Tuesday 15 September 2009

The Mourne mountains revisited - Views from Doan

With the weather being so good this weekend, and the chances very high that we won't get weather this good again until next year, I decided to take myself off once again into the Mourne mountains in county Down.
My favourite view point is from the summit of Slieve Loughshannagh. From here you can almost see the whole mountain range and over to the coast on the west.
One peak that dominates the view is Doan, and even though it is very close to Slieve Loughshannagh and looks very accessible I've never actually climbed it, so I made a decision to do just that to see what the views are like from there!



I wanted to get some panoramic shots from the summit of Slieve Loughshannagh so I thought I would climb this first, get the shots then climb down the otherside then climb up Doan. I would then have to go back the way I came to get back to the car park. How hard could it be? Harder than I thought!



The climb up to the summit of Doan is actually more of a walk than a climb and is relatively easy. Once you reach the summit you are greeted by the most spectacular views. Doan sits almost in the very center of the Mournes so from here you have a 360 degree panoramic view of the whole area.



So if you are planning a walk in the Mournes, I highly recommend a visit to Doan.
If you are not up to a long hike then I recommend that you take the route that I did from the carpark just off Slievenaman road at the base of Slieve Loughshannagh.

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