Day 5 The Eastern Mournes

Today was the day for climbing the highest peak in the Mourne Mountains, Slieve Donard.
Typically the cloud had been down since our arrival in Newcastle and although it was warm we hadn't been able to see the full beauty of the mountains. I decided that I had to do the 'A' walk to add to my list of highest mountains and became very fond of the Mourne Wall during the course of the day as you can see from this picture taken by Neil it came in very handy when we had to cross a boggy area.Those who chose not to use the wall ended up with mud in their boots!

Six of us made it to the summit although as we left we saw Jackie and Ray on their way up and some people went up the following day when the weather took a turn for the better.
At the top there was a plaque on the wall in memory of Carl Stephenson who was struck by lightning and killed whilst sheltering in the hut. If you follow the link you will find out that Carl was a Yorkshireman and his father had an interesting theory that his mobile phone may have been to blame.....food for thought I think!
The weather improved as we made our slippery way back down the Glen River Valley and through the forest area at the back of our hotel. Later that evening a group of us invaded the local pub and were entertained in true Irish style by local singers and musicians. I wasn't there myself but I think I can be pretty certain that somebody sang the local folk song written by Percy French 'The Mountains of Mourne' and you can hear it again sung by Don Mclean if you follow the link.