Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => General Chat => Topic started by: clav on November 03, 2011
-
going up donard in the morning from trassagh, anything i should watch out for ? (hope the forcast is right!!)
-
Couple of spots along the Brandy Pad that I like to stop at:
1) About a mile from the Hare's Gap the Brandy Pad gets really sandy and there is a massive boulder you have to walk around. Stop at the boulder and turn left, following the wee stream, after only about 10 yards it leads to an opening and a big break in the rocks that the steam tumbles down from. You can walk right into it, no more than a couple of foot across. Not particularly jaw dropping, but I think it's a cool wee place. There's a patch of grass there, been thinking about it as a winter bivvy sometime. (spoiler pic (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcrobert/5483499970/in/set-72157626034085411/))
2) If you are feeling energetic on the way to Donard hang a right (or on left on the way back) towards Slieve Beg and have a look at the Devil's Coach Road, it will add less then a mile onto your journey and not that much of a climb....and is jaw dropping close up.
Other than that, if the sky is clear when you get to Donard Summit, don't just stay at the tower at the corner of the wall, 'cos there is hardly any view, head for the Lesser Cairn and you get a cracking view over Newcastle/Dundrum etc.
(ps. don't forget to pluck a wee rock out of the Trassey River to put on the cairn at the top of Donard...the real tradition is to take one from the beach at Newcastle but your route is much nicer)
Have fun, take pics.