I’m on a bit of a mountain climbing buzz lately. While I’ve always loved climbing mountains, a fresh impetus has arrived lately as I’ve set myself a challenge to climb the 40 highest mountains in Ireland before I turn 40 next year. The Blackstairs Mountain sneaks in at number 40 on the list at a height of 732m. So I needed to check it out.
Blackstairs Mountain sits on the Carlow-Wexford border in the south east of Ireland. It forms the second highest peak in the Blackstairs Mountain Range.
Blackstairs Mountain Details
- Distance: 6.8km
- Time Required: Between 3 and 4 hours. We took 3.5 hours but kept a relaxed pace throughout and stopped for a cup of tea at the top.
- Elevation Gain: 532m
- Grade: Moderately difficult especially given the muddy conditions which made the descent a little tricky.
Where to Start The Blackstairs Mountain Hike?
You have two main options for climbing the Blackstairs Mountain. The first (and the subject of this article) is via the Scullogue Gap and makes a nice out and back hike to get up the mountain. The second option is from the Rathnure side of the Mountain.
We chose the former and arranged to meet at the starting point in the valley between the Blackstairs Mountain and its slightly taller neighbour – Mount Leinster. This valley is known locally as the Scullogue Gap.
Getting There
Unfortunately, the only really viable option for getting to the starting point is to drive. See google maps details of the location here. Even then, parking can prove problematic with limited space available to park at the side of the road. My advice as always is to arrive there early.
We arrived just before 9am on a bright Saturday morning. While we were the first cars there, the parking area had completely filled up on our return a few hours later.
The Route
Alltrails provide a nice map of the route. We found the trail pretty easy to navigate.
Starting the Blackstairs Mountain Hike
I had a good crew with me for this Wild Irish Walks day trip. David and Dema had completed a recent summit of Carrauntoohil with me. My friend Dave joined as well. Dave has been on many a hike with me such as the epic Dublin Mountains Way and climbing Slieve Foye. The last person on our five man team was Bobby – we needed a local man with local knowledge. As such, we were delighted to have the Wexford native alongside us.
We headed uphill from the parking area and located the signposted entrance gate for the Blackstairs Mountain trail straight away.
Over the Gate
Ironically, the gate proved to be the first obstacle we needed to overcome. The base of the gate had become clogged and completely jammed with sticks, grass and debris.
So over the gate we climbed!
The reason for the logjam soon became apparent. The first 400m or so of the walk took us via what is essentially a gully with high ditches on either side. While likely dry during the summer, a couple of centimetres of surface water flowed underneath us as we moved uphill. I can just imagine this turning into torrents during heavy rainfall.
As such, no surprise the gate became blocked.
Navigating the Trail
The only slight navigation query we had among ourselves came just after we exited the gully via a gate at the top (that thankfully opened this time).
A quick check of the map confirmed we needed to turn to the right – past a knocked down gate – then a quick left through a gap in the stones.
The trail became very apparent thereafter with no issues experienced for the remainder of the way to the top.
First Steep Section
Soon after moving through a grassy section of the hike, we made our way up via a short sharp steep section of the trail.
The quick elevation gain gave us a bit more perspective of the area. From the starting point in the Scullogue Gap, you could be forgiven for thinking that Mount Leinster formed the steep slope directly behind us.
However, now we could see that initial slope in fact hid the huge hulk of the neighbouring Mount Leinster behind it.
We still could not see the summit of Blackstairs Mountain. However, given we knew it is only a few metres smaller than Mount Leinster, we began to realise what a significant elevation gain would be required.
Seeing the Summit
As we climbed upwards, the shape of the Blackstairs started to form in front of us. We were essentially now on top of the first of three steps with the final one being the broad summit of Blackstairs Mountain.
Soft Underfoot
We completed the trail in February with underfoot conditions quite muddy in places. Thankfully, the further uphill we moved firmer the ground became – although we did experience random wet areas the entire way up.
Continuing Uphill to the Top of Blackstairs Mountain
From our initial glimpses of the peak of Blackstairs Mountain, it took us about 30 minutes to reach the second plateau. We picked our way through this area where the ground lies littered with large rocks. Luckily, this didn’t prove majorly difficult.
Then it took another 30 minutes or so to get to the final approach to the top. We made our way along some short bursts of steep inclines but overall the trail proved relatively straightforward to manage.
We were blessed with glorious sunshine and gorgeous blue skies for the entirety of our hike which as always, makes everything a whole lot easier.
Blackstairs Mountain Summit
Blackstairs Mountain has a nice wide flat top which means some sections here are quite mucky and boggy. Again, these didn’t prove a major inconvenience to find a relatively dry route through.
With the stone cairn which marks the top of Blackstairs Mountain in sight. We realised we weren’t the first ones up the mountain that morning.
The lone silhouette of a man stood in contrast to the bright shining sun overhead. He stayed to chat to us for a few minutes before kindly taking a picture of our walking group.
We each then separated to spend some time taking in the views from the top of the mountain before reconvening for a nice cup of tea. We found a little bit of shelter from the breeze and tucked in. It took us 1.5hrs to get to the top of the mountain. We spent another 20 minutes or so over tea before we began to retrace our steps back down the Mountain.
Coming Down Blackstairs Mountain
I’m always a bit more nervous going downhill than I am going up. With memory of the mucky ground from the trail fresh in my mind, we took extra care on the return leg. Despite this, there were a couple of little slips in some of the muddier parts. A good pair of walking sticks would be helpful here if you have them.
The views coming back down the mountain were spectacular to say the least. We took our time and enjoyed both the scenery and each other’s company. A combination of our leisurely pace and the bit of extra care needed to avoid slipping meant we spent 1.5 hours on the descent (the same amount of time we took to get up the top).
What to Bring With You
With the weather so changeable on the mountain, I always advise bringing plenty of layers and waterproofs that you can peal on and off as required. Water is a must to stay hydrated. Bring whatever food and snacks you need to keep you going through a 3 hour hike. For this particular route, I would recommend walking sticks outside the summer months.
Where to Eat Nearby
We ventured to nearby Enniscorthy (about a 20 minutes drive) for a spot of lunch after the hike. Arriving in Enniscorthy, we parked up and ate in The Cotton Tree Cafe and everyone enjoyed their grub. We met my sister Mary there. Mary was the one who recommended this cosy eatery. I’m not sure she knew what she was letting herself in for by joining us afterwards – hopefully she was impressed as we regaled her with the tales of our morning mountaineering adventures over the tasty food.
Dave and I grabbed a takeaway coffee from The Cotton Tree for the drive back to Dublin which was also top notch.
One of the great by-products of these days out is the quality time you get to spend with people. I’ve known Dave since our time in college but it is not too often we get to see each other these days. So it was lovely to catch up with him as we hiked the mountain and also in the car journey there and back.