Climbing Slieve Donard

- Backblip - Northern Ireland Day 6

I was determined to get to the top. Slieve Donard is the highest of the Mourne Mountains, 2789 feet, 850m and we climbed from sea level on the very rocky path from Bloody Bridge. After reaching the wall, it was a very steep climb and at one point I nearly did think about giving up. You can see where the inspiration for the words of the song came from Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea.

I made it. Here are some views on the climb up beside the Mourne Wall, with the shelter and triangulation point at the top. There is a sign on the shelter saying "Belfast Water Works. Trespassers Prosecuted", along with a memorial to a young man called Carl who died here after being struck by lightning in April 2006.

The views show the extent of the Mourne Wall I mentioned yesterday in my Silent Valley Blip.

All day we were thinking about #1. He has flown back to Uganda via Dubai, to work with the charity Kids Club Kampala where he helped last summer.