Mud and Midges

In April last year we visited Lough Belshade for the first time. It's a gem of a crag hidden away in the Bluestack mountains in Donegal. On that occasion we climbed "Classical Revival", a 3-star HVS, well worth the muddy 2-hour walk-in. I remember sending an email afterwards, with photos, to some of my climbing friends, echoing the sentiments of someone who had posted about the area on the UKC forums: "visit this crag before you die".

Well I should have known that as with most things in life the second time is seldom as good. Yesterday we endured the boggy 2-hour walk, and when we arrived, our objective, the 4-pitch "Land of Hearts Desire" looked suspiciously wet. As we were standing looking at it, trying to work out whether it really was wet rock or not, it started raining. Mark commented, in his usual understated manner: "It's not going to get any drier in that."

The routes on the smaller Blaeberry crag to the right looked dry, but weren't going to stay that way either, and the midges were out too.

So I'm going to amend, slightly, my enthusiasm for Lough Belshade. You must visit, of course; you may enjoy an ascent of a very fine route, on very good, solid granite, with good protection. But this being Ireland, and more specifically Donegal, you have an equal chance of ending up sitting in the rain waving off clouds of midgies.

Whichever it is, however, you will be doing it in one of the most beautiful, tranquil, climbing areas you will ever have the privilege of visiting.


The Danoon waterfall, a short detour from the track (1st phase of the walk), we missed it last time.


There was a lot more water around this time too.


So is the rock wet or what? Kinda irrelevant anyway when it starts raining.


No he's not a member of one of Northern Ireland's paramilitary organisations, Mark is wearing a midgie-net. Don't leave home without one.