Comparing the three different versions of Northern Ireland’s greatest hillwalking challenge – the Mourne Wall Walk.
As I continue preparations for my first attempt at walking a complete single-day circuit of the actual Mourne Wall, an Editorial War has been brewing on Wikipedia between two challenge walkers.
One editor is a seasoned challenge walker who has completed the full ‘property boundary’ version (see below) of the Mourne Wall walk four times in three different decades. Well-known in local hillwalking and mountain running circles, and a longstanding member of one of Northern Ireland’s most established walking clubs, she has completed just about every Irish walking challenge event there is. She is currently enjoying her well-earned retirement and is still a keen challenge walker.
The other editor is a relative newcomer to the hillwalking scene. He has made a substantial contribution to Irish hillwalking since first taking up the pursuit in 2012. A regular challenge walker, he established his own annual challenge event in 2014 before going on to set up a unique hillwalking club in 2017. He is known to have completed the ‘organised event’ version (see below) of the Mourne Wall walk at least twice.
It is the difference between their two views that has led me to compare the various route options available.
One of the editors, the more experienced of the two, believes the Mourne Wall walk should follow the full length of the 19.5 mile Wall, which she herself has walked four times. The other argues that it must follow a designated route which has been specified for an organised event in the past.
Having followed their Editorial War on Wikipedia, three different route options for the Mourne Wall walk have now emerged. A comparison reveals that there are two Wall sections which are common to all three route options. These are marked on the map below. The gaps in between are where the variations occur (see Options 1 – 3 below).
If you are thinking about attempting a Mourne Wall Walk yourself, it is likely that you will be doing so as a personal challenge rather than as a participant in an organised event. This gives you some flexibility when choosing which route to take. The subtle differences between the three route options are explained below.
Option 1
The “property boundary” route
The full 19.5 mile long Mourne Wall forms the boundary of Northern Ireland Water’s land in the Mourne Mountains. This land includes the entire rainfall catchment area for the two reservoirs in Silent Valley, plus the Silent Valley Mountain Park. The actual route of the Mourne Wall is shown in the map below. This is the purest, strictest, toughest and most bragworthy version of the Mourne Wall Walk.
Option 2
The “catchment boundary” route
The majority of land enclosed by the Mourne Wall drains into the two reservoirs occupying the Silent Valley. The catchment area also includes part of the Annalong Valley which contributes to the main Silent Valley reservoir via the Binnian Tunnel. This version of the Mourne Wall Walk follows the full length of the Wall except for a section to the south of the main Silent Valley reservoir.
Option 3
The “organised event” route
In the past, open-invitation challenge walks have been hosted along the Mourne Wall. The biggest of these was an annual event hosted by the Youth Hostel Association of Northern Ireland. It was last held in 1984. A Mourne Wall Walk was later hosted in 2013. It was organised again for 2014, but was cancelled at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances. The designated route used in the 2013 event is shown in the map below. This option avoids some overgrown and less-accessible sections of the Wall in Silent Valley and Annalong Valley.
In 2004, I completed the Mourne Wall Walk described in Paddy Dillon’s book The Mournes Walks. This is the same as Option 3 above, and it took me just over 10 hours to walk. It was a tough day of walking, but the purist in me has never really believed that I walked the full Mourne Wall in one go. And so, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to put things right ever since. For this reason, one of my personal goals for 2020 is to walk the full length of the actual Mourne Wall (Option 1 above) in under 10 hours.
Kieron Gribbon 