Rothar Routes

Cycle routes & pilgrim journeys in Ireland and Europe …..

Slieve Beagh, Co. Monaghan, Ireland’s County High Points

Spent the morning collecting the windfall from our sole pear tree (anyone for pears?) and gathering leaves so it was late enough heading up to Monaghan’s County High Point, Slieve Beagh. You see I thought this would be a doddle on a lovely Saturday evening! How wrong was I!

This climb caught me by surprise; at only 373 metres I reckoned I’d be up and down in no time and back home early. I passed through Clontibret and Scotstown on the way, two great football strongholds and both about to contest the County SFC Final. The amount of flags and bunting was fantastic and it was great to see the Club committees get behind their senior teams so wholeheartedly. They know what it takes. It’s a religion in these parts!

An Bhoth – Scotstown

Starting point is at this electronic gate above Knockatallon. It was 4pm by the time I arrived there and there’s a clear definable trail from here …. for about 200 metres …. and then it’s every explorer for themselves! After that it’s blanket bog all the way to the summit. And very very wet underfoot.

As the map shows, this part of Monaghan juts into counties Fermanagh and Tyrone and is called the ‘Three County Hollow”. It’s very isolated and a true wilderness. Sliabh Beagh is an important mountainous area shared between both jurisdictions. The mountain covers over 3000ha and contains a number of protected area designations: Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI), Ramsar wetland of international importance, National Nature Reserve (NNR) and Natural Heritage Area (NHA), in recognition of its importance for biodiversity.

I didn’t see any grouse but I had plenty of sightings of Snipe, which seem to wait until the very last moment and then suddenly take flight from the dense heather cover. Here’s a lovely drawing, by Eleanor Sutherland, which I saw on the National Parks website about ground nesting birds:

This is spongy bog territory; it’s muddy on the approach trail and then it’s pure heathland which is so difficult to cross. Imagine doing high knee lifts for 5kms with water up to your ankles and the ground trying to suck the boots off your feet!

Because of the absence of a defined trail and a lack of trail markers, it’s essential to have a map, physical or digital and to note the surrounding landmarks. The first landmark was Lough Antraicer on my left shortly after I started out.

As there is no defined route I took a more or less straight line over the crest of a hill, avoiding any bog holes and being especially careful not to twist an ankle or knee in these really difficult underfoot conditions. It’s a barren landscape, almost featureless and devoid of any sign of human habitation. The only sounds are the wind and the song birds. There are no roads and no man made constructions. In its own way it’s beautiful and walking here was a great way to clear the mind and live in the moment.

Knee high in heather, making walking very difficult and progress very slow.

Big sky country. Nothing but bog in all directions.

Finally, the summit. Marked by a solitary wooden post. It was glorious in its simplicity. Just beyond the post is Lough Sallagh, which was hidden from view until I climbed on the small mound at the top. Not far away from here was another lake, Shane Barnagh’s Lough and it has an interesting story. Shane Branagh was an Irish rebel in the 17th century, a bit of Robin Hood man, a highway man who robbed from the rich, the Protestant Ascendancy class and gave to the poor. He hid away in these isolated parts for a long time before finally being captured and brought to Dublin Castle where he was executed. His body was supposedly cast into the Lough of his name…

I was hoping I might pick up a trail when I arrived at the summit that might make the return easier but there was no sign so I turned around and headed back, spotting two hikers in the distance who were coming around the side of the hill that I had struggled over earlier. We exchanged a wave in the distance and they headed for the top. Being much younger and fitter it wasn’t long before they reached it and they quickly followed my path back to the starting point. Turned out the two young ladies, one from Portlaoise and the other from Monaghan, were also doing the County High Point Challenge and this was their 18th Point completed. They had climbed Cuilcagh (Stairway to Heaven), the Cavan High Point, in the morning! It took me about 2 hours to complete this walk and I was glad to finish in daylight as darkness was beginning to close in – I wouldn’t fancy crossing that bog at night!

This was one of the toughest walks I’ve done, even though it wasn’t very high or steep but it was 7kms of pure bog covered in heather. It was hard to pick level ground to plant a foot on and it was full of bog holes and surface water. Lifting a foot was like trying to defy gravity with the bog trying to pull the boots off! Not one I will do again but a great experience and it would be much nicer on a summers day!

