The Western Mournes. The lower Mournes. The lesser Mournes. Or simply ‘birdland’, because of the names of the hills which make up their core – Eagle, Pigeon, Cock … and Hen. They are separated by a road and a dam from their brethren in ‘the high Mournes’, and they are indeed the lower part of the range, with even Eagle well below the 700 metre mark at 632. They may lack the drama of the high Mournes, but they have their charms. They have Eagle’s cliffs and pinnacles, and they have Hen, the littlest mountain of them all.
We were out there on Saturday, led by Frank, taking a relaxed route from the Deer Meadow by Spelga Dam, up Pigeon, across the bog to Cock with it’s two summits, and along the ridge to Slievenamiskan. Nothing much to mention about all that, except that it was good walking and we found an excellent natural amphitheatre for lunch on Cock, looking down on the Spelga Dam and over to Carn, Doan, Lamagan and the rest of the high Mournes. And after Slievenamiskan a tricky descent and over to Hen.
Hen – what an inglorious, humble name. An innocent little creature, clucking around, no harm to anyone. And Hen is a humble mountain by any numerical measure. At only 354 metres above sea level at its highest point it is lower than the Cave Hill, Black Mountain, or Divis above Belfast.
But there is more to mountain – and hills – than metres. Hen has character. It may be small but it is one of the most interesting and attractive hills in the Mournes. It is a steep and surprisingly tough little climb from the Rocky River Valley below, but its real secret is its complex rolling rocky summit.
I know nothing about geology, but Hen seems to be different from the rest of the Mournes. Most of the Mourne summits are rounded and largely featureless. Bearnagh and Binnian have rocky tors, but they are rough ragged stone poking out through broken earth. Hen has layers which seem to be have been poured, spread out over three – or is it four? - separate summits, in a complex geography which is fascinating to explore.
There is good rock climbing – there were people out with ropes and helmets while we were here. There are gullies and good scrambling, handholds and footholds for those who want to try them, and easier routes for those who don’t. And great layers of rock to gaze out from. We had a very pleasant second lunch spread out on a rock platform, looking down on the farms below and away off over County Down.
There is more to mountains than names or height – Hen is a little joy.
