Volume Ii Part 11 (2/2)

Excessively steep slopes of cemented gravel, gra.s.s, or crumbling rock, half held together by heather, are the usual difficulties. But in four or five places odd right-angled walls of horizontal, loosely-balanced blocks of slaty schist jut out right across the face of the cliff, the legs of the angle being sheer to the sea and horizontal above. The blocks lie loose upon each other, and are not always large enough to give one a sense of anything except the rickets. Usually it was possible to climb beside these b.u.t.tresses, and, balancing by them, get over in gingerly fas.h.i.+on. But one--the largest--had to be climbed on equilibristic principles. Sheep tracks follow the face of the cliff in some places. Where a sheep can go a man can go, though he may not like jumps from bad footing to worse landing, where even sheep occasionally come to grief. Accordingly a track going horizontally here looked encouraging to the writer, till a flock of wild goats, signally scared, put his confidence to flight, for a wild goat will lead a man where he may find it necessary to make a prolonged halt. However the goat track vanished upward, and the seven-mile traverse was successfully completed to the Eagle's Nest.

From the summit of Slieve League there is a fine oceanic view of island, headland, bay, and cliff. South-east of the summit, at a slightly lower alt.i.tude, is the _One Man's Pa.s.s_, about the terrors of which a great deal of rubbish has been written. It is a steep, narrow, short ridge of firm rock, which any mountaineer would walk up or down with his hands in his pockets. In a storm he would, however, adopt a worm-like att.i.tude.

The sides are very steep, but practicable both seaward and inland. It commands a superb view. Among the legends connected with Slieve League one about a Spaniard, a priest, and a pony is the most captivating (see _The Donegal Highlands_).

[Ill.u.s.tration: ONE MAN'S Pa.s.s]

Slieve League is capped by the remnants of outlying beds of lower carboniferous age, conglomerates, with fossil plant remains. Botanically also this mountain is most interesting, rivalling Ben Bulben for first place as a habitat for mountain plants in Ireland. There is an interesting feature visible from the summit--a group of spire-like pinnacles, close below the crest of the ridge. These are known as the 'chimneys,' and form an attractive a.s.semblage. They are of the same nature as the flying b.u.t.tresses already spoken of.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CHIMNEYS (SLIEVE LEAGUE)]

Slieve League takes its name from 'liag' (flag). There is a flag formation near the summit. Bungla.s.s is 'Green River Mouth,' but a modern guide-book translates Bungla.s.s 'Beautiful View,' a ludicrous error explained by the fact that the point which gives so n.o.ble a prospect of Bungla.s.s is known as Awark More ('Great View').

_Croagh Gorm_ and _Blue Stack Mountains_ lie north and west of Barnesmore Gap and above Lough Eske, reaching nearly to Glenties, Lough Eske being about 30 miles east of Slieve League. The coast eastwards from Slieve League becomes suddenly low, and the formation changes to carboniferous limestone, which occupies a broad belt round Donegal Bay.

The Blue Stack group is about 7 miles across.

_Blue Stack_ (2,219 ft.) lies above Lough Eske and is granite, although the Lough itself lies in the limestone. About Lough Belshade, which lies north of Lough Eske, about half-way up the east side of Blue Stack, the granite is precipitous, and one bold bluff west of this lake (Belshade), with a sort of little cave in its face, may be taken in the ascent of the mountain. Most of the granite portions of the range are rounded, flowing, gently contoured, barren slopes of bare rock, sometimes at low elevations becoming steep and difficult. The ascent of Blue Stack from Lough Eske should on no account be missed. The lake is about 10 miles round, and most beautifully situated at the southern base of a bold ma.s.s of rugged, desolate granitic bosses and cliffs, cleft by a few fairly steep ravines. In direct contrast to this sombre scene is the west sh.o.r.e of the lake, which is girt with timber, chiefly natural. Ardnamona is the nearest portion of this sylvan scene to the mountain base, and the whole basin is admirably sheltered by the surrounding mountains from the violent storms which of late years have been more destructive than ever.

From the road above Ardnamona, looking down over it upon Lough Eske and its solemn background, the view is perfect. It is a sort of compact Killarney, which the eye and mind will long feast upon.

North-west of Blue Stack, a couple of miles from it, lies _Lavagh More_ (2,211 ft.), a fine upstanding lump of turf-covered schists. Schists and sandstones const.i.tute the greater part of these hills. From Lavagh More, descending southwards, by a series of lakes, the head of the Shrule River is reached, in a valley with a precipitous northern side, which gives difficult bits of crag work. In this valley at the northern end lies a waterfall known as the Grey Mare's Tail.

