Mourne Mountains

Approaches: The 'high' or eastern Mournes are separated from the western Mournes by the road through the Spelga Pass, linking Hilltown in the north with Kilkeel in the south (B27).

Eagle Mountain, Pigeon Rock Mountain and Hen Mountain lie to the west of the road, while the remainder of the crags are in the eastern Mournes.

To the north, the range is bounded by the Hilltown-Bryansford/Newcastle Road (Bl 80), on the east by the sea and the Newcastle/Kilkeel Coast Road (A2) and on the south by the 'Head Road' (C313) which runs east-west from the Coast Road along the bottom of the mountains to join the north-south line of the Spelga Pass Road. Detailed approaches are included under the introduction to each crag.

Index

Little Binnian

 Description: This prominent little outcrop lying south-west of Slieve Binnian is cleanly split in two by a wide gully. The climbs, which are clean and catch the sun or avoid the cloud, mainly take slabs on both sides of the gully.

Approaches: The bottom of the gully is easily reached in half an hour by following the obvious path which joins the wall running down from the crag. This path starts from parking spaces at the head of a lane which leaves the Head Road at a cross roads (319209) just south of the Brackenagh Cross Water Bridge.

Binnian South Tor

 Description: Naturally enough the most southerly of the tors, but not to be confused with Beta Tor which lies just uphill and to the west, and separated from South Tor by an insignificant grassy ramp/col. The uphill side of the west face of South Tor is rather broken and easy angled but a few features merit the accolade of a true climb.

Douglas Crag

 Description Despite the ease of access this remains the most unpopular large crag in the Mournes, with vast acreages of turf and heather marring the possibility of quality rockclimbing on the majority of the routes recorded.

Approaches: Follow the Carrick Little Track to the farthest edge of the forest. Strike directly up from here to the crag which is sitting brooding down over the valley on the left. About three-quarters of an hour.

Blue Lough Buttress

 Description After a long period of neglect, some recent development has made this crag well worth a day's visit. The number of really good routes is unfortunately not proportionate to the crag's size, which is fairly high and extensive but either marred by large acreages of vegetation, or formed in such a typically Mourne fashion - very steep to overhanging walls of pretty featureless granite with the few cracks being either the merest little seams or impossibly flared - that the scope for quality climbing is limited.

Approach: Follow the Carrick Little Track to the farthest edge of the forest. Follow the left branches ofthe Track until directly below the crag which overlooks Blue Lough. About one hour's walk. Facing the hill, the crag is characterised by a steep elongated upper section which starts just to the right of the Binnian Lough River and which after a few hundred metres merges into the more extensive but more rambling right-hand section of the crag. Whilst the upper section has been named, South Buttress on its left and Pinnacle Buttress on its right, the nomenclature is of limited interest or use, since there is only one good route to tempt those interested in clean rock. It is on the steep or slabby 30m lower wall of the right-hand section of the buttress that all the good climbing is to be found. Unfortunately, this takes a lot of seepage and in a bad year some of the routes will be persistently damp. Nevertheless a week of good weather in spring or summer should be enough to dry out most of the routes.

Buzzards's Roost

 Description: This massive lowring crag is often accused of being excessively damp. This is a misconception, for its jutting nature means that it does not take large amounts of drainage. In fact for a crag facing north-east and at a height of 500 metres it probably dries out faster than can be expected.

Approach: Follow the Carrick Little Track to the farthest edge of the forest. Follow the left branches of the Track past Blue Lough and then cut straight up the hill to the foot of the crag. About one and a quarter hours from the car park.

Percy Bysshe

A poetic little outcrop lying south-east of Blue Lough in the Annalong Valley. It offers numerous problems too short to be listed as routes and a fine fissure which gives an entertaining scramble.

Slievelamagan

 Approaches: The routes on this mountain are situated on extensive slabs on the southern aspect, directly facing the approach from the Carrick Little Track. From the car park at the bottom of the Carrick Little Track follow the track past the forest. Continue straight towards Percy Bysshe and where the track passes this little crag leave the track, walking in a northerly direction to reach the lower section of the slabs (about one hour's walk).

Lower Cove

 Description: Set about half way up the Annalong Valley these cliffs are among the steepest and best in the Mournes. The majority of the routes are south-facing, largely free of vegetation and will dry quickly. The crags have as a result proven to be popular and offer a large number of quality routes at a wide range of grades.

The cliff consists of four main buttresses, with the left-hand end of each face having a prominent arete. These "corners" are numbered from 1 to 4, from left to right.

Approaches: The crag is most easily approached by following the Carrick Little Track which leaves the Head Road at a car park at 345219, and is about one hour's walk from this point.

Upper Cove

 Description: Upper Cove is situated about 400m further up the Annalong Valley from the top of the Lower Cove cliffs with the majority of the routes lying on the south-facing buttresses. Fox's Crag, the largest of these, lies to the extreme right-hand end, with a number of smaller buttresses named 'B' to 'J' (right to left) lying to its left.

