BEN GORM, Co Mayo:The beauty of Ben Gorm is tempered by the thought of the events of 1849, when starving locals were forced to set out from Louisburgh to meet Poor Law inspectors, writes TONY DOTHERTY
THERE WAS a time in my life when I said to myself, well, that’s it, then: I need my comforts, and I’m never going to bivvy out on a mountain again. I made that decision a good few years ago, but a visit to Ben Gorm, a 700m peak on the east side of Doo Lough Pass, in Co Mayo, on a sunny day has made me decide to have one last night in the rough this summer, to witness sunrise and sunset on this outstanding mountain.
From the car park on the R335 at Aasleagh Falls, at the head of Killary Harbour, take the track to the left of the falls for about 50m, until you’ve passed the fence on the left and can head straight up on open moorland.
Underfoot are large tussocks of grass: watch your footing. Keep close to the fence, where a faint track makes the going easier.
Once you reach the spur that leads to the summit you’ll come to a stile in the fence. The old wooden step has rotted away, but someone has constructed one from a tangle of thick blue rope, with a loop in it. It definitely gets my vote for most original (or eccentric?) stile of the year.
On your right you can look down into the Lugayeran Valley, which is filled with glacial debris scoured from the surrounding mountains by ice. The rugged cliffs of the east face of Ben Gorm bear testimony to its power.
After crossing a second stile – a wooden one this time – the spur gets considerably steeper and narrower, with cliffs on your right and steep slopes on your left that give you a bird’s-eye view over the upper reaches of Killary Fjord. At this height you can still clearly hear the rush of the cascades.
In contrast to the steep slopes and cliffs that encircle it, the summit is on a plateau of water-eroded bog. In thick mist you would need to be very precise in your navigation to find the right spur for your descent. As you head across the bog you’ll spot a cairn ahead of you. When you reach it, go west along the stony ground to the smaller summit cairn.
I was mesmerised by the view and sat for an hour, soaking it up: the Twelve Bens and Killary to the south, the Mweelrea horseshoe to the west and the iconic Doo Lough, with Clew Bay and Clare Island in the distance, to the north.
I decided I would be quite happy to sit in this spot from dawn until dusk, watching as the tracking sun animated the landscape.
Inevitably, this happiness was tinged with sadness at the thought of the infamous famine walk of 1849, when hundreds of starving locals had to walk from Louisburgh to Delphi Lodge to meet Poor Law inspectors. Many died in dreadful weather.
I couldn’t help but think that, even on a brilliant day like the one I was experiencing, they would have taken scant pleasure from a landscape that had so cruelly let them down.
I had planned to return via the northern spur of Lugayeran Valley, but I had seen on the way up that this would have involved a miserable bog walk without even the saving grace of decent scenery.
Instead I decided to amble north along the ridge to the twin peaks of Ben Creggan, which is very easy going, and then had a wonderful return trip in the evening sun, back down to the soothing sounds of Aasleagh Falls.
Start and finishThe car park on the R335 at Aasleagh Falls, at the head of Killary Harbour. Grid ref 894645.
How to get thereTake the N59 from Westport. If coming from Galway, take the R336 from Oughterard.
TimeFive hours.
Distance10km.
Total ascent850m.
MapOrdnance Survey Ireland Discovery Series sheet 38
SuitabilityModerate route; compass, map and raingear are essential.
Food and accommodationLook in Leenaun, Westport and Oughterard.