Bloody Bridge to the Mourne Wall

Sticking to our ‘minimum of one hike per month’ policy, May saw a walk from Bloody Bridge to the Mourne Wall located about halfway up Slieve Donard. Bloody Bridge is said to have been given the name following a massacre that occured in the area in 1641 but in more recent centuries the area is better known for being a key route to the Brandy Pad, famous for the trade of illegal brandy which was smuggled at the dead of night to the small town of Hilltown.

Today, thankfully it is a much more peaceful affair. It is approximately a five kilometre walk from Bloody Bridge to the Mourne Wall. It is a challenging family walk that can be broken down into three stages, Bloody Brige to the river crossing, The River to the Quarry and then the Quarry to the Mourne Wall.

As we were heading out with the whole family we took our time meandering our way up alongside the Bloody Bridge river. A well worn and reasonably smooth path lines the way to the disused quarry. The quarry to the Mourne wall is a little steeper than the earlier stages of the walk but the views at the top are stunning. You can follow the wall to the top of Slieve Donard but the 10Km round trip was enough for one afternoon.

Fujifilm X100T Panoramic Images

I am a massive fan of the Fujifilm X100T and in particular the brilliant panoramic feature.

The only challenge when creating the sweep panorama images is the vertical framing and allowing enough sky between the tip of the mountain and top of the image. The X100T, X-T1 panoramic function can be a great way to capture the rugged mountain vistas.

The Route

Below is the route created by my Garmin device as a rough guide. There are a number of great Mourne guides online but remember to be properly equipped when heading out in the Mountains, the weather can change quickly and it gets considerably colder the higher up the Mournes you head. If anyone wants the route for their Garmin device please get in contact.

Conclusion

The walk between Bloody Bridge and the Mourne Wall is a great alternative route to the summit of Slieve Donard and there were plenty of walkers ascending the mountain via the Glen river and using the Bloody Bridge route as an alternative way of the hills.

links

Slieve Donard via the Glen River
Slieve Binnian Lough
The view from Slieve Binnian
The X100T Review
Understanding Depth of Field

Bloody Bridge to the Mourne Wall is a post from: FlixelPix Photography All content copyright FlixelPix. Photo reproduction strictly by written permission only.

from FlixelPix http://ift.tt/1c3blci
via IFTTT