The Altataggart mass rock is where outlawed priests would
celebrate mass in spite of the penal laws. The nearby forest
offered concealment for the faithful and the hill behind allowed a
lookout to be kept. Estyn Evans relates the story of a stone worker
who had the audacity to attempt to split a mass rock: “He hit his
wrist such a clipe on the first blow that he was helpless for
months.”
If you arrive here in the weeks leading up to Christmas you may
be aware of carols floating up surreally from the forest. This
might be your opportunity to visit Santa’s Cottage, which is a
local farm doing Christmas in a big way. But check with Rostrevor
tourist office before making a special trip.
The cache is not at the mass rock, but within 100 yards of it.
It is a tab-lock box wrapped in a black cover sheet. There is a
good path leading past here but adequate footwear is advisable in
wet weather.
There are two suggested parking sites -
N54 09.868 W6 07.581 is the picnic site at Leitrim Lodge, 1
mile from the cache.
N54 08.109 W6 09.074 is the picnic site at Yellow Water, 1.5
miles from the cache. If you park here I would advise heading out
of the car park with the river on your right hand side, across a
footbridge and 200 yards later across another one. At this point
turn left and then right to follow a forest path.