Mountains of Mourne

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Located in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland, the granite Mountains of Mourne (or Mourne Mountains; or Na Beanna Boirche in Irish) are among the best known of the mountains on the island of Ireland. The surrounding area is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is proposed as the first National Park in Northern Ireland. The Mountains of Mourne are partly owned by the National Trust and see a large number of visitors every year; their highest mountain is Slieve Donard at 849 metres (2,786 ft).

Contents 1 The mountains 2 List of the highest Mourne Mountains 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] The mountains

The Mountains of Mourne are visited by many tourists, hillwalkers, cyclists and rock climbers. Following a fundraising drive in 1993, the National Trust purchased nearly 1,300 acres (5.26 km²) of land in the Mournes. This included Slieve Donard and nearby Slieve Commedagh, at 767 metres (2,516 ft) the second-highest mountain in the area.

The Mourne Wall is among the more famous features in the Mournes. It is a 22 mile (35 km) dry-stone wall that crosses fifteen summits, constructed to define the boundaries of the 9,000 acre (36 km²) area of land purchased by the Belfast Water Commissioners in the late 1800s. This followed a number of Acts of Parliament allowing the sale, and the establishment of a water supply from the Mournes to the growing industrial city of Belfast. Construction of the Mourne Wall was started in 1904 and was completed in 1922.

Many of the mountains have names beginning Slieve, from the Irish word sliabh, meaning mountain. As well as many of the well-known mountains such as Slieve Donard, Slieve Lamagan and Slieve Muck, there are a number of other curious names: Pigeon Rock; Buzzard's Roost; Brandy Pad; Percy Bysshe; the Devil's Coach Road; and Pollaphuca, which means "pool of the fairies" or "sprite".

The Mournes are very popular as a destination for many Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions.

[edit] List of the highest Mourne Mountains

• Slieve Donard (the highest, at 849 metres or 2,786 ft)
• Slieve Commedagh (second highest, at 767 metres or 2,516 ft)
• Slieve Binnian (third highest, at 747 metres or 2,451 ft)
• Slieve Bearnagh (739 metres or 2,425 ft)
• Slieve Meelbeg (708 metres or 2,323 ft)

[edit] See also

• List of climbing areas in Ireland
• List of mountains in Ireland
• Percy French's song "The Mountains of Mourne"

[edit] External links

• The Mourne Mountains website
• A local family's site with some information about the mountains
• Irish Climbing Online
• Mournes Climbers
• Photos, maps and commentary of the walk around the Mourne Wall
• BBC article about the Mourne Wall
• Google Maps

National parks in the UK v • d • e

England : Peak District | Lake District | Dartmoor | North York Moors | Yorkshire Dales | Exmoor | Northumberland | The Broads | New Forest | South Downs†

Wales : Snowdonia | Pembrokeshire Coast | Brecon Beacons

Scotland : Loch Lomond and the Trossachs | Cairngorms

Northern Ireland : Mountains of Mourne†

Areas marked † are proposed