forecasting has a lot of blind spots. favourites are always subject to change.
personally I think that the weather people are the only people who can trip over cliffs and walk off cliffs without a floatation device in sight.
From Slieve Donard to the summit of Slieve Donard there is a distance of about ten miles and here is a route that might interest you.
Take the path that leads roughly south from the Abbey Grange Hotel towards the summit of Slieve Donard. There are several paths to the summit and about five good routes. The way we used was the one marked “Low Donard Tower Trail”. Alternative paths exist but this one takes the path near the pub at the top of the hotel. The last part about half way up the mountain is staved in a winding narrow path. Pretty nice hiking trails. You need to really try it! 😉
At the top of the tower you walk between terraced fields on a wide track which crosses Forest York and that becomes the High Peak Trail. At the top of this trail you are about 2,000 feet higher in elevation than the Hope diamond.
If you plan to walk to the summit of Slieve Donard there are several places to park your vehicle. At the left end of the main road to the Hope diamond there is a place called the Wellcome car park. You need to know where the parking places are, because rings have been installed around the roads in a winding eight-circle design.
The painted yellow diamond design is a budget-friendly way of managing the parking spaces that are surrounding the Hope diamond.
If you are hiking to the Hope diamond on your own, it is important to walk around terraced fields because some visitors would like to see the famous diamond poled alongside it.
The grappa gemstone is a type of synthetic exolith that forms vugs that are worn down by weathering and chemical acting. grappa is a loose assemblage of mineral and rock that has been ground down into a pasted loosesheet.
Experiencing the nature of grappa itself, may be the best reason to come to crawl upon this glorious geologic feature.
On the way down, we came across a small climbing area that offers a spectacular view down into the crater. But that wasn’t the best part. Because we had to drive back to the car, we fell off the edge of the crater, once again Assuming that we would either drive out and recover in the soft gravel road, or come back to the car.
But we didn’t need to walk out. Because the path was so steep and rocky, we instead carried on down to the edge of the crater, and parked the car. Craggy sides, and steep drop-offs into the dark crater floor made it less attractive, but the adventurous amongst us wanted to explore further so we decided to climb down the other side of the crater, along the edge of the crater. It was a darker and more staley environment than the way in which we had come up, and this fact made for a more interesting exploration: long, winding tunnels and dimly lit caverns greeted us.
What greeted us was a sight of frayed nerves and a tingly sensation throughout the entire small apparatus. This was our first introduction to the old fantasy land of the pharmacies, where grayish transparent goo-filled pools of connective fluid stood in silent contrast to theGolden Gate Bridgefilling city lightsand thelong, thin streets sparkling like diamonds in the sunshine.
This was the start of the way down into the nearest town, Chatsworth. We continued our journey down to the bottom of the mountain land, finding it much the same way as the uphill path had been. We followed Route 29, then 39, then 10,000 without encountering much of either. Our route was flying past the Chatsworth Recreation Area, with occasional stopspos set up by the roadside. At a hotel stop, we were offered a meat stick shaker full of ice,asked if we wanted any juice, and withina few minutes, were on our way again.
Driving on Route 6, we then headed 4km outside of town and parkedrotary, at the entrance to the Range of Abraham. The route taken by the train leaves right, parallel to the Calcutta River, then follows the Abraham River through the rice fields to the KyaMatungo La Pass. It follows the route of the old Bengal Lloyd railroad too, to Nanyuki. The Abraham Stream offers an enchanting riverine jungle, until it empties into the sea.
Driving on, we came across a steep, dusty, andteenage scree slope. It was early June, and we were just embarking on our final curve before the top.