Tourism \ Activities \ Walking \ Slieve Binnian

Slieve Binnian

Slieve Binnian has a very rugged crest of rocky tors, which makes it easy to identify in views around the Mountains of Mourne.

The Summit Tor is bare granite. The Back Castles are a line of smaller tors along the crest of the mountain. The North Tor is one last big upthrust of granite before the slopes fall away to a pronounced gap. Perhaps the easiest way to climb Slieve Binnian is to start from the Carrick Little car park and follow the course of the Mourne Wall to the top. You could then wander along the rugged crest and descend to the low gap, following a path down past the Blue Lough to reach the Annalong valley. In fine weather you would feel as if you were in the very heart of the Mountains of Mourne, enjoying views stretching well beyond the range.

The Carrick Little car park is at the junction of the Head Road and Oldtown Road near Annalong. There is only an occasional summer bus service along this road, known as the Mourne Rambler. Follow a clear, stony track that rises gently between the fields. Note the boulder walls alongside, and the high mountains around the distant head of Annalong Valley. Cross a stone step stile beside an iron gate, and maybe take a look at an information board mounted nearby. It tells how the Mountains of Mourne were once known as Beanna Boirche, and Boirche was a chieftain who ruled his little kingdom from Slieve Binnian.

Turn left to follow the Mourne Wall uphill. The wall rises steeply on the rugged slopes of Slieve Binnian, but it is an obvious line to follow almost all the way to the summit. There is a break when the wall runs into a bare face of granite, and before this point you should drift to the right and aim for a notch in the top of the mountain. Going all the way to the summit at 2449ft (747m) involves using your hands and taking care on the rock. The reward is an exceedingly fine panorama of the surrounding mountain. In clear weather it's possible to see the Isle of Man out to sea and the Wicklow Mountains beyond Dublin.

Pick a way carefully around the base of the Summit Tor to continue walking along the crest of the mountain. You cross a ruined wall and follow a clear path past the Back Castles. These are a handful of wrinkly little tors that you don't have to grapple with. Simply enjoy the views as you walk past them. The North Tor is a monstrous outcrop of granite towards the end of the crest, and the path passes it on the left side. The ground slopes away more steeply as the path wanders through the heather and past boulders and outcrops of granite on the way down to a prominent gap.

Turn right on the gap and follow a clear path more gently downhill. This passes close to the Blue Lough, and by keeping right at junctions with other paths, you'll be led down to a clear track passing a corner of Annalong Wood. Simply follow the track alongside the forest fence and return to the iron gate in the Mourne Wall. Cross the wall using the stone step stile and follow the track back to the Carrick Little car park.