for a first irish hill, i reckoned this was a safe bet. pity the weather which at first was promising to lift, set in really badly as i got the summit. the wind picked up and visibility dropped, so i had to take my companion's word for the sheer drop down into the loughs below. occasional glimpses of potentially stunning views - sadly too brief for the camera. the locals reckon that doing the whole horsehoe around to stoompa is a classic, but today it wasn't an option. trail's description seems to suggest this is just an irish version of the cheviot - don't be fooled - yes it's boggy and peaty in places, and pretty straightforward to summit, but this is no high-rise bump - i don't recall any 300m cliffs on cheviot!
sl
(Written by: simonlo)