Rothar Routes

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

Posts from the ‘Hill Walking’ category

Sawel Mountain – County High Point Challenge

Saint Brigid gave us another Bank Holiday and I used it to head north to add another mountain top to my goal of completing the 32 Counties high Point Challenge and also to attend great coaching workshop in Coalisland on the way home. Two birds killed with the one stone so to speak!

Sawel, at 665 metres, is the highest point in counties Tyrone and Derry. It’s situated in the heart of the remote and beautiful Sperrin Mountains.

It’s a long long drive from Carlow – 300kms approximately but there was no rush and I enjoyed the drive up, especially driving through the Sperrins to get to the start point, which is on the Sperrin Road; a thin strip of black tarmac splitting the mountain range in two as it winds up and down over rises and falls of the approach. Looking out the window of the car lulled me into a false sense of confidence; all seemed calm, until I pulled into my parking spot near a cattle grid. ‘Twas then I realised the winds outside were blowing up a storm! The car was buffeted from side to side and I decided to face the car head on into the wind to lessen the effect. Wind speeds yesterday were 60kms/h with gusts up to 72km/h!

While it was cloudy overhead, visibility was good and it was mild when starting out. That didn’t last long and mist covered the mountain, turning to rain. Ground conditions were awful and I seriously considered abandoning the walk, but given the distance I had travelled and the fact that I could follow a fence all the way to the summit I decided to go ahead and complete it with caution. I had brought with hiking poles and they were a godsend.

It’s an easy route to navigate and impossible to get lost once you stick to the fence, which has to be crossed a few times over stiles. Underfoot the ground was soaked and at various points I was ankle deep in black treacle, trying to suck the boots off me!

The winds were increasing in speed as I ascended and made it extremely difficult to progress forward in. What looked on paper like an easy one to notch up, it was anything but. As a result it took much longer than it should have and I knew the challenge going down would be worse as the ground was like a bar of soap. Sure enough I had a few tumbles, one was particularly bad in which I hyper extended my knee as my leg went underneath me as I fell backwards. I took a moment to regain my composure but thankfully I was slowly able to pick a path down without any further incidents. No serious damage done.

It was unfortunate how the weather turned out as the views when I started were so nice and I had hoped to take in the panoramic views at the top. Unfortunately it was hard enough to even spot the summit cairn! It’s a boggy route at this time of year and I probably should have left this until summer time but given I was going to Coalisland I decided to bag it right away! As it wasn’t a Bank Holiday up north, there was no one else on the mountain.

That’s High Points 22 and 23 completed. 9 more to do, 2 of them are shared so 8 in effect. Will get a few more during the year but unlikely to complete it all in 2025!

Today showed how dangerous mountain tops can be and the importance of assessing the conditions, proper gear (need new boots) and navigation. 665 metres may not seem very high but weather at this elevation is completely different than when at the base of the climb. The out and back distance is only 5.5kms but even that is a challenge in those conditions.

10 Hidden Gems, hiding in Plain Sight..

As the morning mists lifts over our beautiful country bóthríns, the rolling of my tyres is the only sound I hear. This is bike touring – intimate, unhurried and endlessly rewarding. You see every road has a destination, some are hiding in plain sight.. here are 10 that brought me quiet satisfaction when I visited them during 2024:

1 Fourknocks Passage Tomb

15 kms south of Newgrange is the much lesser known Fourknocks Passage Tomb. Keys are available from a neighbouring house and you can explore this fabulous 5,000 year old tomb all on your own. Off the beaten track and all the more impressive for it.

2. The Seven Wonders of Fore

The Seven Wonders of Fore include the monastery in the bog, the water that flows uphill, the tree that won’t burn, the water that won’t boil, the anchorite in a stone, the mill without a race and the lintel raised by St Feichin’s prayers! This is a magical place in County Westmeath with a lovely 4kms walk to visit all the sites. Check it out!

3. Meelick Weir Crossing of the Shannon

The weir was damaged in severe storms in 2009 and again in 2015/2016, when the walkway was also damaged and was subsequently closed and is now reopened. It links the historic village of Meelick in east Galway to Lusmagh in west Offaly and forms part of the Hymany Way and the Beara-Breifne Way walking trails.  It’s a unique spot – the three provinces of Leinster, Connacht and Munster meet right here. Lots of interesting historical sites on both sides of the Shannon here.

4. The Shannon Pot

The Shannon, Ireland’s largest river, at a magnificent 360kms, literally comes bubbling out of the ground close to the border between Cavan and Fermanagh in the Cuilcagh Mountains, at a place quaintly called The Shannon Pot or Log na Sionna as Gaeilge, “The Hollow of the Shannon”. It’s a large pool of golden brown water about 16 metres in diameter and at least 9 metres deep. The water reaches the Pot through a network of underground streams and many say that it actually starts in County Fermanagh at a place called the Pigeon Pot.

5. Clonfert Cathedral

I stumbled on a unique burial tradition here in Clonfert, where graves are lined with chicken wire and branches of laurel are woven into the wire to provide a beautiful resting place for the deceased. I was delighted to see this being done while I was being regaled with the true tale of the incredible 9 legged cycle! Anthony Flanagan lost his leg many years ago in a combine harvester accident. He didn’t allow it define him or inhibit him and he undertook an incredible charity cycle a couple of years ago along with 4 others. With just ONE LEG he completed a 420km cycle IN 24 HOURS for some local causes. The following year they cycled to Croagh Patrick AND HE CLIMBED IT! I came out of Clonfert graveyard with my head spinning, full of amazement at the spirit of Anthony and his absolute determination to get on with life regardless of the cruel hand he was dealt. St Brendan the Navigator founded his monastery here and it became a great seat of learning with over 3,000 monks here in its heyday.

6. Presley Ancestral Grave

It’s hard to reconcile the glitzy image of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll with this peaceful corner of Wicklow, but perhaps that’s the magic of it. As I stood there, the connection between past and present felt palpable. There’s a QR code on a sign at the entrance to the graveyard, which gives a detailed account of the Presley connection. Nearby Hacketstown also claims to be the birthplace of the Presley ancestors. There are court reports from the 1870s of a savage beating William Presley received on land he rented in Hacketstown, possibly by the ‘Whiteboys’, a secret agrarian society which defended tenant farmers land rights… I don’t think Elvis was singing the ‘Green Green Grass of Home’ in honour of the old sod!

7. Mount Melleray Monastery

Sad to say, but since I visited Mount Melleray over the Summer, news has broken of its imminent closure. It’s a Cistercian Abbey located in the Knockmealdown Mountains. The Abbey was founded on 30 May 1832 by a colony of Irish and English monks, expelled from the abbey of Melleray after the French Revolution of 1830, and who had come to Ireland under the leadership of Fr. Vincent de Paul Ryan. It was called Mount Melleray in memory of the motherhouse. I had a great chat there with Father Denis Luke, Prior of the Abbey, about cycling and the Camino, a really nice man who had a kind word for everyone. Soon there will be no one to greet visitors. Another loss…

8. Baunreagh 1798 Camp Field

I finally saw the sign for the 1798 Camp Field, where Father Murphy and the Wexford Rebels were camped out during the 1798 rising. What an epic march they made from Vinegar Hill, then were betrayed and badly beaten at the Battle of Kilcumney, got up as far as Castlecomer and forced back down country before he met his dreadful end at the hands of the Yeomen in Tullow, where he was  stripped, flogged, hanged, decapitated, his corpse burnt in a barrel of tar and his head impaled on a spike in the Main Square. Hard to forget or forgive those terrible deeds.

9. W.B. Yeats Grave

The village of Drumcliffe, County Sligo is famous for being the final resting place of W.B.Yeats, whose grave is in the churchyard under this simple headstone. Yeats died in 1939 in a hotel in the south of France. He was buried in a pauper’s grace in the village of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, close to Monaco. His body was returned to Ireland in 1948 and buried in Drumcliffe. The release of State Papers this week express serious doubts over the identity of the ‘Yeats bones’ .

10 Mullaghgarve Mass Rock, Sliabh an Iarainn

Mass Rocks were rocks used as altars during the Penal Laws in the 1700s and were usually located in out of the way locations. This one is perfectly hidden from view behind a tall pinnacle, on the side of Sliabh an Iarainn, County Leitrim and is quite difficult to find. Once you turn at the pinnacle there is a short little section of roughly cut steps that take you to this unique mass rock. It’s perfectly secluded and with watch outs on duty the priest and his flock could safely celebrate mass without fear of the redcoats or peelers surprising them.

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.

Wandering in Waterford

We were just talking in the family WhatsApp group about how understated County Waterford is – such a beautiful county with a fantastic coastline, mountains and interesting towns and villages.

One of my favourite cycle routes is an out and back jaunt. Parking at Horsewood GAA Club in Wexford, I cycle down by Dunbrody Abbey, over the hill into Ballyhack where I catch the Ferry to Passage East and journey on to Dunmore East. The ferry adds a bit of exotic to a bike trip and there’s always something exciting about getting on board! The route is deceptively hilly with fantastic coastal views and the great Hook Head Lighthouse off to the south.

I take a turn off the Passage – Dunmore road at Woodside beach onto a cul de sac which ends with a short and very narrow walking trail that connects with a local road on the Dunmore side of the headland, named on some maps as “the Black Woman’s Road”; I suspect its a mistranslation of possible Beann Gorm… cycling across the path is an experience as the branches of brambles and gorse bushes wallop your face!

Last week I wandered through the Iveagh Gardens where a gate between the National Museum for Literature and the Gardens bears a plaque with a quote from Maeve Binchey, so it was a coincidence that we ended up in Dunmore East this weekend, a place also associated with the writer, being the location of some scenes in the film of her book ‘Echoes’. We need to be better prepared – the sun was shining and we should have brought swimming gear with us!

Waterford is not too far away and there’s a lot more of it I want to explore so I took another trip on Sunday, this time parking up outside Cappoquinn Affane GAA Club! I’m trying to get miles and hills into the legs as I’ve big cycle coming up in Spain – Camino del Cid at the end of May and today was just perfect. I had only a rough idea of a route and I was delighted with how it worked out. The main road from Cappoquinn to Lismore is extremely busy but thankfully there’s a local road that is part of the beautiful St. Declans Way that I was able to take and avoid the dangerous main road.

St Declan’s Way is a 115km walking route linking the ancient ecclesiastical centres of Ardmore in County Waterford and Cashel in Tipperary passing through the Knockmealdown Mountains and the undulating farmland of south Tipperary and west Waterford. It has become very popular thanks to the efforts of travel book writer,John G O Dwyer .

St Declan’s Way Walk utilises the route of several ancient and medieval pilgrimage and trading routes such as the Rian Bo Phadraig (Track of St. Patrick’s Cow), Bothar na Naomh (Road of the Saints), Casan na Naomh (Path of the Saints) and St. Declan’s Road.

St Declan was a fifth century saint who brought Christianity to the southern part of Ireland and he is particularly associated with the Deise people. He established his monastery in Ardmore and his grave there remains an important place of pilgrimage. Cashel was the seat of the Kings of Munster and St. Declan’s Way follows the route he would have taken from Ardmore to Cashel.

Art deco Handball Alley in Lismore!

Lismore is a really beautiful historic town with a stunning castle over looking the famed River Blackwater. It’s a real West Waterford gem that I haven’t been in too often but I’ll be back as its great base to explore the Knockmealdown Mountains from.

Having stumbled on St Declans Way, I decided I would follow the path back up into the mountains. It’s a steep route out of Lismore but with beautiful views to distract from the effort involved. It wasn’t too long before I caught sight of impressive Mount Melleray Abbey up ahead in the distance.

Mount Melleray is a Cistercian Abbey located in the Knockmealdown Mountains. I was delighted to see a sign for a café where I had a very welcome snack! The Abbey was founded on 30 May 1832 by a colony of Irish and English monks, expelled from the abbey of Melleray after the French Revolution of 1830, and who had come to Ireland under the leadership of Fr. Vincent de Paul Ryan. It was called Mount Melleray in memory of the motherhouse. I had a great chat there with Father Denis Luke, Prior of the Abbey, about cycling and the Camino, a really nice man who had a kind word for everyone.

I left the Abbey and headed uphill again in the direction of Newcastle, County Tipperary but I turned off onto what has to be the roughest and steepest road in Ireland! It was a little local road, that has obviously fallen into disuse, along the side of Knockanask and Knocknascullogue which then linked me onto another loop which gave me a great downhill all the way back to Cappoquinn. A superb route with lots more to see in that area on future cycles.