Lowlight at midsummer


The thing about the longest day (or midsummer) in Ireland is people have unrealistic expectations. They expect it to be sunny and warm, simply because the day occurs in the middle of a season misleadingly referred to as ‘summer’. A good place to have those expectations not just dashed, but well and truly beaten to a pulp is on Mweelrea mountain – the highest mountain in Connacht. Located at the mouth of Killary harbour, facing the Atlantic ocean, the mountain has its own weather system, and it’s not a very welcoming one. I’ve hiked Mweelrea twice this year, and if trudging up a steep slope in gale-force winds and driving rain was on my bucket list, I could stop now (the short video above gives a flavour of the fun). We didn’t even get to the top today – visibility was so poor that we though better of continuing (though we were almost at the top of the ramp that leads to the summit of the adjoining mountain). Still, at least we got some fresh air, even if the air was travelling at high speed, and heavily hydrated.