Nice list, I've done the Bangor Trail a few times and as recently as last week. Sage advice on the midges, it is not worth the misery of getting bitten alive, so any time before mid May or late Sept. The "trail" is gruelling but the views and sense of remoteness is very rewarding. The recent development of the bothys has made it more appealing and helps lighten the rucksack. I would advise doing it northbound due to the position of the bothys. You can do Slieve Carr too but it is a real slog if you are only doing 2 days. I wouldn't do it in winter unless I wanted a real pilgrimage. Good luck and enjoy
@@kismet256 yes, bridge infrastructure in place on main channels, small streams are easily accessible although this could be a bit more challenging after heavy rain
To be honest, I think it was wise not to designate the Bangor Trail as a National Way Marked Trail. I ran/walked it last summer and found it much heavier going than the other National way marked trails I've done. My father described it to me as "once in a lifetime", meaning that having done it once he wouldn't do it again. I'm inclined to agree - amazing, certainly, but not for the faint hearted. I've crossed a good few wet bogs in my time, but nothing as wet as this for as long as this. The trail isn't that obvious in many sections also - you're basically wading through a grimpen mire hoping that some post you can see in the distance is a way marking (it probably is because there's so little out there). Maybe it's easier going after a long dry spell, so that's probably the time to do it.
I will look forward especially to your Bangor Trail video. I walked the section that flanks Slieve Carr in Summer 2022, at the end of a pretty dry few weeks. I had climbed Slieve Carr from the west , parking at the townland of Tarsaghaunbeg, crossing the river where it meets the trail. It was not a pleasant way to end a long, hard day I can tell you :). Very wet and boggy, with the exception of just a couple of boardwalk sections towards the end near the river. So good luck and hope for a good dry spell before you take it on ! I think the rest of the trail is much better though. By the way, the midges are technically called chironomids. And as you will know by now, the smaller they are the more vicious they are :)
St kevins way Hollywood to glendalough is good .. about 32km .. great full days hike.. only downfall it's a long rd section down to the farmers yard near the river.. they definitely need to make it more off rd at the start.. ive done this hike a few times .. planning it again very soon
That’s fantastic. We’ve watched your videos for years and love them. We’re planning to try and do 5 Irish Caminos in June if we can, which will be a big challenge. Luckily most are fairly short as we are NOT fast 😬😂🐌. We recently did the Camino Portuguese and loved it, and can’t wait to continue our walking in beautiful Ireland. We hope to meet you guys on the trail one day ❤️ You are legend Ellie, your 250 mountains in 50 days was utterly unbelievable!
Oh really sorry! When I was editing it I didn’t notice, but the contrast is quite low compared to the wall behind. Will try to have it better in future :)
Nice list, I've done the Bangor Trail a few times and as recently as last week. Sage advice on the midges, it is not worth the misery of getting bitten alive, so any time before mid May or late Sept. The "trail" is gruelling but the views and sense of remoteness is very rewarding. The recent development of the bothys has made it more appealing and helps lighten the rucksack. I would advise doing it northbound due to the position of the bothys. You can do Slieve Carr too but it is a real slog if you are only doing 2 days. I wouldn't do it in winter unless I wanted a real pilgrimage. Good luck and enjoy
is there any river crossings ?
@@kismet256 yes, bridge infrastructure in place on main channels, small streams are easily accessible although this could be a bit more challenging after heavy rain
To be honest, I think it was wise not to designate the Bangor Trail as a National Way Marked Trail. I ran/walked it last summer and found it much heavier going than the other National way marked trails I've done. My father described it to me as "once in a lifetime", meaning that having done it once he wouldn't do it again. I'm inclined to agree - amazing, certainly, but not for the faint hearted. I've crossed a good few wet bogs in my time, but nothing as wet as this for as long as this. The trail isn't that obvious in many sections also - you're basically wading through a grimpen mire hoping that some post you can see in the distance is a way marking (it probably is because there's so little out there). Maybe it's easier going after a long dry spell, so that's probably the time to do it.
Fell in love with Glendalough first time I went heading back to do Spinc trail.
Starting to like ur videos a lot
I will look forward especially to your Bangor Trail video. I walked the section that flanks Slieve Carr in Summer 2022, at the end of a pretty dry few weeks. I had climbed Slieve Carr from the west , parking at the townland of Tarsaghaunbeg, crossing the river where it meets the trail. It was not a pleasant way to end a long, hard day I can tell you :). Very wet and boggy, with the exception of just a couple of boardwalk sections towards the end near the river. So good luck and hope for a good dry spell before you take it on ! I think the rest of the trail is much better though. By the way, the midges are technically called chironomids. And as you will know by now, the smaller they are the more vicious they are :)
Haven’t seen Carl on the channel in a while 😊will he be doing the trails with you?
Carl’s been busy with life, and just doing a lot behind the scenes! He’ll be back on this side of the camera sometime in the future :)
St kevins way Hollywood to glendalough is good .. about 32km .. great full days hike.. only downfall it's a long rd section down to the farmers yard near the river.. they definitely need to make it more off rd at the start.. ive done this hike a few times .. planning it again very soon
Thanks for the comment! I’m looking forward to it 😊
Bangor trail is fully marked and listed
Yes, just not on the National Waymarked Trails scheme, as far as I know! But definitely fully Waymarked and mapped ☺️
That’s fantastic. We’ve watched your videos for years and love them. We’re planning to try and do 5 Irish Caminos in June if we can, which will be a big challenge. Luckily most are fairly short as we are NOT fast 😬😂🐌. We recently did the Camino Portuguese and loved it, and can’t wait to continue our walking in beautiful Ireland. We hope to meet you guys on the trail one day ❤️ You are legend Ellie, your 250 mountains in 50 days was utterly unbelievable!
Ellie, the text was very hard or impossible to read. Nice video though
Oh really sorry! When I was editing it I didn’t notice, but the contrast is quite low compared to the wall behind. Will try to have it better in future :)