Round the corner to the right of Fox's Crag is a large steep east facing wall and below this, Green Cove. Both of these are undeveloped. In general the majority of routes are well protected, with the smaller buttresses left of Fox's Crag being ideal for beginners.

Slieve Beg

 Description: One of the best and most impressive of the Mourne crags, Slieve Beg lies in a commanding position at the head of the Annalong Valley. The most obvious feature is the huge central gully - the Devil's Coach Road. To the left is the Main Face, south-east facing and characterised by a series of corners, and to the left again are two large south-facing areas separated by a steep grassy section, with the far left edge being Satan's Buttress. To the right of the Devil's Coach Road are more broken crags - the most obvious feature being a steep broad slab of rock taken by Mourne Maggie.

Approaches: The crag can be reached either from the Annalong Valley tracks or from Newcastle via the Glen River and over the Slieve Commedagh/Slieve Donard col. Both approaches take about one and a half hours.

Slieve Commedagh

 Description: The fantastic array of gullies and pinnacles on the south side of Slieve Commedagh is known as The Castles. Short problems may be stitched together to form longer but broken routes.

At the base of the largest gully on the east slope of Commedagh, facing Eagle Rocks, is a small buttress (349286). The route below takes a hidden corner on the left side of this buttress.

Annalong Buttress

 Description: A small but very attractive and popular buttress sitting high on the eastern slopes of the Annalong Valley, facing westwards to Slieve Beg.

The crag offers a good variety of routes on clean rock which dries quickly.

Approaches: The most common approaches are via the Bloody Bridge Track to the Donard/Chimney Rock col (starting point the car park at 388270), the Glen River Track to the Donard/Commedagh col (starting point Donard car park 374385) or the main Annalong Valley tracks either from Carrick Little car park (34521 9) or Annalong Valley workings track (357223). All routes take about one to one and a half hours to the crag.

Hare's Castle

 Description: Hare's Castle is a prominent quarried knoll lying low down on the eastern flank ofthe Annalong Valley. Clean, sound rock gives excellent climbing in a sheltered and sunny location. Approaches: The easiest approach is through Annalong Forest, past the water supply workings, and striking up the hill from the end of the roadway. Cars cannot be taken beyond the outer gates (357223) on the Head Road, but it is an easy and pleasant walk through the forest to the workings, and only about 45 minutes in total to the crag.

Carr's Face, Chimney Rock Mountain

 Description: An extensive quarry on the north side of Chimney Rock Mountain. Approaches: It is most easily reached by following the Bloody Bridge River Quarry Track until nearly at the main quarry. Follow an old railway line back up the hill to the left to reach the workings which are easily seen from the valley.

Eagle Rocks

 Description: At a height of nearly 600m above sea level, a generally northerly aspect and a reputation for looseness, Eagle Rocks has not been one of the most popular of Mourne Crags. However the afternoon sun does warm the crag most of the year and the routes themselves are invariably on good steep sound granite, with care being needed at the top of the Upper Cliffs in scrambling off past the steep boulderfield. Although mostly short there are a number of quality routes, of all grades, and the crag is well worthy of a visit.

Approaches: Follow the Glen River Track through Donard Forest from Donard car park in Newcastle. Leave the forest just below the old Donard Lodge Ice House and followthe main river path tothefirst major bend just before the forest stops to the right of the path. Cross the Glen River here and strike directly up towards the crag.

Spellack

 Description: The haughty crag of Spellack sits high on a spur of Slieve Meelmore overlooking the Trassey Valley. It is renowned for quality, high grade routes on the steep clean Main Face, but there are also good easier routes, with White Walls being a classic 'Severe'.

Approaches: Follow the Bryansford/Hilitown road past the edge of Tollymore Forest. Turn left down the Trassey road to a public car park at a farm. Follow the Trassey Track past the farm and through young forest onto the open mountain. Follow the track until directly below the crag. Cross the river and climb up steeply to the base. About 30 minutes from the road.

Slievenaglogh Buttress

 Description: On the west side of slievenagiogh, about 300m north of the Hares Gap is a large broken buttress. There is a large fairly continuous crag on the left-hand side - the Main Face - and smaller crags to the right. There are few routes to date and the area is not popular.

Approaches: Approach is via the Trassey Valley Track as for Spellack, but continue up the track towards the Hares Gap, breaking left up the side of Slievenagiogh directly to the crag.

Meelmore Buttresses

 Description: A short slabby wall set into the eastern slopes of Meelmore, directly facing Bearnagh Slabs, giving some good introductory climbing. Below and to the right of this there are a few slabs which can be climbed at around VD.

