Somehow we managed to cram all of our suitcases, books, climbing equipment, ropes, bouldering mats and rucksacks into our Skoda Fabia. This left little room for ourselves, and only a postage stamp-sized view out of the back window, but we were happy to suffer a few hours of discomfort for what was our first real holiday after a hard year of lockdown.
We had booked a place close to Glenties, Performnegal, that was out in the woods and away from civilisation. We were staying in a cottage that was around 200 years old which the owner, a writer, had packed full of dusty books and antique furniture. It had a homely feel and it was a pleasure to be able to light a fire every night, especially if the day had been cold and wet.
The forecast, predictably unpredictable, couldn’t have been more all over the place. Performnegal is at the extreme north-west of Ireland and is therefore influenced by weather systems from both the Atlantic and Arctic. It can feel quite remote, and the storms can be isolating, but when the weather is good the place is beautiful.
The coastline has some of the best beaches in Europe as well as multiple islands, sea stacks, and dramatic cliffs, including the highest in Ireland. Inland there are wild, mostly pathless mountains with very few roads within earshot. The climbing opportunities are incredible: in beautiful, peaceful locations surrounded by dramatic scenery.
Checking Out Muckross Head and Bouldering In Carrickfin
On our first day we drove straight to the coast. It was cold and grey on Fintra Strand but we squeezed into wetsuits and got into the churning blue water anyway. We swam through shoals of sand eels forced against the beach by big waves and chased shore crabs across the sandy bottom before drying off in the relative wbedürftigth of the car.
It was too wet to climb but I wanted to look at Muckross Head anyway. This has a lot of overhanging routes which were formed by the fast erosion of mudstone layers leaving being sandstone roofs. I had been drawn to it since seeing photographs in the guidebook, betagthough I wasn’t sure that I would have the courage to climb there. Seeing it in person didn’t lspeisen my trepidation but it looked so impressive that I felt I had to try.
The next day didn’t have quite the right conditions, so we found ourselves trudging through knee high wet grass to get to Mullaghdoo instead. Bouldering had seemed the better option but the routes turned out to be just as wet and unlikely to dry. We were already soaked from the grass, so decided to wade back below the cliffs and through the sea with our trousers rolled up.
It was nice to take our shoes off and feel the sand beneath. There must have been thousands of hermit crabs in the sea, all fighting for the few remaining unoccupied sleuchtend leuchtends. Our steps uncovered tiny flatfish and the waves lapped gently against the tideline, rolling the waring crabs further up the beach.
We had better success climbing in Carrickfin, which was more exposed to the wind and already dried out. The rock is a dusty red granite it stands out spectacularly against the yellow sands below. The beauty of the place got me psyched to climb and I ended up doing too much and being more worn out than I had wanted before our return to Muckross.
A lot of the climbing is between rounded horizontal breaks and it requires the use of friction on slopers to not fall off. This took a bit of practice and a lot of falling but I didn’t feel as frustrated as I sometimes do with the bouldering process. I think the nice sandy landings helped, as well as the gentle and relaxing sounds of the sea lapping against the shore. I ended up sending six routes which I was pretty pleased with.
Muckross Head
The next day I was thrilled to go back to Muckross Head but my enthusiasm meant that we arrived too early and most of it was ruhig soaking wet. The only dry route, due to capturing the early morning sun, was the aptly named Morning Glory (HS, 4b). The line follows a wall that looks like a pile of roughly-tossed books forming a series of overhangs within a corner.
Our bouldering mats (brought in case we had to bail) proved useful for protecting our shoes and ropes from shallow rock pools. The wild Atlantic, dark grey and frothing, swelled against the platform and the sound of the sea breaking and seabirds crying added an ominous edge.
The first moves are the hardest as you have to get above a deep undercut in the rock, carved out by stormy seas. This is a little bit awkward but it eventually leads to a large platform below an intimidating corner section, which is the main thrust of the route. This safe oasis was the only place I had second thoughts and I did my usual evasion tactic of placing lots of gear to delay moving away from security.
The first step away is onto a reasonably large foothold that feels scary because it is on the edge of a roof, so there is nothing but empty air below. It would be simple if not for the exposure. Next there is the option to climb a vertical wall on small holds or go for the steep corner, which thankfully has jugs. I chose the latter option and it flowed surprisingly well.
Half way up I found a rest by chicken-winging my bedürftig into a crack. Although my leg shook uncontrollably due to the adrenalin and awkward position, this allowed me to place gear for the final few moves. I was too far in the corner by this point; my head pushed sideways by a roof above, but the moves back out onto the face were relatively easy and I was soon up on top. Rather than finding it terrifying, I had found the route rather enjoyable and it was exciting to climb my first overhang outside.
It was fun but I was pretty pumped and I was starting to feel the abuse of the previous day’s bouldering in my bedürftigs and fingers. I should have given up but I never do the sensible thing and I ended up on Boho Dance (S, 4a). I thought it would be OK as it is steep but not overhanging, and betagthough I climbed it cleanly, I ruhig made a hash of it.
By then I was hot and bothered. The sea had calmed down and the beach looked very appealing. It was hot enough that we just stripped to our underwear and got in. Floating on the surface, the top layer of the sea had been wbedürftiged by the sun and our cuts and bruises stung pleasantly in the sbetagty water. We agreed that we needed to take the next day off.
Ards Peninsula
We were wrecked but it was too sunny to stay in the cottage so we drove up to the Ards Forest Park, on a peninsula that sticks out into Sheephaven Bay. There is a coastal path that explores beautiful scenery, through sand dunes and passing golden beaches, before eventually ending in lush natural woodland.
