Sugarloaf Mountain, in the Knockmealdowns of Munster, sits in an area that is rich in folklore and full of historic echoes, writes John G O'Dwyer.
FOR GENERATIONS of children from the south Midlands, mention of the word "Vee" created an inevitable flutter of anticipation.
In less affluent times, when young people made playgrounds amid the fields and farms of rural Ireland, crossing the Vee counted as an exotic adventure to distant lands beyond the Knockmealdown Mountains. There lay the Cistercian abbey of Mount Melleray and the promise of exploring its famous groves and enjoying "meat tea" and currant cake from kindly but resolutely unspeaking monks. In summer the journey concluded at the ultimate childhood nirvana: Clonea Beach, outside Dungarvan.
The switchback road across the Vee, which made such childhood adventures possible, was constructed for famine relief in the 1840s. Today it offers one of Ireland's outstanding scenic drives as it meanders between the Sugarloaf Mountain, standing sentinel above, and Bay Lough's lonesome curl of water beneath. Hiking opportunities abound in this area, which is renowned for its rich folklore and abundant historic echoes.
From your starting point (see panel) follow a stony track uphill through dense vegetation. In June the area is a riot of blue flowering rhododendrons. Visitors observing the luxuriant spectacle are mostly unaware that this seemingly attractive shrub is actually a considerable woodland pest. It forms impenetrable thickets that now threaten the fragile ecosystems of many forest areas.
In about 15 minutes you reach brooding Bay Lough. It is unlikely that you will see bathers here, for a deeply held tradition warns that the ghostly arm of the witch Petticoat Loose will rise from her resting place in the depths to ensnare those bold enough to enter these melancholy waters. In reality, Petticoat Loose was a local woman named Mary Hannigan whose crime was not witchcraft but that of daring to be different in misogynistic times.
Go left along the lakeshore and continue upwards on a broad track following a pre-Famine road. Here you should try to step back in time and imagine the 19th-century long cars and sweating horses of the Italian emigrant Charles Bianconi toiling upwards. Bianconi, the Michael O'Leary of his day, created Ireland's first low-cost system of transportation for ordinary people. At the end of the track an unusual stone building beside the road is where his horses rested after the demanding haul to the head of the gap.
Now cross the road and follow an earthen bank, marking the boundary between counties Tipperary and Waterford, which leads steeply uphill on the west flank of Sugarloaf Mountain. The going is strenuous as you ascend a low rise and trend leftwards for the summit (663m). Your effort is well rewarded, however, as the mountain is crowned by twin stony summits that offer exquisite views across Tipperary's Golden Vale to the distant bulk of the Galtee Mountains.
Having imbibed fully of the vista, descend north from the second summit by way of a rather indistinct track. You should now be heading towards the R668 at a point just left of a hairpin bend. Continue descending until a curious construction is encountered just above the road. This beehive edifice marks the last resting place of William Grubb, a landowner with extensive holdings from nearby Castlegrace who died in 1922. Tradition holds that the curious shape of his mausoleum was determined by the fact that Grubb wished to be buried in an upright position, to keep an eye on his property interests below.
From here it is possible to follow the R668 for two kilometres directly back to your start point. A more attractive option is to follow the contour left along the lower slopes of the Sugarloaf for about a kilometre. Keep the road and the wood beyond on your right. When woodland gives way to open mountainside, cross the road and follow a track downhill that runs parallel to the trees. Eventually another track joins from the left. Follow this into dense woodland and continue until this sylvan trail swings sharply left and leads steeply downwards to the attractive bridge beside your car.
Sugarloaf Mountain, Co Tipperary
• Start point:Walk begins from the northwest corner of the parking place beside the first hairpin bend beyond Clogheen on the R668.
• Time:Easily accomplished in three hours.
• Suitability:A moderately challenge for walkers with a reasonable level of fitness. In mist it may be better for those without navigational skills to return to the R668 by the route of ascent, using the earthen bank as a guide.
• Map:OSi Discovery Series, sheet 74.
• Accommodation:John and Breeda Moran of Ballyboy House (052-65297) provide quality accommodation in a Georgian farmhouse, nestling beneath the Knockmealdown Mountains and located just outside Clogheen, Co Tipperary. Otherwise there is ample food and accommodation available in the nearby towns of Lismore and Cappoquin.