Top 10 Amazing Facts about Mourne Mountains

The Mourne Mountains Photo By Wikimedia

Top 10 Amazing Facts About Mourne Mountains

The Mourne Mountains are granite rock mountain ranges in Northern Ireland. They are 93 known ridges with 12 defined ridge peaks with Slieve Donard being  the highest at 850m (2,750 ft. )

The Mourne Mountains are in County Down, lying 31 miles (50 km) south of Belfast and just over 62 miles (100km) north of Dublin.

The name ‘Mourne’ originated from a community called the  Múghdhorna, though the popular name in Ireland for the mountains was Beanna Boirche, which is loosely translated to mean “the peaks of the peak district”.

Below are some of the  most amazing features of the mountains;

1 Its Boundaries are Marked by Unique Rock wall 

Mourne Mountain Wall Photo by By Diego.Wikipedia.

The mountain has a wall built of classic granite stone using ancient wall building techniques, where granite from local quarries is organized into a sizeable structure that is used to define and protect the boundaries, this kind of wall surrounds the  8900 acres of the mountainous terrain catchment area that was purchased by  Belfast, a 19th-century water commissioner of the area.

The wall which is a unique feature in the mountain was built by hand workmanship for over 18 years and measures 22 miles long,  1.5m high, and 0.8m thick and crosses 15 mountains except the “Rocky” where it skirts around the summit. 

3 It’s home to Three Forests that Shape the Mountain Landscape

The Mourne mountain hosts three forest components among them the famous Tollymore Forest Located in Bryansford, near   Newcastle town in the mournes and Slieve  Croob. 

The forest covers 630 hectares,  at the foot of the Mourne mountains and has a view of the surrounding mountains and sea’s  Natural Beauty.

It is the home to River Shimna a special river flowing through the park and it’s crossed by 16  ridges. The rivers draw specific scientific interest among researchers due to their unique waters that are spawning grounds for trout and salmon.

There is a Donard Forest which is located near Newcastle, County   Down,    Northern   Ireland with a  Park at the foot of the Mourne mountains where river Glen flows through the forest and is crossed by three stone bridges.

Rostrevor forest is located near the village of Rostrevor, County Down Northern Ireland. That lies between  Mourne mountains and Carlingford  Lough,  in the Mourne Area of the  Outstanding Natural Beauty.

4 The Mourner has  Three Water Reservoirs

Silent Valley and Ben Crom reservoirs. Photo by Ross. Wikimedia.

The Mourner has three water reservoirs that were built between 1923  to 1957 they supply water to various areas around the area. They are namely;

1. Silent  Valley Reservoir was built between 1923 and 1933 and  It’s located in the Mourne mountains near Kilkeel,  county down in Nothern  Ireland. It supplies most of the wat for  County Down and Belfast via the Aquarius pipeline.

2. Ben Crom Reservoir that is located in the Mourne near Kilkeel, County Down in           Nothern Ireland, and it was constructed between    1953 and1957.

Along with the silent valley reservoir that is situated further down  Kilkeel supplies water for county Down and its surrounding counties and most of Belfast.

3. Spelga  Reservoir is in the townland of Spelga located close to Hilltown in  Northwest of the Mourne mountains.

It sits at over 1200ft above sea level and it was constructed  between1953 and 1957. Fofanny dam Reservoir is located north-east of Spelga Dam and is a smaller site.

5 Host to a Spectacular Biodiversity of Heathers and Gorse 

Heathers and Gorse are the most common plants found in the Mournes.    

Mourners have two types, of carnivorous plants the  ‘Butterwort and Sundew’ but contrary to what people had heard, these plants do not eat people or sheep instead they catch flies and the dreaded midge to provide their food.

Other common plants that grow are: cotton grass, roseroot, harebell, marsh St john’s-wort, and wild thyme.

It’s home to birds, including the raven, peregrine falcon, wren, and buzzards’ meadow.

6 Popular for its Outdoor Recreation  Site 

Mourne mountains  are a popular destination for hiking and taking in views of the  surrounding  landscape, including local forest and coastline.

It offers range of activities for visitors including, hiking, forest and beach walks, cycling, and rock climbing.

Duke of   Edinburgh’s Award expeditions is the most popular destinations.        

Northern Ireland has the major rock-climbing areas because it has many   granite cliffs   in     form of    outcrops    and tors,  scattered throughout the   range.

7 Percy French an Irish Musician Has composed a song to Glorify the mountain

In 1896, “the mountains of Mourne” a song was written by Percy French to immortalize the mountain and  has been recorded by many artists, including  Don  Mclean.

The song is a whimsical look at the styles, attitudes and fashions of late nineteenth-century London as seen from the point of view of an emigrant laborer from a village near the Mourne Mountains.

The narrator’s portrays his true love  for his home inspired by the view of the mountains from Skerries in north County Dublin.

It contrasts the artificial attractions of the city with the more natural beauty of his homeland. The  “mourner mountain” song   make it to have a popular culture.

Mourne mountains scenery have provided  the backdrop for  a number of  productions including the famous Game of Throne.  

The  Chronical of  Narnia  a series  about a mythical world and created by C.S.Lewis is  also  heavily influenced  by the Mourne  Mountains.

8 Mourne Men  has great skills  in  working with the stones

The men at the mournes were greatly skilled working with the stones ,it was said  it’s not a skill that is just not learned but it is bred in them.

They use hand tools to cut mournes granite.In18 th   and 19^th Century granite   stone  was used    for building millstone and in cobbled streets, the stones of  which  were designed in   such a way when horses   hooves wore    down the surface the cobble could be taken  out ,turned and replaced

9 World war II took place in the Mourne  mountains

Shrapnel remnants of bombing practice from offshore American navy ships from world war  II still continue to be found here , though most of them are already exploded, this is enough  evidence that there was bombing in Mourne.

10 It was Once a Haven  for Smugglers                          

The smuggling activities at the foot of the mountain in the 18th and 19th Century were believed to have inspired artist Ralf Sander Sculptor The  Smugglers  Head.

The mountain was a major smuggling route for produce such as coffee, tobbacco and wine which would be offloaded at New castle  shore.

They would later find their their way into the country’s hinter land  through experienced horseback smuggler and trekkers who would go through the Mourne mountain valleys .