Total Length | 15.01 Kilometres |
Total Assent | 671 metres |
Time Taken | 2 Hours 47 Minutes |
| Where to Park: Click to download, open in Google Earth | Google Earth Parking Pin |
| The Route: Click to download, open in Google Earth | Google Earth |
Firstly there are two summits !
If it were a fine day I’d definitely have gone back for the view north west to the Burren !
Anyway I set off mid afternoon from the easy to find car park about 4 kilometres north of Kilaloe
I wasn’t sure if I would be able to mountain bike this route, but took the bike along just in case. Turns out it is ideal for it. Well that is if you aren’t looking for a rough terrain mountain bike track. It’s a road you could drive a small hatchback with little or no ground clearance up LOL.
I wasn’t the only mountain biker on Moylussa that day ! The fit and fearless were having a race.
I continued to wind my way up the exceptionally good forestry road. Views over Lough Derk opening up as I got higher
It really is an exceptional road !
It’s not always this flat and straight though, and it does have a number of switchbacks as it climbs the steeper sections. If you are keen you could walk or cycle up the shortcuts
I doubt you could actually get lost up here unless it is very low cloud, but there are a couple of forks in the road. I took a left at this point
The road gave way to a track which deteriorated slightly. A rabbit jumped out in front of me and ran off down the track. A bit fast for me to get the camera out for the wildlife shot, ces’t la vie.
On up the track and another couple of forks, take the first left and then the right hand to get up to Feenlea summit. The road further up was flooded, but you can walk along the dry bank at the side.
The cloud covered Moylussa wasn’t looking all that promising at this point ?
A fence stops you getting to the highest point of Feenlea, but you get within 20 metres. Close enough for me; was a barbed wire fence !
Back down the track and I decided to explore down the other track. To be honest I thought it was a track that would end up heading for Moylussa. About 300 metres down and I realised that it wasn’t. Back up and round and down the good road, but not before checking out the grassy forest
It was evident this was the way to go. After half a kilometre there is a marked right turn which is the exit to Moylussa summit
I managed to cycle most of the way, but at the very steep part at the top I caved in and pushed
It was easy walking, but just too steep for cycling.
Got to the top of the first steep part
and thought I’d be able to get back on and cycle the last part. A short lived fantasy !
Not to worry the rabbit may have eluded my camera, but Primroses are slower off the mark so as to speak
I pushed up the steep zig zags that lead to the start of the board walk
I considered whether to leave the bike here and just walk, but mostly ended up pushing it to the top. Though when I saw this nice flatter section I decided to try and do my Danny Macaskill impersonation.
In fairness I managed about 50 metres before succumbing to the bog at the side and even Danny has a few practice goes on occasion !
Up to the cairn to get the T-Shirt
Although a weather window did open up to some extent, it wasn’t worth hanging around.
The view of Kilaloe from the summit
As I say there is another high point on this flat top hill and I’d be interested to see what the views are like from it on a clear day.
I got on the bike at the start of the board walk, but only managed a short distance before deciding it was too steep and dangerous for me to freewheel down
I got back on for the final steep section and managed that, although the brakes were just holding it !
Cruising down was great fun. I even smiled to myself at the disapproving looks from the dog walkers nearer to the bottom ?
Took about two hours twenty minutes to get to the summit and back to the start of the boardwalk and about twenty seven minutes to get back to the car park at Lough Derg, including a ten minute chat with a family making their first venture up despite living just over the hill as it were all their lives. So I guess probably fifteen minutes from the start of the boardwalk. A lot of fun ?
Tried for another wildlife shot at the pier that juts out into Lough Derg about the middle of the long car park
A view North up Lough Derg from the pier
Not the longest of most exiting mountain adventure I’ve had, but if you have a spare few hours and the weather is fine, then a grand afternoon stroll can be had ?
