Lugnaquilla & Marley Park to Knockree - 6th, 7th August 2011

8 weeks to go. We need to get some serious training in. So this weekend we decided to do one tough and one long hike. Lugnaquilla on Saturday (14km, 925m) and Marley Park to Knockree on Sunday (19km, 500m). I love Lugnaquilla so was really looking forward to getting on it again. It was only our third time to climb Lug but it already felt like an old friend.  No longer do I dread the steep climbs and for the first time ever, I got up Camara Hill without stopping. I think Johnny had the same idea in his head as he didn't ask me once did I want to stop for a breather. He just kept going and didn't even look back at me. Without the temptation of stopping I was able to keep going until I got to the top. For those of you who have climbed Camara Hill you will know why I felt a sense of achievement from doing this. It was a real sign that our fitness has improved dramatically. Other than that, the only thing worth mentioning from the hike is the fact that I fell in the bog and was covered in wet, muddy bog. As usual for me, it was a slow motion fall on my back resulting from a slip and as usual for Johnny, he found it hilarious. I am not going to go into the details of the hike as I have already two posts covering two previous trips up Lug on the blog.

Sunday then brought us back to stage one of the Wicklow Way again. Spirits high, weather good, we set off, doing the two car thing as before. Again, I'm not going to go into the details as they are already documented in a previous post. The only difference this time was that we had company from the half way mark. While having lunch, we met a lovely couple from Switzerland; Rosemary and Silvio. They were staying that night in Enniskerry and after finding out how far Enniskerry was from the end of the hike, were happy to accept a lift from us once we reached the car. This meant that we walked together for the last 10km of the hike and shared many stories of our travels and lives. What was strange was how much we had in common. Both Rosemary and Silvio had the same hats and camera as Johnny. Rosemary was involved in musicals and their daughter, Alice was travelling to Nepal the same day that we were; albeit from Switzerland. Wouldn't it be crazy if we bumped into Alice in Kathmandu. Once we reached the car, we drove to Enniskerry and Rosemary and Silvio treated us to a lovely raspberry scone and coffee for our hospitality. We exchanged e-mail addresses and promised to contact them should we ever go hiking in Switzerland.

Slieve Bloom Mountains - Offaly

We took the opportunity to do a hike in the Slieve Bloom mountains while visiting Johnnys relatives in Banagher. We had previously bought a map of the area and marked out a 14km route starting in Cadamstown. We parked the car in a small car park that marked the beginning of the Slieve Bloom Way and made our way towards Paul's Lane. Luckily Paul's Lane was signposted as we would have walked straight by it otherwise. It is basically a small lane on your right hand side. As it is summer, it is quite overgrown in parts and easy to miss. We began to walk uphill through the lane. Quite surprisingly, the lane is deceivingly long. Because of the trees it is shaded and as a result, very muddy. The longer the lane went on, the more pleasant it became; less muddy and less overgrown. After a short while, we were slightly confused as to where we were on the map. We were looking out for a left turn but couldn't seem to find it. We continued walking until we came to two waymarkers; one pointing straight on and one pointing left. It didn't seem to match our map but we knew we wouldn't get too lost once we were following way markers so decided to take the left turn into the woods.

We continued through the woods following the way markers, all the time trying to figure out where we were on the map. From the beginning we had met no people so couldn't run it by anyone. As we were not substantially elevated, we weren't concerned about getting lost. The worst that could happen us would be a longer walk back to the car. There was no danger of engulfing cloud or walking off the edge of a cliff or mountain. We just kept following the markers. After a little while we left the woods and were faced with crossing a field full of cows and a very large bull!!!!!. Johnny said he felt like he had just walked into a pub down the country. All the cows just turned and looked at us.

After crossing the field, with no interference from the bull, we had a lovely walk along a river. What was really nice was that the farmer had put down some materials for you to walk on where the terrain was very muddy. He had also covered any barbed wire fences with a plastic pipe at the crossing points. It just shows that some landowners have no issue with you crossing their land once you respect it. During this part of the walk we had to cross the river twice; the second crossing being the most beautiful one.

