The Mourne Mountains: The 30 best hikes, handpicked by a County Down local: 1 (Walking Northern Ireland)

Fabulous inspiration for ideas for walking in the mournes. Easy to follow the guidance and maps

I have a house in Newcastle and I am a keen walker so I know the Mournes pretty well. I also like the security of a walking guide so I own and have read most of the various books on walking in the Mournes by Paddy Dillon, Steve Hanna, Adrian Hendroff et al, all of which I've enjoyed using and which have stimulated many enjoyable hikes and rambles. However I have to say this is the best book on walking in the Mournes which I have come across. Since I purchased the book in late 2019 I have road-tested a range of the walks outlined and have been hugely impressed. It gives very precise directions to the starting point and where exactly to go to reach your destination. The distances and the gradings are very accurate and there are a range of walks included from the high Mournes to a flat (yet beautiful) walk in Murlough Nature Reserve. You have the very reassuring feeling that the author has walked these trails very recently and recorded his experience in precise detail. In addition to the very varied walks ( graded from easy to very hard) he packs in a wealth of detail on accommodation, getting there, weather, what to take and where to base yourself. Finally I must mention the stunning photography and the very helpful OSNI Maps which he links to numbered waypoints. This book is amazing value for money given the quality of production, presentation and content. Thoroughly recommended.

Oh how I love this book! It has given me confidence to take my 2 primary school children to The Mourne Mountains on my own. My husband is unable to join these walking adventures. Our first outing was to climb Slieve Donard. I took the book with me and followed the directions within to climb the mountain. This was during the early summer in 2020. We were just out of the first lockdown in NI and we were desperate for a change of scenery oh my!! The instructions within this book were perfect. There were many people climbing Slieve Donard on the same day and I even noticed a few other hikers carrying Andrews book. Its wonderful to find a book that you can place confidence in and know that the author has really done his research. Each walk/hike states the start/finish point, the difficulty grading and gives a good description of same. Its a wonderful book and I highly recommend. On our second walk we ventured to Hen Mountain. It was rather foggy but the book gave me confidence to ascend/descend safely. We have enjoyed this book and we look forward to getting more hikes under our belts.

This is a really well thought-out guidebook, written by someone who not only knows these hills but knows what makes a useful guidebook for those who don’t. The detail is superb, the inclusion of proper Ordnance Survey maps is a real bonus, and there’s that all-important quick-access overview map just inside the front cover, which is often missing from otherwise decent guidebooks.The book itself has a ton of useful information on the walks and also on the local area and amenities, but the tidy, concise layout means it all fits within a small book that would be easily carried in a daysack. There look to be routes for everyone and a nice selection from across the range of hills. It’s bound to become the definitive Mournes hiking guide for locals and visitors alike.Highly recommended, even for the locals!

Real Quality Guidebook with clear OS route maps with several colour coded routes on each. Adequate route descriptions and good cross references between Index,maps and pages.Superb photos on good quality paper.Only minor criticisms are the strange use of Americanisms for a Co Down local -'cell phones' and 'pants' and lack of a Bibliography. It would have been good to know more of the major feature in the Mournes - the Wall eg -were PoWs used in its construction, were walkers ever restricted within it?Overall this Walking Guide sets a benchmark as one of the finest in Ireland or Britain.

This is an invaluable source of information, providing a wealth of knowledge to the first timer in the Mournes, the novice hill walker and those more experienced. 30 years ago I climbed every peak in the Mournes and lay under the shelter of the Mourne wall in a survival bag, eating smash and beans cooked on my Trangia. Most of the walks, trails and peaks I had forgotten. As a creature of habit in recent years I would climb Slieve Binnian or reach Donard from the Bloody Bridge - Andrew's book provides ample challenging walks graded from easy to tough; and with a realistic time frame so you can plan your day ahead. I'm going to use the book starting off with the easiest two - Murlough Nature Reserve and Butter Mountain. The maps and directions are great, its like having a guide by your side. My aim - to complete the Mourne Wall. So if you are thinking of going out on the Mournes...buy this book, if you hike the Mournes ...buy this book. And if like me you want a thought provoking book to inspire you just to get out there... Just buy the book. Read the book on the cold stormy nights and plan ahead for those better days.

I bought this book to help me find my way around the Mournes, and can honestly say it is a fantastic book! It is crammed with lots of really useful information about the history of the area, places to stay, what to pack, plants and landscape of the area etc. There is even information on airplanes, buses and trains for visiting tourists, which I think would be of great use to folks who have never been to Northern Ireland.I live locally and intend to use this to build up my walking experiences (as usually we just wing it and end up on all sorts of wonderfully random hikes! Also good fun). I like that there are OS maps included for the walks, and the book is a handy size to keep in my backpack.I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in exploring the Mournes and surrounding area, and will be buying a few copies as presents!

This book has been a brilliant companion on the many walks myself and my family have done in the mournes. Great instructions and general information. Superbly written