Bearnagh Slabs

 Description: This is a popular crag with beginners, offering good slab climbing with renowned Mourne friction. Most of the routes are about 80m long and tend to follow friction grooves and slabs. Approaches: The best approach is to follow the Trassey Track to the old quarry on the side of Slieve Bearnagh. From here take the right branch leading to the col between Slieve Bearnagh and Slieve Meelmore. The slabs are at the col, approximately one hour from the Trassey car park.

Bearnagh Tors

 Description: The tors on Slieve Bearnagh are some of the most elevated crags in the Mournes. The climbing varies widely from short boulder problems to longer exposed climbs on the East Face of Summit Tor. The routes here are in a tremendous situation overlooking the higher Mourne peaks and the Ben Crom Reservoir. Approaches: The tors are best reached from the Trassey Track. Follow the track to the Hares Gap, and from here follow the Mourne Wall south-west to the summit of Slieve Bearnagh. This energetic walk takes about one and a half hours from the road.

Ben Crom

 Description: The Ben Crom crags haughtily overlook the Ben Crom reservoir at the end of the Silent Valley.After a period of intensive development in the mid 1970s they were virtually ignored until a few years ago. Interest has recently revived and a fine series of new routes has resulted in born again popularity. The Main Face offers many fine climbs in the VS-E2 grades while the smaller Womble Wall and other crags give shorter routes mainly in the lower grades.

Approaches The crags are most easily approached from Ott Mountain Track, which leaves the Spelga-Slievenaman-Bryansford road at a small parking space (Grid Ref J280278). The upper fork of this track leads in the direction of the Slieve Lough Shannagh/Carn Mountain col from where a small track descends to the top of the broad shoulder running between Slieve Lough Shannagh and Doan. From the southern side of this follow a further small track along the Ben Crom river for about 500m and then strike up to the long northern ridge of Ben Crom. Follow this to the summit. About one and a half hours from the road.

Doan

 Description: The southern face of Doan presents discontinuous slabs and buttresses which offer some short but entertaining routes in a fine situation. The most prominent features are the 'Elephant's Ear' slab in the middle of the rock mass and Pinnacle Buttress at the extreme righthand end. There are also short crags just below the summit offering easy climbs or technical boulder problems.

Approaches: Best approach is up the Ott Mountain Track (from the car park on the Spelga road at 280278) to the Slieve Lough Shannagh/Carn Mt col, and then contouring round above Lough Shannagh to the crag, about one hour's walk.

Pigeon Rock Mountain

 Description: The cliffs at Pigeon Rock give excellent varied climbing and prove popular due to their proximity to the road and a generally southerly aspect. The best routes are on granite, though there is a capping layer of shale to the right side of the cliffs which forms the top pitches of Coccyx, the crags of Pog Precipice and Far Right Cliffs. The Left-Hand Cliffs are the largest in extent, up to 80m in height.

Approaches: Approach is from a gate on the Kilkeel/Hilltown Road at Grid Ref J270234 and cars can be parked inside the gate. Be careful not to leave the gate open or block the path which is frequently used by farmers. Follow the track across the river ford, breaking off below the relevant part of the crag to climb steeply to its base. About 10 minutes from the road.

Eagle Mountain

 Description: Eagle Mountain boasts the most extensive and impressive crag in the Mournes, but this is greatly marred by its north-facing aspect which leaves most of the routes damp and vegetated. A few gems do, however, penetrate this general gloom, and the crag can give some impressive situations.

Approaches: Follow the road through Attical village from the Kilkeel/ Hilltown road. After a double turn over a bridge turn right up 'Sandy Brae' past the Holy Cross Gaelic Football Field. The road deteriorates into a track which is followed to a parking spot beside a foot bridge over a ford.

Follow the track up the valley heading for the Windy Gap with the crag gradually unfolding on the left-hand side. After crossing a stream coming down from the crag there is a fork in the track. Take the left branch which leads up back left to the foot of the crag (about one and a half hours).

Hen Mountain

 Description: The four tors of Hen Mountain give short routes with many variations and numerous problems. The rock is generally clean and sound, but there is often a scarcity of belays on the tops. The routes dry quickly after rain and Hen is exposed to winds from all directions, though it is usually possible to find a sheltered corner. A popular beginners crag, virtually no piece of rock has been left untouched and new routes in the lower grades will not in future be recorded.

Approaches: From the Bryansford-Hilltown road turn left about 5km from Hilltown at a signpost to Rostrevor. Continue straight across a crossroads about half a km further on, and after another 3 km stop at a picnic site (233277) on the right-hand side. Directly opposite this a track leads up between Hen Mountain on the left and Rocky Mountain on the right with an inappropriate modern bungalow at the road junction. Follow this track to a gate then strike directly uphill to the tors. About half an hour from the car park. From this direction the tors are (from left to right) West Tor, The Tower, Summit Tor and South East Tor.