Two tall trees bordered the bridge like an entrance. Once again we continued by following the way markers until we reached a road. The way markers that we were following was pointing across the road. We stopped to have lunch and referenced the road to the map. For the first time during the hike, we knew where we were and we weren't following the route we had marked out in advance for ourselves. Rather than go completely off track by continuing to follow the way markers, we decided to turn right and follow the road back to Cadamstown and the car. If I was to guess the distance, I would say it was about 2/3 km. Back at the car, we went on the Internet on our phones to see where we had gone wrong and would you believe it, we went wrong at the very beginning. We were meant to walk past Paul's Lane and take a track about 200m past it. We had mistaken Paul's lane on the map for the track we were meant to take. No wonder, we had trouble following the map from the beginning. In total the hike was only 11km and not very challenging. The Slieve Bloom mountains are an ideal place for a nice woodland or hill walk. They are low level and offer a very different experience than Munroe hiking. In saying that, I found the hike very enjoyable. The only reason I would suggest hiking boots for this hike would be to avoid you ruining your trainers from the mud. Other than that, it could be done in trainers. 

Slieve Donard - Highest Mountain in Ulster (849m)

Since we didn't reach Donard the last time, we had to go back to conquer it. We decided to do it in a day trip, travelling early in the morning and driving home afterwards (with a few stop offs in Banbridge and Sainsburys). Knowing how steep it looked the last time we were in the Mournes, I was a little nervous. Given the steepness of the climb to the summit, we were sensible this time, deciding only to Donard on this day. We would do the Bloody Bridge route, parking in the car park across the road (Located on the left hand side about2.5km outside Newcastle).

 We arrived about 10.30am and made our way to the start of the route (See picture).

From the very beginning, the trail begins to climb. You will walk uphill along the right hand side of the Bloody Bridge River. The river runs over stone, downhill and on the way down people were swimming in it. I'd recommend bringing a towel and hiding it in the bushes so that you can have a swim on your way back to the car (obviously I'm referring to the summer time). You will be so hot and sticky after climbing to the top that you will really want to jump in on your way back. While walking along the river, you will cross it twice; once over a bridge and once over boulders, conveniently located to aid your crossing.

Shortly after crossing the river for the second time, you will see a wooden stile on your right. Don't take this. Just continue following the road around and you will see signs for the mourne wall. This is where you are aiming to get to before making your ascent to the summit. For some reason, on this day, I was finding the hike tough. My legs were tired (I don't know why) and the constant changing of sun to rain to lashing rain was wearing me out. I contemplated turning back a few times but knew Johnny really wanted to get to the top and didn't want to ruin this on him.

After walking up through a quarry and following the track across some bogland, we met the Mourne wall. It was a blessing as it was still raining and the wall shielded us from the worst of the rain and wind. The view over the wall was spectacular, with mountains shooting up all over the place. When we met this view, it reminded us why we loved the mountains so much the last time. It is very different than Wicklow. Wicklow has rolling hills. The Mournes are very individual mountains that shoot up high into the sky.

There is a good and bad bit to reaching the Mourne wall. The good is the shelter and the fact that it runs the whole way to the summit. The bad is that it is one hell of a climb to the summit. Its rocky, boggy, grassy, very steep and approximately 1km long. Definitely one for hiking poles. We gradually began our ascent, stopping every now and again for a minutes rest before continuing uphill. I suppose its hills like these that lend themselves to the sense of accomplishment once you reach the top and give you a goal the next time you come (to get up it without stopping).

And did we know it when we reached the top. It was so wild. Sheltered by the wall, the only impacting force was the cold. However once I walked past the wall to get a picture at the Cairn, I couldn't believe the wind that hit me. The reason I'm sitting in the picture opposite is because I couldn't stand with the force of the wind. Welcome to Ireland in July. I know we were nearly 3,000ft high but I thought it might be slightly calmer given that it was the summer.  Luckily our views weren't obscured. They were amazing. We could see the route following the wall over to Commedagh where we had hiked the last time. We only stayed a few minutes because of the cold and headed back down after a quick sandwich.

On the way back down, we had lovely views of the sea. It struck us that we climbed 849m from practically sea level. Although Lugnaquilla is higher (925m), you start at about 175m. That makes Donard a higher climb even though the mountain is not as high as Lug. After what seemed like a long trek back, we finally got to the car. Including breaks, the hike took us 4hrs 50 mins. That's only to cover 10kms!!!!!!!!. I know I slowed down the pace because I was tired but we have done double that distance in the same time on the Wicklow Way. I couldn't believe it.

Upon reflection, what makes Donard difficult is the fact that it is 100% uphill from the beginning. There is no levelling off at any time. The only time you are not going uphill is on the way down. I have seen other posts saying that it is a good hike for people at all levels. I really don't agree with this. Maybe I found it tougher because I was tired but my experience on that day is that a beginner would find this hike extremely difficult. Its tough going from the start and doesn't let up. Hiking boots and warm clothes for the summit are a must. I 'd also recommend plenty of energy food.