Hike of Mount Errigal

The forecast was favourable for hiking today so we took off for north Donegal, the highlands of Ireland.  The landscape looks very similar to the Scottish Highlands.  We made our way to the parking lot for the walk up Mount Errigal.  The first portion of the walk is across a brutal peat bog that is an absolute mess.  If you make a wrong step you could potentially sink up to your knee.  This required a lot of route finding, hopping, probing and sinking into the muck.  It is fairly hard going to walk in a bog.  Hiking boots are soaked and covered in mud immediately.

After a while, conditions improved and then finally, we reached lose scree, and although it is difficult to negotiate, it was welcome after the bog conditions.  It is a very steep climb up Errigal as there really isn’t any trail-building in Ireland, one has to just boot it straight up the mountain.

The elevation gain was only about 1500 feet, but it took us longer than usual, because we spent so much time talking to the incredibly friendly locals.  The people of north Donegal are amazing, the majority of the walkers are younger people and a couple of super fit young kids were out as well.

We met a group that included a young Irish guy, a young woman from Sweden and a young woman from New Zealand.  The three of them met on a trek in Nepal to the Everest base camp, became fast friends, and now the Irish guy is touring them around Ireland.  We talked to so many people for so long, we cannot remember it all.

One young couple came along with two tiny dogs, named Bacon and Cabbage, which disappeared in the bog, right up to their heads.  They were both on leads, but the owner said it was wild, as he would look down and only see something moving in the water.  It is impossible to describe what it was like to walk through a bog, as you sink into water or mud everywhere.

The views from the summit of Errigal were so fantastic, we were basically out of our minds over the place.  Our infatuation with Ireland has progressed to the point where we are just mad for it.

On the descent, you just have to find your way down through the bog as it looks completely different than on the ascent, so you will never return by the same route.  We ended up following a group of three young guys who didn’t know where they were going, but they chose a great route down.  We then conversed with them in the parking lot for a long time.  We talked so much today, it was unreal, this just does not happen when hiking in Canada.

Mount Errigal from the parking lot

We drove over to the Poisoned Glen and talked to two more locals who gave us great advice with regard to what beaches to visit and other things to see.  The ominous name Poisoned Glen, is likely due to an error in translation.  In Irish, it was known as 'Gleann Nemhe' ~ The Heavenly Glen.  The word for poison in Irish, is ‘neimhe’ so it is easy to see why there was confusion.  When the cloud cleared while we were on Mount Errigal, and we looked down at this place, we couldn’t believe how absolutely beautiful it was.

 The Poisoned Glen

View from Errigal

Summit of Errigal

Jane Smith Russell had the church built in 1853 as a memorial to her husband James Russell.  The church is constructed of white marble and blue quartzite, which were quarried locally.  The church then fell into disrepair and the roof was removed in 1955.

Dunlewey Church of Ireland

The wreck of Eddie's Boat on Magheraclogher Beach

The sand on the beaches is so compact that the locals drive on it

View of the Atlantic

When the sun sets on the red granite cliffs, it enhances the red hue of the granite, and that is why they call this the Bloody Foreland.  This is a gorgeous area of north Donegal.

Bloody Foreland