Truskmore – Sligo & Leitrim Counties High Point

The Dartry mountains, featuring famed Ben Bulben and its magnificent table top plateau, tower over Sligo and are one of the most stunning mountain ranges in Ireland. Truskmore is the highest point in the range and the walk to the summit, along the access road to the TV transmitter provides stunning views to the north out past Lissadell House, Mullaghmore, across Donegal Bay and Slieve League in the distance.

Looking west, Knocknarea towers over Sligo Town and Glencar Lake. Incredible views all round – if you get a break in the clouds and from the rain! The access road is located on the Gleniff Horseshoe Loop Drive. It involves climbing over the locked gate – well designed to enable an easy climb over!.

The access road provides a relatively easy walking route to the top. I parked close to the gate but out of the way of access and there isn’t much room for more than a couple of cars to park here. The zig zag access road is quite steep for long stretches, gradient averaging 10% – and a few rests help to catch the breath! The weather was quite rough, with very high winds, some rain and sleet and it wasn’t long before the mountain was shrouded in mist. Navigation wasn’t a problem, apart from the short section across the wet boggy area to make it to the Leitrim High Pint of 631 metres. The Sligo high point is located beside the mast and is slightly higher at 647 metres. A map is an essential requirement on hill walks as conditions can change rapidly and its so easy lose all sense of direction.

This was especially through when searching for the Leitrim High Point as it is located right on the edge of a very steep cliff face – if the wind had been from the north, it could easily have blown us off course and over the edge!

I was delighted to make this unplanned trip to take in these two High Points, making it 20 County High Points now completed. This climb would be a terrific one to do on a fine day as the views are outstanding. Counties Sligo and Leitrim are two of my favourites, neither are quite mainstream tourism but they both have an abundance of scenic mountain, lake and sea views plus a high number of heritage sites.Other laces worth visiting aer Carrowkeel, Knocknarea, Caves of Keash, Glencar Waterfall and the Devil’s Chimney!

Tombstone of WB Yeats at Drumcliff.

A word of caution while walking in this area; access may not always be possible across private lands and needs to be checked out in advance. Eagerly looking forward to my next County High point!

Árderin: Laois & Offaly’s County High Point

Continuing my quest to climb the 32 county highest points, I travelled the short distance across to the stunning Slieve Bloom Mountains straddling the Laois – Offaly border. One of my favourite mountain ranges, it’s deceptively extensive and has some love Glens for a Sunday hike or drive. At just 527 metres in height it’s a short hike but tricky underfoot conditions make it one to be careful on! The starting point is behind the Laois Offaly border marker, pictured below, located in the Glendine Gap:

It descends steeply on a slippery path, with water flowing down it, into a boggy glen that’s very wet and impossible to cross without getting feet wet! It then ascends steeply for a short distance, again on a slippery soft path that tries to suck your boots off! Thankfully the rain that fell on the way across gave way to a beautiful blue sky on a crisp October afternoon.

The path crosses through a lot of heather and is well worn so it’s easy follow and almost impossible to get lost. It’s a sort distance to the summit from the car park of just about 1km but it takes maybe 20 minutes to climb up to the summit cairn. The summit is very exposed and a cold wind meant I wasn’t lingering too long while I briefly enjoyed the marvellous views of counties Laois, Offaly, Kilkenny, Tipperary and even south Galway.

Mountaineering Ireland have created a list of Irish mountains and summits and called it Arderins. Árderin literally translates as ‘Height of Ireland’, which it clearly isn’t but nonetheless it’s a great climb, one well worth doing on a fine day.

That’s summit 17 and 18 of 32 completed and hopefully I will get a few more done over the winter; not the best time of year for hillwalking but summer is usually for the bike! Had the added bonus of seeing a red squirrel today scampering up a tree nearby! Simple pleasures.

Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway & Beyond

It’s been a while since I’ve update my blog. It was great to get out again today for a good long spin! Greenways do what Greenways do! I took to the Boyne Valley to Lakeland Greenway, which follows the path of a disused railway. Long straight stretches. Nice day out for family cycles and lots of walkers close to the towns. I use Greenways as links to places I want to visit and they provide a great traffic free route. But there’s not a lot to see on these reinvented railways and if your goal is to see the country side and some nice scenery they can be restricted as they are enclosed between hedgerows or embankments. They serve a purpose and they are a great addition to the cycling and walking infrastructure.

