Go Hiking Ireland

 

When you wake up at 8.00pm in the morning and the sun is splitting the rocks you know you have to head to the mountains, so with backpack at the ready 10.00am we headed off to the Galtees, only 45 mins from Limerick with a quick stop to top up on water (due to the hot weather ) we were at the parking lot at 11.00am ( Clydagh Bridge R874 278)

This was a stroke of luck because just after we had arrived the place was swamped with walking groups meeting up, which pleased me because I think the Galtees does not get as much publicity as they deserve.

The high Galtees sits on the southside of the very scenic Aherlow Valley in Tipperary, there is something about the Galtees that’s draws me every time I see them and today with the weather so perfect this was a must.

WE headed off up the Galty road for about ¼ of a mile where there’s a stile on your left which brings you into the open moorland, we headed straight up following the path till we hit the fence line this is a bit of a thigh burner but is sets you up for what is ahead, once we hit the fence line we turned right to the stile and then it is straight to mount Cush which is towering in front of us, the lower slopes can be a little boggy in places as we reached the base of Cush, now there is only one route and that is straight up so we followed a track (if you could call it that) though heath and bog making our way SLOWLY  up the ridge.

The views are just breath-taking as we start to reach the top with not a cloud in the sky, the peaks of Galtymore and Galtybeg looked so inviting as if they were drawing you in, but Mount cush was our first ascent and it was tough going, but once we reached the top of Mount Cush ( 639m )we could look across the Galty range with such a  such of sense achievement.

Taking well-earned break we sat a rocky outcrop looking over too Galtybeg ,Galtymore ,Slievecushnabinnia then looking South east over too Greenane and Farbreaga, such a breath-taking view, sadly there are very few days when the weather is this good to get the views we got today.

Refuelled we headed down off the south ridge of Cush with the mighty Gatlybeg staring straight at us, this is the first  time I have been over this side and I have to say it is very inspiring with the contrast of the rolling hills to the high ridges and the deep ravines which run from the top of Galtybeg, once we had reached down into the saddle between Cush and Galtybeg we headed west across the open moorland which seemed a good ideal at the time, as we headed straight up to Lough Diheen , with no such thing as a path to follow the going was tough over bogs and climbing up and down the Ravines, at this stage the sun was beating down and with no cover or breeze it was very hot and sticky, after about a hour also we made the ridge of Lough Diheen which bought a smile to everyone’s faces and with the cooling wind running of the top of Galtymore and Galtybeg this made for a very refreshing stop. This lough for me is one of the best so peaceful and quite because very few people will hike up this way, as we refilled our hydration bladders from the crystal clear water of the lough we had a very rare sighting of a Hare drinking from the lough, it is so rare to see them these days, this made my daughters day (she thought it was a Rabbit ).

With our belly’s full and refreshed we took off in a northerly direction following the stream that run’s  off from Lough Diheen  this is a very convenience as the stream will bring you to the stile that leads you back into the forest where we followed the track back to the car park, this is a very beautiful walk through the forest at this time of year with all the Rhododendron bushes out in full bloom, with just 2kms to go it seems to take forever but with the outstanding beauty of the Galtys around you it makes it a very rewarding experience.

We enjoyed our day hiking in the Galtys hoping we will get more days like this, with still so much to see and explore down here, this is a must for any serious hiker who enjoys the great outdoors.

Thanks for reading Paul Clover

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