Hiking expert brings us his jaw-dropping views, tales and routes of the Mournes in new book
The Mourne Mountains are said to have inspired the famous Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, and the landscape is packed with many other fascinating points of historical interest. Una Brankin finds out more from photographer and hiking expert Adrian Hendro
Wi th the f i nal series of the phenomenally successf ul Game of Thrones saga on the horizon, countless fans from all over the world have been taking to the Mourne Mountains to visit the northern backdrop of Westeros and walk in the footsteps of their beloved warring characters.
The explorations of some of the most devoted have taken them deep into Co Down, as far as Rostrevor. Almost a century ago, CS Lewis famously described the part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough as his idea of Narnia.
And now, 70 years on from the Belfast-born author’s legendary Chronicles series, the photographer and hiking expert Adrian Hendroff took to the Co Down hilltops — the setting for countless scenes from Game of Thrones — to see exactly what Lewis meant. His trip resulted in A Walking Guide to The Mourne and Cooley Mountains, a beautifully illustrated booklet of graded routes and maps, filled with fascinating snippets on the history, heritage, folklore, geology, flora and fauna of each area.
“From the Mournes at Rostrevor, there are stunning vistas down to Carlingford Lough and across it to the hills of the Cooley Peninsula,” says Adrian, a qualified mountain guide and a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild, based in south Co Dublin.
“The scenic coast road connecting Rostrevor and Warrenpoint is also visible, and you can see a 30m (100ft) granite obelisk dedicated to Major General Robert Ross of Bladensburg, a Rostrevor native who fought in the American War of Independence.
“And, by the way, Major Ross’s troops set fire to all public buildings in Washington during the war — and their actions inspired the writing of the national anthem ‘Star-Spangled Banner’.”
Having published 10 highly acclaimed guides for walks in the Republic of Ireland, Adrian has straddled the border for the first time to focus on the Mourne and Cooley Mountains, which he describes as “quite simply a hiker’s paradise”.
Hugging the Co Down coastl i ne, t he Mournes are wellknown as the highest and most dramatic mountain range in Northern Ireland, but the Cooley Peninsula — a finger of land in County Louth bounded in the north by the spectacular Carlingford Lough — is one of Ireland’s best kept scenic secrets.
Indeed, as Adrian notes, the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once referred to the area around Carlingford Lough as “more beautiful than the Bay of Naples”.
Adrian’s latest guide includes The Tain Way, a 40km (25-mile) long waymarked circuit which winds around the hills and valleys near Carlingford Lough.
But it was the peak of Slieve Donard in Co Down that proved the most breathtaking for the author, whose articles and photographs have been widely published in Irish newspapers and magazines.
“I found these walks absolutely exhilarating,” he says. “There is nowhere higher in Northern Ireland than the summit of Slieve Donard, and that makes it a unique vantage point for ap- preciating views far and wide — including the iconic Mourne Wall and all the great peaks in the area.
“It wasn’t until the dawn of Christianity that the boundaries of the kingdom of Mourne became defined. It was said that St Patrick threw his sandal between the streams of Srupatrick and Cassy Water — it flew 12 Irish miles, marking the ‘ Twelve Miles of Mourne’.
“There are gorgeous woodland trails through Castlewellan and Tollymore, and I came across the highest passage tomb in Ireland and an old smuggler’s route.
“The Mourne Wall Challenge is for the more ambitious walker, along with some of the summits which have optional scrambles to the top of dramatic granite tors or rocky outcrops.”
It wasn’t until the dawn of Christianity that the boundaries of the kingdom of Mourne became defined