NEw Cuilcagh Boardwalk

_Brian

Has anyone used the new boardwalk onto Cuilcagh ??
Thinking of heading over tomorrow with the kids..

_Brian

I'll just answer myself on this one

We went ahead and did the walk. From carpark to summit and back it's about 15kms.
The boardwalk is a very impressive construction indeed, makes the mountain accessible to many more people and it's a great facility.

With a 12 & 7 YO we made the summit and back in just under five hours. This included 40 mins at the top and maybe half dozen stops on way up/back for snacks and some geocaching.

I think more needs to be made of the need for being prepared and cautios about setting out. There were quite a few people made it to the top in runners tshirts and shorts, the cold and rain made them look very out of place and not so happy with themselves, and that was on a decent Sunday afternoon. Imagine if wet fog closed in quickly they would be poorly prepared indeed.

Highly recommended walk.

unkel

Fair play to your 7 year old. He / she did very well!

sheesh

_Brian wrote: »

I'll just answer myself on this one

We went ahead and did the walk. From carpark to summit and back it's about 15kms.
The boardwalk is a very impressive construction indeed, makes the mountain accessible to many more people and it's a great facility.

With a 12 & 7 YO we made the summit and back in just under five hours. This included 40 mins at the top and maybe half dozen stops on way up/back for snacks and some geocaching.

I think more needs to be made of the need for being prepared and cautios about setting out. There were quite a few people made it to the top in runners tshirts and shorts, the cold and rain made them look very out of place and not so happy with themselves, and that was on a decent Sunday afternoon. Imagine if wet fog closed in quickly they would be poorly prepared indeed.

Highly recommended walk.

where is this?

duckysauce

sheesh wrote: »

where is this?

Cuilcagh


Cavan

BarryD

Somewhat controversial - questionable as to whether it was wise to construct a man made path to a relatively remote hilltop like Cuilcagh, as evidenced by the OP above with his note about poorly equipped walkers being enticed up.

Then there's the argument that such a construction detracts from the essential nature of the place etc...

Alun

BarryD wrote: »

Somewhat controversial - questionable as to whether it was wise to construct a man made path to a relatively remote hilltop like Cuilcagh, as evidenced by the OP above with his note about poorly equipped walkers being enticed up.

Then there's the argument that such a construction detracts from the essential nature of the place etc...

I agree, I Googled it and the pictures of it look horrendous, total overkill and sticks out like a sore thumb.

http://fermanaghherald.com/2015/07/gallery-the-new-boardwalk-on-cuilcagh-mountain-looks-absolutely-incredible/#sthash.nyQVTz7Z.dpuf

BarryD

At least they avoided long straight runs it seems and have built bends and twists to add variety. Are there controls on MTB use I wonder?

duckysauce

Alun wrote: »

I agree, I Googled it and the pictures of it look horrendous, total overkill and sticks out like a sore thumb.

http://fermanaghherald.com/2015/07/gallery-the-new-boardwalk-on-cuilcagh-mountain-looks-absolutely-incredible/#sthash.nyQVTz7Z.dpuf

:eek::eek: Mountain staircase lord that looks awful and will rot , why not use rocks for the path , that's shocking and doesn't remotely fit in with the environment.

sheesh

in fairness it is raised to protect the blanket bog

DubOnHoliday

Horendous. There will be escalators on the Sugarloaf next.

Carawaystick

DubOnHoliday wrote: »

Horendous. There will be escalators on the Sugarloaf next.

Or a chairlift up Bray head !

Alun

Carawaystick wrote: »

Or a chairlift up Bray head !

To be fair the old chairlift didn't actually go to the top of Bray Head. It was just a way of getting punters up to the Eagles Nest, a restaurant and ballroom, some considerable distance, and height, away from the summit itself.

_Brian

The boardwalk is very impressive when your there. It's just freshly constructed so the fresh timber looks bright.
It should weather down to a grey/silver finish and stand out less.

There is no need for it to rot for te next 30 years providing the correct timbers have been used. Time will tell.

Overall I'd give it a thumbs up as an attraction to bing people out into our wonderful wild spaces while limiting the damage to the flora/fauna they do there.

The only bizzar thing I have heard is that Cavan Co Co are considering a similar endeavour from the Cavan side, now two such access points onto the same mountain would be madness.

BarryD

_Brian wrote: »

The only bizzar thing I have heard is that Cavan Co Co are considering a similar endeavour from the Cavan side, now two such access points onto the same mountain would be madness.

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest!

loyatemu

Carawaystick wrote: »

Or a chairlift up Bray head !

or a train up Snowden.

Tabnabs

Reminds me a bit of the path up Tibradden and how that has permanently scarred the mountainside. In that case it's so bad you can see it clearly from the M50.

Fair play to the OP for getting the kids up and back and with sensible precautions against an Irish summer.

duckysauce

Tabnabs wrote: »

Reminds me a bit of the path up Tibradden and how that has permanently scarred the mountainside. In that case it's so bad you can see it clearly from the M50.

Fair play to the OP for getting the kids up and back and with sensible precautions against an Irish summer.

that route would be in alot worse state if there was no path there IMO. The amount of people that use it is massive .

Alun

Alun wrote: »

I agree, I Googled it and the pictures of it look horrendous, total overkill and sticks out like a sore thumb.

http://fermanaghherald.com/2015/07/gallery-the-new-boardwalk-on-cuilcagh-mountain-looks-absolutely-incredible/#sthash.nyQVTz7Z.dpuf

duckysauce wrote: »

:eek::eek: Mountain staircase lord that looks awful and will rot , why not use rocks for the path , that's shocking and doesn't remotely fit in with the environment.

It's a shocker.

I'm all for paths and steps but the first issue should be they should remain sympathetic. What bright spark thought handrails were needed? On both sides?

It's just about the worst Ive seen. Look at the steps up Torc. Invisible until you're on them. No handrails. It's not a shopping centre, a travelator was not needed.