With a glorious sunny day on Saturday I opted for a high level circuit in the western Mournes taking in 5 summits. Starting from Leitrim Lodge I followed a good track towards Shanlieve, the first summit of the day. Unfortunately, the good track peters out into a marsh which, thankfully, is short-lived. After arriving at the Mourne wall I made the straightforward ascent of Shanlieve which took 30 minutes. After summiting Shanlieve I followed the course of the wall to Eagle. Eagle is the highest point in the western Mournes and offers a 30-peak 360 panorama. After a short break I descended to the windy gap before ascending Slievemoughanmore. This summit offers my favourite aerial view of any of the Mourne valleys. Thereafter I descended to Tornamrock before following its broad ridge to Rocky mountain, the final summit of the round. Rocky mountain is a fitting finale as it is possible to see the whole route of the previous 4 summits laid out before you. Total distance was nearly 13km.
Altataggart and Tievedockaragh from Leitrim Lodge:
Tievedockaragh and the southern Mournes from the ascent of Shanlieve:
Hen, Rocky and Tornamrock from ascent of Shanlieve:
View from Shanlieve:
View from Eagle:
Knockchree:
Zoom-in on Spelga:
The central and eastern Mournes from Eagle:
Blackbird:
Western & central Mournes, descending Eagle:
Spelga Reservoir:
Western Mournes from Slievemoughanmore:
Descending Slievemoughanmore:
Hen mountain:
View from Tornamrock's ridge:
Eagle, Shanlieve, Slievemoughanmore and Tornamrock from Rocky:
Eagle, Shanlieve and Tornamrock from Rocky: