Slieve Donard

The sun was visible this morning, but rain was forecast for around 2:00 pm, so we got a move on to hike up Slieve Donard.  There are a few approaches to Slieve Donard, we chose the approach via Bloody Bridge.  It is said that Bloody Bridge is so named, as it was the site of a massacre of prisoners during the 1641 Rebellion.

Slieve Donard is the highest mountain in the Mournes, at ~2800 feet, the hike begins pretty much at sea level.  After walking for some time, we got to a rock quarry, shortly after, we reached the Mourne Wall, which runs up the steep slope to the top of Slieve Donard.

The elevation gain begins in earnest here, as you have to boot it straight up the mountain.  It is quite steep, but at least it was only 1 kilometre to the top, which took us less than 45 minutes.  Total time to reach the summit was about 2 hours and 15 minutes.  It was pretty heavy going, given that we walked up Slieve Binnian yesterday.  Considering we have not hiked since last August, we were fairly amazed that we were capable of two hikes in a row.

It was not busy at all, given that it is a Monday, quite a contrast from the number of walkers out on the weekend.  We only met one group on our ascent and then chatted at length to an older Irishman at the top.  He is pretty fit and was wanting to get into better shape for a hiking trip to Scotland, where the mountains are higher.

It is always really cold at the top of Irish mountains, as the temperatures are lower and we are more exposed to the wind.  Once again, we took a bottle of tea for each of us, and were grateful for that.  We had to don toques, a windblock fleece and gloves to stop from freezing.

Then a young guy came up with his Rottie, this of course, was a topic of conversation with him.  He is going to school for a career in veterinary physiotherapy.  Now, he notices the problems with the gait of every dog, horse and human that he encounters.

After hanging around at the summit for a bit talking to the locals, we took off to descend the mountain and head back to Bloody Bridge.  There are cattle and sheep grazing in the area, and we encountered a small herd of Highland Cattle blocking the trail and eating some hay that the farmer threw beside the trail among the gorse plants, which have vicious thorns.  After taking a few photos we walked on and they moved aside.

As we got near Bloody Bridge and the end of the walk, it started to rain, so our timing was perfect.  It is supposed to rain a lot tomorrow, which is our last day in Co. Down, so we are finished with hiking in the Mourne Mountains, not that we want to take on another mountain tomorrow.

The Mourne Wall ascending Slieve Donard

View from the summit

The Mourne Wall

The stile gets you over the wall at the top

Slieve Binnian from Slieve Donard

The never ending Mourne Wall from Slieve Donard

Highland Cattle

Crossing Bloody Bridge River

Old Bloody Bridge

The Arrival of the Vikings

The Christian annals (chronological records) referred to the arrival of the ‘sea vomitings from the north’ which wrecked havoc by raiding, killing and taking the people for slaves; they of course, were the Norse Vikings.  The Vikings are given a short shrift in the annals and by some historians, as they are depicted as not much more than violent and destructive people who plundered and pillaged.  The Vikings began by raiding coastal areas in 795, and continued to raid for the next 30 years, and then they moved inland to sack the wealthy monasteries.  However, the Vikings established a few naval camps, Dublin was one of them and it became a great trading centre.  They also established the first towns in Ireland: Limerick, Cork, Waterford and Wexford.  By the 11th century, there is plenty of evidence of intermarriage between the Vikings and the Irish.

During the 10th century the Vikings were very involved in the power struggle in Ireland, but by the early 11th century, their power was in decline, and by the end of the 11th century, their power in Ireland had come to an end.  However, the Viking period had lasted for nearly 300 years, they viewed Ireland, Britain and the islands as one area of operations and they underwent a transformation from raiders to settlers to traders and to power brokers.

It is important to note that the Vikings had less interest in Ireland than in Britain, which had more towns and was wealthier.  The Viking presence in England may have united the people to form a single monarchy to fight the Vikings.  This did not happen in Ireland, where the Vikings allied with various kingships in the power struggle, but they did not attempt a widespread takeover.