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Slieve Cor from Letterkeen

Slieve Cor from Letterkeen

Start/Finish

Free car park by Letterkeen Bothy. From Newport, take the road towards Bangor. After clearing the village, look for a right turn signed Furnace. Follow the minor road north for about 8 miles going straight on at each junction. After about 7 miles, pass a small farm then reach a notice board about the Western Way at the start of a track going left. Do not follow this track but continue on the road. Pass a large parking area on the right then some notice boards before reaching the left turn, well signed, for Letterkeen. Turn onto the track and follow to the first left turn which soon leads to the bothy car park.

Distance/Time

25 km.    About 9 – 10 hours. (Much longer in mist)

Peaks

Slieve Cor, 721 m, F 915 144. (Irish National Grid System)

Irish OS Discovery Maps 23 & 31

A much better map, at a larger scale, is Wild Nephin published by East West Mapping.

Introduction

Slieve Cor is the remotest mountain in the area but can be reached by a long and rough walk in the Bangor Trail from Letterkeen to the south east. It has a mountain range named after it even though it isn't the highest hill! The Bangor Trail is easy to follow but can be boggy in a few places and also quite stony. It is poorly defined and quite wet once Cruckgarru is passed. There are bridges over all rivers but not all streams. There is much up and down on the Bangor Trail with some significant ridges to cross which involve a lot of ascending then descending. The bothy in the car park is usually unlocked and very clean but no chairs etc! Slieve Cor should be a good viewpoint for Nephin, Birreencorragh, Corranabinnia, Nephin Beg and even Achill Island.

Route

(1) Follow the obvious path from the car park to reach the bridge over the river. Turn left and follow a path slightly downstream until it heads away from the river and starts shadowing the edge of the forest The path soon becomes fairly obvious and there are marker posts every so often for the way marked paths from the car park. The Bangor Trail is not marked on all the posts but appears on some as a green arrow. Some of the forestry shown on the maps has been cleared and replanted but old forest returns later on. There is some up and down on the path but not too much. After about 5 km, reach a high point on the path where a large notice says that only the Bangor Trail continues from that point. Not far off to the right is the Loch Aveher shelter which is open at one end. Continue on the Bangor Trail which gradually descends to a stream crossing. After this, there is a significant ascent with the path gradually deteriorating especially as one descends the other side. Continue and cross the stream with a cascading waterfall higher up. Reach the next significant stream where the Bangor Trail goes left. Cross over then start ascending to the right. Cross the first tributary then start picking a way up steepening slopes on rough, long grass with some heather. Higher up easier grassy channels can be used and even a grassy groove higher still. After a long pull, emerge on almost flat but featureless ground. Head N, ascending gradually through some easy peat hags, for about 2 km to reach what looks like a massive cairn with a trig point on top which is the summit of Slieve Cor, 721 m.

(2) Retrace the outward route.

Notes

(a) This walk took place on 2nd September, 2018.

(b)  ERROR: Some photos may be mistakenly labelled "Letterfreen" instead of "Letterkeen".

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