This Greenway links Navan, County Meath with Kingscourt in Cavan, a distance of approximately 30kms. It was nice to visit places that I recognise the names of but have never been in such as Nobber and Kilmainham Wood. Before undertaking the route I checked my ordnance survey maps to see where else I might visit while up in these parts and Dún an Rí Forest park is situated just north of Kingscourt. It is a beautiful park with a lovely river walk.

The Park is not too far from the Monaghan border so after exiting on the opposite side (car park side) I pointed the bike in the direction of Magheracloone, a name that I always recall when I think of Monaghan football – Tomás and Damien Freeman are two of their most famous sons and of course the GAA pitch tragically disappeared into a sink hole! I didn’t quite go as far as Magheracloone and I took a shortcut along the edge of Cabra Castle Estate.

The back roads are my favourite cycling routes; lots of interesting things to catch the eye, winding roads, hills, virtually traffic free and it often feels like cycling back in time.

Today I managed to cycle in counties Meath, Cavan and Monaghan – which of course means I cycled in two provinces as well, Leinster and Ulster!

I was surprised at the number of old milestones that I saw along the route back towards Slane. This is just one example of many that I spotted:

I always had the perception that apart from Tara, Hill of Slane and Loughcrew that Meath was flat as a pancake… it isn’t and there was plenty of ups and downs as I made my way south towards Slane through Drumconrath and Syddan. I love to see the GAA pitches dotted all across the country side, Nobber GFC, Kingscourt Stars (Cavan), Syddan GFC, Drunconrath GAA, Meath Hill (Just saw the sign); the strength of the great Meath teams was borne out of these junior and intermediate rural clubs… now a distant memory for Meath folk.

Kingscourt Stars GAA Club .

After reaching the outskirts of Slane I turned towards Navan along the busy main road for a short while but then took a side road that brought me to Broadboyne Bridge and onto the side of the Boyne River for my return into Navan town. Its an historic route with lots of interesting sites, from castles to churches and of course the bradán feasa – the salmon of knowledge, was caught here by the poet Finegas, who had spent many years trying to catch him and gain all his knowledge. The bradán feasa had gained his knowledge by eating nine hazelnuts that had fallen into the Well of Wisdom, this gaining all the knowledge in the world. Finegas left Fionn MacCumhaill to cook it but warned him not to eat any of it until he returned. Fionn was turning the salmon to see if it was cooked and blistered his finger. He immediately put it into his mouth to suck it to ease the pain and he instantly gained all the knowledge! I could do with catching a salmon like that myself!

Video of Navan to Kingscourt Loop cycle

All in all, the route was 83kms long and I really enjoyed visiting a corner of the country, off the beaten track, that I’m not very familiar with. Fills a void!

A Pet Day and a Grand Cycle

What a beautiful late August day; one of the few fine days we have had this year. A day for the bike and I headed for the hilly back roads above Old Leighlin, passing out through lovely Milford and Tomard and up by Seskin to the top of the Ridge.

To Muckalee

The back roads are best, so little traffic, apart from the busy farmers working flat out in this fine weather to save crops and keep us all fed!.

When I got into Muckalee I was pleasantly surprised to see a little coffee shop in the Community Centre. It’s a community initiative and they’ve done a fabulous job providing a great facility for visitors and locals. I sat down outside to have a snack and three cars pulled up, all lost and all asking me where was the hurling field! Sure I had to go down then to have a peep at what was happening.

Muckalee St Martins have a fine facility and it was hosting a Kilkenny IHL game between Danesfort and Lisdowney, which attracted a decent crowd. It was a lovely family atmosphere, kids all arriving with their hurls, cash at the gate and a lovely glossy programme for €2 for spectators. Because I was on the bike, they let me in for a little stay and it was great to see the wizard himself, Richie Hogan togged out for Danesfort. Wasn’t a good day for them however as Lisdowney won 3-13 to 0-14.

With miles to go before home, I had to head back the road I came but took a short cut up hill over by Coolcullen and rejoined the Ridge above Old Leighlin and Ballinabranna for the return journey home. Nice to see a few llamas up win the hill with Mount Leinster in the background, not quite the Andes but very picturesque!

Traffic Jam..
Backroads are best!