The Blue Stack Mountains are best explored from Donegal on the south or Glenties on the west, in both of which places there are comfortable inns. It is best to drive to the head of Lough Eske, and it is a fine walk from that, including most of the tops, down to Martin's Bridge, 3 miles from Glenties, over Blue Stack, Lavagh More, and Silver Hill.

In the mountainous district around Glenties other excursions are available. A walk to be recommended is from Barnesmore Gap (drive of 7 miles from Donegal) across the Croagh Gorm and Blue Stack summits to Glenties. Barnesmore Gap should by all means be visited. The mountains on either side rise 1,500 to 1,700 ft., not quite precipitously, but with bluffs, heavy boulders, and steep rocky faces. Caesar Otway gives a highly-coloured description of this impressive scene. Another way to explore the group is to follow up the course of the Reelan water through a peculiarly secluded and remote valley. From Glenties to Ardara is about 4 miles, and the latter village is a capital halting place.

Fis.h.i.+ng and fowling can be had. The road from Ardara to Carrick, about 10 miles, pa.s.ses up the wild, grand gorge of Glen Gesh by a zigzag road, reminding one of some of the Swiss ascents. For the sake of the varied scenery obtained by these doublings it is almost preferable to stick to the road till near the summit. On the south side of this glen it is bounded by a range known as _Altnadewon_ or _Croaghnagcaragh_ (_Reek_, 'hill of the thicket'). A steep rock face extends from the main road at the 'nock of the Ballagh,' or Pa.s.s, which forms a wide amphitheatre on the north face of the highest point of this range (1,652 ft.) For some distance it is by no means easy to scale this declivity.

Towards the southern verge of the county the coast is low and flat, but the bold precipitous face of Ben Bulben looks highly attractive.

Before leaving Donegal it will be well to mention one useful hint. The Ordnance maps of this county show 100-ft. contours, which are of the utmost advantage upon any excursion, as the height of any point attained by the pedestrian may be fixed within a hundred feet. Very few other parts of Ireland are thus favoured.

=The Ben Bulben Range= lies in the northern part of Sligo and Leitrim; a most conspicuous object in the landscape viewed from Slieve League across Donegal Bay. The shapely escarpment of the nearest point looks, indeed, as if it belonged to Donegal, which is 7 miles away. This portion consists of _Cloughcorragh_ (2,007 ft.) and _Ben Whiskin_ (1,666 ft.)

These mountains are almost entirely carboniferous limestone. Much of the group is an elevated plateau, girt round on all sides, or nearly so, by limestone precipices, usually some hundreds of feet high, rising from a long steep slope of debris. The height of the cliff edges is about 1,600 ft., of which the talus occupies about two-thirds. The cliffs are fine, but consist largely of insecure blocks. Occasionally a fissure occurs, permitting ascent or descent, and some very steep ones are used on the south side of the range by turf-cutters.

In consequence of this formation the pedestrian may find himself following a long series of cliff edges, without being able to discover a way of descent. To examine the cliffs the proper course is to follow the sheep walk, which usually occurs at the base of the precipices above the talus. The walk across the range, from Bundoran to Sligo, is full of interest to a mountaineer, and the descent into the valley north of Sligo from _King's Mountain_ is one that will never be effaced from his memory. It is not easy to find the pa.s.sages leading down. The valley is a vast amphitheatre almost enclosed by cliffs, sheer and, including talus, about 1,000 ft. high.

It is always a pleasant experience to follow the crest of a line of limestone cliffs. Similar cliffs on a smaller scale are those of Moher and Aran, in the county Clare. It is probably owing to the fissures and laminations of the limestone, which afford a perfect system of internal drainage, that such cliffs are not only dry and clean, but also free from the gullies and valleys which, causing frequent ups and downs, sometimes render cliff walks extremely fatiguing--near Waterford, for example. Again, limestone grows no heather and forms little peat, so that the usual footing is clean gra.s.s sod--very pleasant after hummocky tussocks--and yielding 'quaas.'

For these mountains Kinlough is perhaps the most convenient centre.

Manor Hamilton and Dromahaire may also be utilised, but Bundoran and Sligo, though the latter commands the beautiful Lough Gill, are too distant from the hills.

It may be mentioned here that there are various attractions in Northern Ireland outside the scope of this work. Fis.h.i.+ng is always in reach, and of late years golf has thriven apace. No finer links exist than those of Portsalon, Rosapenna, Portrush, and Newcastle, and there are many others of growing excellence.

Ben Bulben is famous for its mountain flora, a valuable report on which, by Messrs. Barrington and Cowell, has been published by the Royal Irish Academy.

=Mayo.= Here are the highest mountains in the west of Ireland, Mweelrea (2,688 ft.) and Nephin (2,646 ft.)

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