Would anyone have any idea how far it is from the ar park in Newcastle to the summit of Donard. I know its roughly an hour to the Mourne wall and then 20 minutes or so to the summit, but have no idea on the actual distance.
Also if anyone knows any loop walks in the Mournes I'd be glad of any advice, ended up walking back along the main road to Newcastle, which isn't ideal.
Go up to the wall and instead of going left up Donard go right along the wall up Commedagh and follow the wall all the way over to Hares Gap. Then come back along the Brandy path to the foot of Donard and back down the path to the carpark. It is a fairly long walk
Some great walks in the Mournes
Check out www.walkni.com
Slieve Croob is a cracking one on a clear day for views of the Mournes and coastline
Spot the wee cnuts that light fires, then kick the living daylights out of them
Thanks, walkni looks useful.
Tyronefan any idea how long that walk is?
Quote from: Santino on March 29, 2012, 09:11:38 PM
Some great walks in the Mournes
Check out www.walkni.com
Slieve Croob is a cracking one on a clear day for views of the Mournes and coastline
I bet people all over the world surf onto that web site and expect to read about Agent Orange (and his brethern) trailing their coats on Ulster's highways.
One of the wonderful sights that will bestow you in the majestic Mournes, especially in the Summer time, is the sight of some sprightly smicks setting fire to the vegetation. Do not approach these creatures as they are reported to defend their immediate territory with Blue WKD bottles.
its been a while since I have been on that walk but as far as I remember it took around 4 or 5 hours walk to Hares Gap and back. If that is too far you can drop down off the mountain on to the Brandy path at any stage and return to the foot of Donard.
You can see Meath from the Mournes. Enjoy.
Quote from: Hardy on March 30, 2012, 04:46:15 PM
You can see Meath from the Mournes. Enjoy.
That is about as close as you would want to get :)
there is a walk on every september HACK challenge, 20 miles over the mournes, its for NSPCC. tough going but stunning views and a great way to see some of the mournes.
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/get-involved/join-an-event/get-active/walk/HACK/mourne-hack_wde80997.html
Going to have a rip at the 7 7s myself this summer. Should be good.
http://www.spartanredsox.co.uk/mourne-seven-sevens-challenge.html
Quote from: Orior on March 29, 2012, 10:14:16 PM
Spot the wee cnuts that light fires, then kick the living daylights out of them
They're fairly lit up atm. Can clearly see a large area on fire from Downpatrick.
Quote from: DownFanatic on March 29, 2012, 11:34:50 PM
One of the wonderful sights that will bestow you in the majestic Mournes, especially in the Summer time, is the sight of some sprightly smicks setting fire to the vegetation. Do not approach these creatures as they are reported to defend their immediate territory with Blue WKD bottles.
Is that the Smicks that gave you a lift home with your very own WKD last night DF?
Quote from: Minus15 on March 31, 2012, 08:58:21 PM
Quote from: DownFanatic on March 29, 2012, 11:34:50 PM
One of the wonderful sights that will bestow you in the majestic Mournes, especially in the Summer time, is the sight of some sprightly smicks setting fire to the vegetation. Do not approach these creatures as they are reported to defend their immediate territory with Blue WKD bottles.
Is that the Smicks that gave you a lift home with your very own WKD last night DF?
Can't beat the Blue... Lionel night.
Quote from: charlieTully on March 30, 2012, 05:01:37 PM
there is a walk on every september HACK challenge, 20 miles over the mournes, its for NSPCC. tough going but stunning views and a great way to see some of the mournes.
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/get-involved/join-an-event/get-active/walk/HACK/mourne-hack_wde80997.html
I did this walk last year. Good turnout for it and well organised. It was tough enough going but didn't involve any peaks
Totally unrelated to walking....but,
has anyone any good recommendations for restaurants in the Newcastle area.
Seasalt is a very good tapas, seasonal opening so you may need to check, O'hares is OK, best bet could be the Maghera Inn, 5 minutes out the road, cracking little spot.
Maggie, about three weeks ago myself and a group of friends went to an Italian at the top of the town (we were staying in Slieve Donard and it was about five mins walk from the door of the hotel). It was called Villa Vinci, had a massive menu and was really cosy. It dealt well with the group of 9 of us.
Quote from: maggie on May 15, 2012, 09:06:56 AM
Totally unrelated to walking....but,
has anyone any good recommendations for restaurants in the Newcastle area.
Vanilla.
Quote from: Rois on May 15, 2012, 11:04:31 AM
Maggie, about three weeks ago myself and a group of friends went to an Italian at the top of the town (we were staying in Slieve Donard and it was about five mins walk from the door of the hotel). It was called Villa Vinci, had a massive menu and was really cosy. It dealt well with the group of 9 of us.
Yea staying there Rois, but wanted to try somewhere different to eat as I've heard mixed reports about the food in it. Will prob go for that then. Cheers
Quote from: maggie on May 15, 2012, 12:18:51 PM
Quote from: Rois on May 15, 2012, 11:04:31 AM
Maggie, about three weeks ago myself and a group of friends went to an Italian at the top of the town (we were staying in Slieve Donard and it was about five mins walk from the door of the hotel). It was called Villa Vinci, had a massive menu and was really cosy. It dealt well with the group of 9 of us.
Yea staying there Rois, but wanted to try somewhere different to eat as I've heard mixed reports about the food in it. Will prob go for that then. Cheers
We went to the spa and had lunch in the cafe bar in the hotel - service wasn't great. Spa was nice though. Personally I've stayed in countless hotels in my days (including the Slieve Donard a few times before) and thought it was overpriced. £180 per room B&B.
2 lads killed up there today in high winds.
Quote from: Tony Baloney on January 13, 2019, 08:17:15 PM
2 lads killed up there today in high winds.
Unreal!! Mate and his daughter where there today and they stopped before the saddle and headed back! Said the winds were horrendous.
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on January 13, 2019, 08:18:56 PM
Quote from: Tony Baloney on January 13, 2019, 08:17:15 PM
2 lads killed up there today in high winds.
Unreal!! Mate and his daughter where there today and they stopped before the saddle and headed back! Said the winds were horrendous.
Aye it's terrible. I think for most of the year they are treated as a Sunday dander but when the winds are up and you have cliffs etc. they are obviously very hazardous. Lot of people go up ill-prepared and are more interested in Instagram opportunities (certainly some people in my work are ::))
Terrible altogether
The winds at open high elevation like that can be absolutely ferocious and sometimes with not much warning of conditions at the foot of the mountain
I mind one time walking in the Sperrins and it was relatively calm when I set off but when I got up high on the mountain it was difficult to stand upright
I was up in Newcastle and Dundrum yesterday myself and the wind was bad enough there so i can imagine that the hills would have been very dangerous. An awful tragedy.
Terrible tragedy, powerful winds yesterday.
Is there a hill walking thread or is this it?
Two experienced walkers as well. Must have been bad. Remember being up Donard and having to almost lie down the wind was that strong.
Quote from: outinfront on January 14, 2019, 12:33:07 PM
Is there a hill walking thread or is this it?
There was one way back in the day, but it only made three pages. Link is here.
Link is here. (http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=2444.0)
Quote from: outinfront on January 14, 2019, 12:33:07 PM
Terrible tragedy, powerful winds yesterday.
Is there a hill walking thread or is this it?
Start up a fresh one if you want. Seems to be a popular pastime these days.