advice on Mweelrea Routes??

Spitfire_24

Hi there,
Myself and my better half plan on doing some hiking in Mayo at the end of June and are hoping to do Mweelrea. We are both competent and experienced walkers but have never been walking in this area before. We will have our dogs with us (both working dogs, stock-proofed and on lead at all times during hikes) so I don't fancy the horseshoe route as Lugmore ridge may not be suitable with mutts in tow! Can anyone recommend a nice route and give advice regarding where to park, what the terrain is like (boggy, boulder fields etc??) We really don't mind heading up and down along the same path if necessary once we hit the summit. Thanks

Carawaystick

I went up from near the beach here
It's just a steady boggy midgy slog, and it steepens a bit towards the top, but not so steep you could touch the ground with your hands.

duckysauce

not too dog friendly leads or not around there

Think the side from Uggool Strand is guarded by a farmer who tells people to stay off his land. Adding dogs to the mix may increase the chance of a confrontation. I have done it from the Doo Lough side but recall evidence of sheep farming there too.

Losty Dublin

In this part of the west there are infinite amounts of sheep who will graze on the open mountain and bogs, far far more than you'd see in other parts of the country. You are likely to, believe it or not, even find sheep on the summit. Bringing dogs, leashed or otherwise, is not a good idea under general circumstances, let alone a harder climb like Mweelra.

Spitfire_24

Thanks for the replies folks. I have no intention of causing any sort of confrontation and only mentioned my mutts as an explanation as to why I wouldn't be able to do the full horse shoe. Normally we ask permission of local farmers on any routes we walk, where possible, and never have had an issue with our dogs but,of course, if they weren't welcome then they wouldn't be brought along or we would choose a different area where its ok to walk them. Am from a farming background myself so understand farmers concerns. We would still like to climb Mweelrea (even if we have to kennel our dogs for the day) so advice on routes would be welcome. Had heard the Western approach was a boggy slog alright! Has anyone taken the SE spur to the top??

Spitfire_24

Thanks for the replies folks. I have no intention of causing any sort of confrontation and only mentioned my mutts as an explanation as to why I wouldn't be able to do the full horse shoe. Normally we ask permission of local farmers on any routes we walk, where possible, and never have had an issue with our dogs but,of course, if they weren't welcome then they wouldn't be brought along or we would choose a different area where its ok to walk them. Am from a farming background myself so understand farmers concerns. We would still like to climb Mweelrea (even if we have to kennel our dogs for the day) so advice on routes would be welcome. Had heard the Western approach was a boggy slog alright! Has anyone taken the SE spur to the top??

a148pro

Have a look at mountainviews.ie or summitpost.org, both websites where people will have posted up their climbs and brief accounts of the routes. Enjoy, that valley up there is incredible, Mwelrea has been on my hitlist for a good while now but haven't quite made it yet.