Having overlooked Rocky mountain for some time now,I decided tackle this lesser walked peaks, taking in some interesting surrounding features.i was joined today with old pal Lenny & his brotheir Alan.We parked the car where the Quarter road meets the Head road ( grid ref 360224 ) at Rourkes park.
map 2 by
anne1257, on Flickr
map 1 by
anne1257, on Flickr
We followed the trail through the gate for around 50 metres before coming to another gate,next we turned left & followed the line of the wall up the field were we noticed a stile crossing the wall,instead of crossing the stile I turned right continuing along the wall upward along the track with the wall now to my left.
start 1 by
anne1257, on Flickr
start 2 by
anne1257, on Flickr
The ground here is quite firm & fairly steep in places on the ascend towards Round Seefin,glancing back we enjoyed fine views towards Annalong & the Irish sea
Eventually the winding trek reached the wire fence & stile,veering right now we continued on the path which sweeps round & brought us back to the wall where we admired the views towards Slieve Binnian.
We followed the wall as it streches out across the relatively flat summit of Long Seefinen ,we then came across the small tower on the wall which marks the intersection of the mourne wall which leads back down towards Round Seefin.
long seelin by
anne1257, on Flickr
From here Rockys summit was just a short scramble away.Taking some time for a brew & to admire the view s we set of for the lovely little crag called Hares Castle.On our descent from Hare’s Castle Lenny fell tumbling to the ground & was very lucky not to injury himself ! By the stage of the day the temperture was beginning to get very hot & we stpped to get a reading 24.7 degree’s, not good at all for walking,so we stopped & covered ourselves in factor 60 suncream.
lamagan break by
anne1257, on Flickr
anna pan by
anne1257, on Flickr
frog by
anne1257, on Flickr
hares pan 2 by
anne1257, on Flickr
hares pan by
anne1257, on Flickr
annan pan 3 by
anne1257, on Flickr
Further up the valley & to our right we could see the Annalong buttress which is another wee feature I need to look over.Next we crossed the gorge & the beginning on=f the Annalong river,caution needed here as the ground is very boggy in places.
In front of us now was the impressive lower cove Buttress,which stands like a huge stone wall with Cove cave in the centre,for those of you brave enough to venture through the cave it can be a nerving journey,for us we just scramble up the gully to the left of the cave,passing Cove lough we continued to the Lamagan cove Col turing left & taking the Cheaters way up Lamagan,also referred to as the ‘FU*K ME MOUNTAIN’ as many a hiker has been heard to shout half way up. Sliabh Lámhagáin the Creeping/crawling mountain
lamagan break pan by
anne1257, on Flickr
Again it was time for tea & to admire the 360 degree view’s across the Mourne range,the descend towards the Binnan,Lamagan col is very steep & can be tough on the lower legs.I could tell from the look on Lennys face that he had done enough & that Lamagan would be he final ascent of the day,now reaching the Lamagan,Binnian col Lenny turned down the Carricklittle trek were as we had arranged to meet him at the first stile at Carricklittle.So it was just Alan & myself for the final peak & the temperture was rising
legend tells that a Celtic chieftain called,’ Boirche’ ruled was said to rule his kingdom from Binnian.In Irish, Binnian is, Sliabh Binneáin or mountain of the small peak ‘
Normally I would ascend the Binnain via the wall from Carricklittle, but we just climbed up towards Buzzards roost & the North Torr which for me anyway commands the very best views in the Mournes.we stopped for some time to admire the Back castle’s, a strange wee granite rock formation that look some what in shape to melted candle wax.the Summit itself is only a short trek away where we climbed the summit torr & pondered if we ruled over the lands below.Well tried to find some Mourne plants,here’s how I got on.
flower 4 by
anne1257, on Flickr
flower 3 by
anne1257, on Flickr
flower 2 by
anne1257, on Flickr
sunceam by
anne1257, on Flickr
back castle pan by
anne1257, on Flickr
carrick little alan by
anne1257, on Flickr
DSCN4006 by
anne1257, on Flickr
Our descend was down the wall towards Carricklittle where we meet Lenny enjoying the company of some mountain ponies,taking a five minute break we again found ourselves on the head road which we followed to the car at Rourke’s park. To sum up I had a great day out with some really nice folk,the pace was steady but more important the’crac ‘was good,the tea was hot & the views were amazing!
pony pan by
anne1257, on Flickr
Here's some video footage of our day
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Topic: The Mourne Horseshoe (Read 13226 times)