a map and a planned route. Your route should be well researched and you need to be comfortable with adapting that route if you need to. This is where your map will prove invaluable. The second is water. There are many lakes and running streams in the Mournes. These could be used to refill if you have the correct purifiers with you. The final piece of advice I personally would give is bring walking poles. They will save your knees on the steep rocky descents. If we would like to attempt the original route that we didn't accomplish, you can access it here:
http://www.walkni.com/d/walks/575/Slieve%20Donard,%20Commedagh%20and%20Bearnagh.pdf
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