{"id":5740,"date":"2026-03-11T20:21:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T20:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/?page_id=5740"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:56:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:56:06","slug":"mourne-way-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/ulster\/mourne-way-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mourne Way &#8211; 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Spelga to Tolleymore &#8211; 11th March 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, on the face of it, started much better. The sun had come out and it was running at around 10 degrees. However, I am no longer the climber. The early morning, straight-up-the-face of Spatha did me in. After that, the mud and swamp and forty mile an hour wind was a trial.<br>I made it to the carpark above Fofanny to be met with the question, &#8220;Is it cold up there?&#8221; A group of youngish woman about to climb Slievenamuck in their trainers. I wished them well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104419-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5736\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104419-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104419-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104419-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104419-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104419-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Along the fence line for a bit. No sign of the big climb yet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104425-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5735\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104425-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104425-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104425-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104425-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_104425-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hen mountain from yesterday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_105759-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5734\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_105759-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_105759-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_105759-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_105759-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_105759-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The hills of Castlewellan and Leitrim etc. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_110844-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_110844-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_110844-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_110844-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_110844-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_110844-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Oh Frig! No path but straight up I must go.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_114638-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_114638-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_114638-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_114638-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_114638-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_114638-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Spelga Reservoir.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_114015.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_115109-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5729\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_115109-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_115109-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_115109-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_115109-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_115109-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Butter Mountain ahead and Slievenamuck to the right in the foreground. Behind them, peaks that I&#8217;ll not be climbing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" controls src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_115030.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_122622-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_122622-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_122622-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_122622-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_122622-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_122622-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The welcome view of a road ahead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125019-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5726\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125019-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125019-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125019-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125019-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125019-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The feet and knees are loving the flat surface.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125840-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125840-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125840-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125840-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125840-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_125840-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fofanny Reservoir.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_130630-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_130630-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_130630-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_130630-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_130630-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_130630-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Full to the brim from all the recent deluges.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_132045-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5739\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_132045-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_132045-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_132045-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_132045-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_132045-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Miles of this and then the western edge of Tolleymore.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_141927-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5738\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_141927-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_141927-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_141927-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_141927-1-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_141927-1-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Last view of the mountains.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_151744-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5737\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_151744-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_151744-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_151744-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_151744-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_151744-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The sun shining and giant trees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_153926-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_153926-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_153926-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_153926-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_153926-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_153926-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Glad I&#8217;m not having to cross that in the wet. Nearly fell in as it was.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_155706-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_155706-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_155706-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_155706-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_155706-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260311_155706-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Folly at Tolleymore and nearly done.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well the cafe was shut, and the little coffee van was closed. Spent a cold thirty minutes waiting on a taxi. <br>I didn&#8217;t think that I&#8217;d manage today, that this would be the day that I gave up. But, I surprised myself &#8211; though it took an hour to climb Spatha mountain.<br>This the end of the Mourne Way as I&#8217;ve already done the rest when doing the Newcastle Way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spelga to Tolleymore &#8211; 11th March 2026 Today, on the face of it, started much better. The sun had come out and it was running at around 10 degrees. However, I am no longer the climber. The early morning, straight-up-the-face of Spatha did me in. After that, the mud and swamp and forty mile an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":661,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5740","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5740"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5749,"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5740\/revisions\/5749"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/picton-lynas.co.uk\/walkingblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}