Back Out Again after a few weeks break | Mangerton

On Saturday we got back out again after a few weeks of a break due to lots of other things on and one really bad Sunday of wind and rain, so it was great to get out for some fresh air and scenery .

The chose destination was Mangerton in Killarney . I know we come here a bit but the beauty never ceases to amaze, when you get a clear morning up this mountain the views over looking the lakes and into the distance takes your breath away, which may not be hard considering the hard first section of this mountain.

On Saturday we had 6 which included a new member, which was good as 2 of our stalwarts were out of the country for a christening, from all of us Anna we hope you have a great time while you are in your homeland.

The weather on this morning was clear, maybe a bit cold but dry for most of our trip. One thing I had to do on the way back was to stop and take a picture of Caherbanagh.

The day had to be good after that view.We made reasonably good time up, we may not be the quickest group in the world but we do enjoy it thrown in with a bit of craic. As I said it was a bit cold but dry and when we did get to the top it was clear and we could see out well into the distance from Kenmare Bay to North Kerry & North West Cork. Fantastic no matter how many times you come here.

I really do not have much more to comment, only that Mangerton is one great place on a clear day.

First Trip Of the Year | Mangerton

We took off on our first trip of the year to Mangerton near Killarney.To get there you go out the Muckross Rd. and turn left after Molly Darcys pub, so it is not too far away.

Torc seen from Mangrton path

The first thing we noticed yesterday when we arrived at the starting point was the amount of cars that were there, I have often been here both in Winter and Summer but never had to conquer a parking problem like the one on Sunday. Working off the Christmas and New Years Resolutions, I suppose they had a big bearing on the parking issues.

We had 9 in total that is including a few young boys so we had a nice handy crew for our first day out in the year and hopefully we will have more the next day out.

Going up to the Punch Bowl

The reason why we chose Mangerton was there is a defined stony path nearly all the way to the top and once you get over the first few hundred yards you are nearly over all the really mucky parts and that is one major advantage Mangerton had over most other places. After the low down section there is a stone path all the way up to a lake called the Devil's Punch Bowl.

Yesterday the higher you went the deeper the snow was getting and especially after the Punch Bowl to the summit in places if you strayed off the snow path you could find yourself knee deep in snow, it was just take your time and get there safely.

Mangerton Summit above the Devil's Punch Bowl

Near the top

Most of the way up the views once the sky is clear are as spectacular as ever and it leaves you with no option but turn around and take the scenery in, this all helped for an enjoyable day out to clear the head and get some fresh air in the lungs as well as get rid of some of the Christmas excesses.. It is no wonder people from all over the world come to visit. The only thing the view on the plateau at the top was fairly blurred and it was quite blustery so we did not hang around as there was a mist coming and our intention was to get back down to the Punch Bowl quickly. 

The Boys at the top

One of our group Anna did the complete loop of the lake where of the 5 that got to the top went back down the same way as it could be a bit icy and slippy on the descent doing the complete loop of the lake. But yes we had one brave soul.

The day that was in it we did not hang around having chats, so we headed for the cars and back down. Not much more to say on Mangerton that I have not said before. A good challenge, as probably safe as you can get taking in the height, not that mucky and one thing I always find great about this place is that there is always loads of people around if for any misfortune of something going wrong especially like us with a few young hikers.

Trip to Mangerton

Yesterday 7 of us went on climb up Mangerton, a mountain reached by going out the Muckross Rd. out of Killarney and turning left after Molly Darcy's Pub and then following the signs.
Mangerton is a relatively safe mountain to climb once you take the usual necessary precautions like checking the forecast and having the right gear & some food & water. The one thing I find handy if unsure is to go at a busy time like a Saturday or Sunday morning as if need be you can tow in with others or least there are others in the vicinity.

This Climb started off very foggy but after a while we seemed to be over the fog but yet still under the cloud but visibility was reasonably good but we were still waiting for the cloud to lift or blow away , but on this morning there was absolutely no breeze at all and it was virtually completely calm .

After a brief stop at the Punch Bowl we got to the top where it was very cloudy so much so we passed the turn off to go back down by over a 100 yards, Bad visibility and no breeze at the top so no point in taking the group photo.

Devil's Punchbowl

After slowly coming down to the Punch Bowl again the skies finally cleared and we got to take the group photo and a few nice snaps of the lake. From there down the day was beautiful with Torc & Purple finally coming into view with the lakes looking stunning so we headed home with the Welly down as the Rugby match was on.

Well done to the young lads 11yr old Liam Breen, our 3 13 year olds Niall Breen, Conan Crowley, Josh O'Connor and first timer up Mangerton Bernie Collins plus Chris Clery and myself - Padraig Breen

Group photo

Start Point/Car Park GPS coordinates: Lat: N 52.006735, Long: W -9.480363