Get Lost Mountaineering

Dooish from top of R251

Start/Finish

Deep layby at top of R 251 just before road starts descending towards the Errigal car park. Errigal Mountain is quite well signposted and is a good guide to finding the start. The Glen Veagh Visitor Centre and castle. sits at the bottom of the pass on the eastern side.

Distance/Time

5 km.   About 3 – 4 hours.

Peaks

Dooish, 652 m, B 982 210. (Irish National Grid System)

Irish OS Discovery Series Map 6: Donegal & Tyrone (1:50000)

Introduction

Dooish sits above the pass from Glen Veagh to Errigall. Despite it's summit being fairly close to the road, it is not an easy peak to ascend. There is no obvious path and the ground is often wet and rough making for slow going. A direct route to the summit is blocked, high up, by a line of broken cliffs but these are easily outflanked. This ascent is best undertaken in clear weather when better ground can be spotted from some distance away.

Route

(1) If it is clear head for the first dip in the skyline running down to the right from Dooish otherwise head roughly SE. The lower ground is quite rough and boggy in places. Pass between telegraph poles to reach a deer fence which most can squeeze through. The boggy sections largely disappear when the slope steepens but the ground stays rough and the slopes become studded with small slabs. Continue up, still aiming for the gap in the crest. A stream is followed higher up then walk up the wide grassy ramp to gain the crest which is followed NE over grass and very easy angled slabs to reach a large cairn which is the summit of Dooish, 652 m. Go right here for a few hundred metres to outflank the cliffs and gain the ground above them which is a gentle slope with many low slabs and small boulders. Walk up, roughly NE, to reach the large cairn. The summit area is quite flat with a few small cairns nearby and a large, prominent boulder further on.

(2) The easiest return is to retrace the outward route taking care to outflank the line of cliffs. Alternatively, continue over the summit and down to a shoulder then head NW back to the road weaving around, where necessary to avoid small cliffs and boulders.

Notes

(a) This walk took place on 5^th and 13^th July, 2019.