Slieve League

Slieve League, sometimes Slieve Leag or Slieve Liag (Irish: Sliabh Liag),^[1] is a mountain on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal, Republic of Ireland. At 601 metres (1,972 ft), it has some of Ireland's highest sea cliffs. Although less famous than the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Slieve League's cliffs reach almost three times higher. The highest sea cliffs in Western Europe, at 668m, are on the northwestern face of Croaghaun Mountain on Achill Island, Co. Mayo, Ireland.^[2]

The Belfast naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger wrote in 1939:

A tall mountain of nearly 2000 feet, precipitous on its northern side, has been devoured by the sea till the southern face forms a precipice likewise, descending on this side right into the Atlantic from the long knife-edge which forms the summit. The traverse of this ridge, the "One Man's Path", is one of the most remarkable walks to be found in Ireland - not actually dangerous, but needing a good head and careful progress on a stormy day....The northern precipice, which drops 1500 feet into the coomb surrounding the Little Lough Agh, harbours the majority of the alpine plants of Slieve League, the most varied group of alpines to be found anywhere in Donegal.^[3]

Road to viewpoint

Slieve League is often photographed from a viewpoint that can be reached by a very narrow road called One Man's Path that departs from Teelin. The final few kilometers of this memorable road is built along a precipice and includes several places where the road turns at the crest of a rise. As of December 2009, the road was impassable to cars (but passable to walkers) due to road collapse and subsequent construction work.

Image gallery

References

1. ^ Marshall, David (2006). Best walks in Ireland. London: Frances Lincoln, p. 139. ISBN 978-0711224209.
2. ^ Gunness Book of World Records (1991). 1991. 
3. ^ Praeger, Robert Lloyd (1997). The way that I went: an Irishman in Ireland. Cork: Collins Press, p. 41. ISBN 978-1898256359.