Slieve Commedagh - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Slieve Donard is the highest mountain in Northern Ireland and the wider province of Ulster, with a height of 850 metres. The highest of the Mourne Mountains, it is near the town of Newcastle on the eastern coast of County Down, overlooking the Irish Sea. It is also the highest mountain in the northern half of Ireland, and 7th highest on the island.

Glen River is a short river in County Down, Northern Ireland. The two-mile course flows north-east from the foot of Slieve Commedagh and Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains into Dundrum Bay at Newcastle, descending 1,500 feet. It is quite a fast-flowing river with many small waterfalls and deep pools. There is an unusually prominent ice house beside the river, just before it enters the forest. It was built by the third earl of Annseley in the 1830s to serve his Donard lodge residence.

The Hare’s Gap is the most dramatic mountain pass in the Mournes. Its sharply defined outline indicates that ice once passed this way; using the Gap’s convenient north-south alignment to advance and retreat over the entire Mournes range. In more recent times the Hare’s Gap marked the exit point for smuggled goods which had crossed the hills from the coast along the Brandy Pad.

Donard Forest lies at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. It has some spectacular views of County Down, including Newcastle, Dundrum Bay, St John's Point and Slieve Croob. The north east section of the forest contains a Heritage Stand of Scots and Corsican pine planted in 1927. A south east section, beside the Glen River, was the former site of Donard Lodge.

Covering a relatively short distance from coast to open moorland, the Granite Trail offers the opportunity to see artifacts from the once thriving granite industry of Mourne. Differing natural habitats can be enjoyed as you walk through coniferous forest and mature woodland beside mountain streams and rivers.

Slieve Bearnagh is one of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. It has a height of 739 metres. Its summit is crowned by two tors with a gap between them, giving it a distinctive shape. The Mourne Wall crosses the summit of Slieve Bearnagh east to west. Paths lead to the cols on either side of the mountain, namely Pollaphuca to the west and Hare's Gap to the east. From the latter, one can also descend southwards to the head of the Ben Crom reservoir.