A Walk Up Slieve Donard

What they undertook to do they brought to pass;
All things hang like a drop of dew Upon a blade of grass
William Butler Yeats

Ambitions and goals are important things in life. They give you purpose and hope. They keep you focused, moving forward and concentrating on the future instead of dwelling on the past or being indolent in the present. I have a fair number of goals, targets and projects or more poetically, dreams, hopes and aspirations. There are things I want to see and experience, walks I want to complete and places I want to visit before I go off to rest with my ancestors. And one long standing project is to stand on top of the highest points in the five nations that make up the British Isles, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland.

I’ve climbed Ben Nevis twice. The second time with my daughter on her twentieth birthday after completing the West Highland Way. It was a dry and clear mid summers day and after seven days of solid walking we took it in our stride enjoying magnificent views from the top and followed it up with a celebratory dinner and a few beers in The Ben Nevis Inn.

I’ve ascended Scafell Pike three times. My walking journal reminds me that on my first ascent, the 1st March 1988 my mate Andy and I were slogging up Grains Gill when we met Chris Bonington. We were heading for England’s highest peak and the legendary mountaineer was off to climb central gully on Great End which was nicely full of compacted snow.

Yr Wyddfa/Snowdon, the nearest to my home I’ve been up six times. I’ve walked it on my own, with friends, in groups and with both my son and daughter on separate occasions. I remember drinking tea in the old concrete bunker that used to be the summit cafe and the days when you didn’t have to form a queue to reach the summit trig.

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The two remaining mountains, one in the north and one in the south of Ireland had eluded me. The small matter of the Irish Sea making logistics of getting to them more problematic. A road trip to Ireland in 2018 provided the opportunity to climb Carrauntoohil on what was a gloriously sunny day. You can read about that walk here if you like.

So that just left Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in Northern Ireland or the north of Ireland if you prefer. And a visit to friends in Belfast last month finally gave me the chance of completing my mission.

The drive to the coastal town of Newcastle from Belfast takes about an hour and there is no mistaking Slieve Donard, it dominates the view south from the road into town. I park up in Donard car park which is free, has toilets and is situated right at the start of the walk. The weather couldn’t be better, dry, sunny and clear, with just enough cloud cover and breeze to keep things cool.

The route goes through Donard park, passing a quite magnificent Oak tree and then upwards through woodland to Donard Bridge, built in 1835. I cross the bridge and a stone laid track heads up through the thick woods of Donard forest following the Glen river. There are several impressive waterfalls along this stretch and noting the warning signs about dangerous overhangs I tread carefully to the waters edge to admire the sight and sound of tons of crystal clear water pouring down over huge rock slabs and swirling in rock pools.

The path joins a forest road and crosses the river again at Glen River Bridge. These bridges were built by the Annesley Family, who owned and managed the land here from the 1700’s until it was bought by the National Trust in the 1990’s. I continue upwards with the river now back on my left side, still very picturesque with smaller cascades now and a gentler pace.

Some tree felling seems to have recently taken place which has churned up the path into a rocky, muddy mess. Looking behind me though, the long graceful curve of Dundrum Bay has started to come into view with lines of whitecap waves queuing up to roll rhythmically onto the wide Sandy beach.

The rough terrain doesn’t last long and soon turns into a very pleasant gravel track, layered and lined by logs that leads upwards through ramrod straight Scots pines. Bridge number three is met but not crossed and height continues to be gained along an excellent and delightful stone laid and gorse lined track surrounded by lush mature woodland and shrubbery that was planted in the 1920’s.

Eventually the forest is left and I can view the open hillside ahead of me. I take a break to get my bearings and admire the scenery. The Glen River is still dancing and tumbling over large, millennia smoothed rocks and high up to my left are the steep northern slopes of Slieve Donard.

Across the river I see a building known as the Ice House. Originally used in the 19th century by the Annesley family for, you’ve guessed it, ice storage it fell into disrepair and was restored for the National Trust in 1996.

The walk up the valley is very enjoyable indeed with blue skies, sunshine, the tinkling river and an easy upward gradient on a superb path. At the head of the valley I can see the route heading diagonally up the valley side and onto the broad col between Slieve Donard and Slieve Commedagh.

The path so far has been one long and consistently steady incline. The path up the valley side is slightly steeper but the top of the col is soon reached and I find myself standing next to the mightily impressive looking and solidly built Mourne Wall which stretches upwards, like some great stone roller coaster track, straight as an arrow all the way to the summit.

The wall, made from granite using dry stone walling techniques and completed in 1922 forms a twenty two mile enclosure around the Silent Valley reservoir. The idea is to prevent sheep and cattle contaminating the water catchment area. I don’t recall any massive granite walls around Haweswater or Thirlmere to keep the sheep away but maybe the residents of Manchester aren’t as fussy about their water.

The climb to the summit from the col is the steepest walking of the day but with the Mourne Wall as a silent, ever present companion I slip into a steady rhythm and in no time at all I’m standing on the highest point in Northern Ireland.

The summit of Slieve Donard is broad and grassy, gently sloping away on all sides like an upturned saucer and has some interesting features. A huge cairn dominates the top, not the result of over enthusiastic cairn builders but a Neolithic burial mound built around 5,000 years ago. This top cairn is known as ‘the great cairn’ there being a lesser burial mound a short distance away.

The Mourne Wall turns 90° to the right on the summit, heading off towards the Disney-esque named Rocky Mountain. At the turn sits a tower with the summit trig point planted on top of it. The tower was built at the same time as the wall by the same people, The Belfast Water Commissioners, but using mortar and provides a shelter from the elements as well as being a viewpoint.

And the view is superb. On one side, the Irish Sea stretches out to the horizon, too hazy today in the sunshine to see the Isle of Man. On the other, the whole vista of the Mourne Mountains is on show providing a tempting panorama for the mountain lover. The Mournes are a compact, intimate range of hills, far smaller in area than anything comparable in the rest of the UK but rugged enough to provide plenty of interest to a hillwalker. It’s certainly not the Cotswolds. I imagine if you lived locally you could get to know and enjoy these hills very well.

For me though, there is an ocean between us, so I must satisfy myself with climbing just one, albeit the highest. And in doing so I have achieved what I came here to do. I retrace my steps back down, delighting in the river and the forest and the views.

In Newcastle I find a cafe on the sea front, get myself a coffee and look out over the Irish Sea, taking time to reflect on the walk I’ve just done and the forty five years that have elapsed since the start this particular project. Sitting in the afternoon sunshine I’m pretty content to have finally brought to pass what I had undertaken to do and it feels fitting, having climbed one of Ireland’s finest mountains to quote one of its finest poets. And my hope is that I’m able to fulfill many more dreams, hopes and ambitions before it’s time for my own drop of dew to fall from the leaf.

Route Map, Walk Stats, Geolocated Pictures and 3D Flyover Video Below.