Walking where ghosts tread

Go Walk:Reminders of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy are a compelling attraction on the way up Claragh Mountain, writes TONY DOHERTY

THE GHOSTS of old estates with their haunting reminders of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy always provide a compelling attraction and I can mooch around them for hours, especially if they are not well frequented. Such is the case with the Mount Leader Estate through which the Duhallow Way provides access to Claragh Mountain (452m) whose profile provides such a fine backdrop to the town of Millstreet.

Inside the now gateless portals the stream-eroded remnants of the old avenue lead to a broad expanse of open parkland beyond which stands Mount Leader.

Built in 1834, this fine Georgian mansion was lived in until the 1970s. The speed of dereliction has been so rapid it gives the impression that it was abandoned at a far earlier date and only the shell remains but the interior and exterior walls seem solid enough. Cut into the side of Claragh, the site looks out over the Finnow Valley to the Boggeragh Mountains beyond.

Continue along the old avenue as far as a small lake and then turn west along the side of a ditch to a stile that leads on to an attractive narrow stone walled road lined with deciduous woodland which is on the newly developed Clara Loop.

After 200 metres, turn right through a wooden gateway on to a forest track which leads uphill as far as an information panel which marks the junction where the Duhallow Way and the Clara Loop part company.

Keep straight on until a stile brings you out on to the open mountainside where a clear track leads to the summit close to which stands a cross of rusting metal girders held in place by four long wire stays. It makes me wonder, yet again, why people who feel it necessary to place crosses on mountaintops do not take the trouble to erect more edifying structures. Nearby is a more aesthetic ancient stone cairn.

As an outlier of the Cork-Kerry Massif, Claragh is an excellent view point. Away to the west lies Caherbarnagh with glimpses of the Kerry mountains beyond while to the north the green pastures of the Blackwater Valley stretch away to the dim profiles of distant hills. To the south the upland is dominated by the transmission mast on Mullaghanish and scatterings of wind farms.

From the summit head southwest down a heathery slope to spot height 337m and continue westwards over two stiles to get to a green road. You are once again on the Duhallow Way and a most pleasing section thereof. The track contours around the base of the mountain above an elegant patchwork of large pastures enclosed by stone walls and lines of beech, oak and ash.

FARTHER AROUND, under the steep northeast face of the mountain, you will enter an intriguing landscape with stands of birch and ash reaching high into the upper slopes. Moss covered remnants of old walls mark the vestiges of bygone settlements. Nothing new here you might say but the juxtaposition of the different elements of the terrain give the sensation of being in a foreign place.

It’s back to reality for the next stretch when the track switchbacks over the eastern spur through a dense plantation of conifers whose interconnecting upper branches make a dark tunnel in places. The forest path links up with your outward route at the information panel and then you have a very pleasant walk downhill back through Mount Leader.

Passing the house one can’t help but reflect that our modern ghost estates – even if they are left to be devoured by encroaching flora – will never have any romantic appeal because they will never have been lived in.

Route Claragh Mountain, Co Cork

MapOrdnance Survey, Discovery Series, Sheet 79.

Start/finishThe entrance to the Mount Leader Demesne. Grid Reference: 273 885.

Get thereThe entrance is 2km south of Millstreet on the R582, Macroom to Millstreet road. There is parking for four or five cars off the road.

TimeFour hours.

Distance10km.

Total ascent350m.

Suitability The route is easy enough. But you will need a compass, map and rain gear – these are essential.

Food/accommodationMillstreet and Macroom

ReferenceabandonedIreland.com