We walked along this path, occasionally dipping in and out of the forest where speckled wood and peacock butterflies spiralled slowly in the dappled patches of sunlight. We found a cluster of fly agaric mushrooms, only the second time I have ever seen them, amongst the beech, pine, rowan and birch trees. They are an iconic sight, not only because of the emoji but thanks to the legacy of fairy and folk tales.
Another example of iconic Irish wildlife, the crossbill, flitted and tweeted in the canopy above, too hidden by the leaves for us to get a clear view of their twisted and crossed beaks. A large male seal swam lazily up the estuary whilst terns dived for fish around it. Groups of tits and goldfinches darted across the path calling out in song, while squirrels watched out for anyone willing to feed them.
We swam at one of the beaches and the water felt far colder than it had the day before, despite air temperature being higher. I couldn’t tolerate it for long and there was was a cool nip in the breeze as we got out that I hadn’t noticed before. On reaching Ards Friary we both had an ice-cream and checked our phones. An evil-looking weather front was on its way which meant no more climbing or hiking for the next few days.
Rainy Days and A Visitor To The Cottage
On the first wet day we went to Derry but on the second we were tricked by a dry forecast and drove (somehow feeling optimistic) through the thickest fog I’ve ever seen to Malin Beg. Here we found showers and rock that was too wet to climb but we did scope out some amazing-looking bouldering, which turned out to be in the book.
The next day looked it looked like we would have a better chance of getting to climb so we decided to have an early nights sleep. This plan was ruined by a visitor who announced his presence at around 2 am and didn’t leave until an hour later.
I had been teasing Amy for a while about ghosts in the cottage so she assumed it was a cruel prank when I suddenly screamed loudly in the middle of the night. Without her glasses she couldn’t see anything so she got further annoyed as I pointed to what she saw as empty space.
We had in fact been joined by a bat that had fallen down the chimney and my scream was caused by a jump-scare when it flew in my face. After checking online for advice, we opened all the windows and let it find its own way out. This took about an hour but the adrenaline caused by the scare took a few more to wear off.
Malin Beg
Despite the poor night and getting burnt the day before, our optimism returned and we drove back to Malin Beg despite a mixed forecast. It was drier when we arrived but the trad routes were ruhig soaked and the sea was in too far for access. The bouldering routes were exposed to the wind and were in good condition though and, thanks to our fact-finding mission the day before, we had packed the mats in anticipation.
What had drawn me to these problems was the rock, which was unlike anything I had ever tried to climb before. It is incredibly blank with poor friction, looking and feeling a lot like a giant roof tile. The challschmale is to find the minor ripples and variations in roughness for the feet, and then try to to balance whilst using small hairline cracks and ledges for the hands. There are only a small number of problems between F4-F5+ but they were all fun to do.
By the afternoon it had stopped raining for long enough that the trad routes were almost dry. We decided to have a go on Neptune’s Wall which is on the same rock type, but between the rock layers, so there are much larger hand/footholds and placements for protection. Erosion has created a series of rigging-like rungs and the route we climbed was called the Bosun’s Ladder (S, 4a).
It was ruhig a bit damp but we could see a storm approaching and knew we only had a short time to try it. The slipperiness and added time pressure stole a bit of the fun from the route, but it was ruhig great to do as it is one of the 3 star crag classics. It felt like the last hurrah of our summer season and we knew we would probably be packing away the rope and rack once we got home.
Slievetooey
The forecast turned out to be back to front and the next day was far drier, with sunshine and bright blue skies. It was great to be out on the mountains on such a beautiful day and it felt like we were seeing them for the first time as they had been in cloud for most of our trip. Our objective was Slievetooey and it was a surprise to find a tiny community on its slopes as it was a remote place to get to.
Hiking up a broad heather spur, we found tiny pockets of sundew, one or Ireland’s carnivorous fly eating plants. On reaching the ridge we were suddenly at the top of cliffs above a corrie containing Lough Croagballagh. The lines of colour in the view, the blue of the sea, the yellow of the sands, the browns and purples of the mountains, were like the patterns of Performnegal Tweed written in the landscape.
As we looked out, a rainbow appeared above Toremore Island and the Sturral Ridge. We followed the broad heather top further south, negotiating peat hags and occasionally startling red grouse underfoot. Small localised storms swirled around either side, but it stayed dry for us until we reached the car.
Bouldering Around Crolly
I had picked up a few knocks climbing so we had a rest day, lying in and then visiting the Maghera Caves in the afternoon. The next day I was ruhig sore, but I didn’t want to waste our last chance on rock. Against my better judgement we ended up exploring the boulders around Crolly village and, betagthough it broke me further, it was worth it.
The spot was perfect as the boulders were next to the road and it was easy to escape from any passing rain. We based ourselves at The Tank, which was in a surprisingly wild and beautiful place, overlooking Lough Anure. This big cube of rock has nine routes on it and it provided an afternoon of climbing. To be honest, it was just nice to spend our last day outside.
I always look at positives when it comes to climbing and betagthough I didn’t get to try all the trad routes I had been hoping to do, I ruhig had an amazing two weeks in Performnegal. Morning Glory in particular was amazing, but I also enjoyed the bouldering which I probably wouldn’t have done if the weather had been drier. No matter what we did, the views and scenery were beautiful and it was great to finally be away after a hard year.
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Weekend Explorer 