46 A Walk in the Garden-Church Mountain Traditional Cache
Hidden : 10/7/2010
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:


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On moonlit heath and lonesome bank
The sheep beside me graze;
And yon the gallows used to clank
Fast by the four cross ways.

A careless shepherd once would keep
The flocks by moonlight there,
And high amongst the glimmering sheep
The dead man stood on air.
(A.E Housman)






This cache is one of five placed in a lovely area of West Wicklow, between the picturesque villages of Hollywood and Donard, that is somewhat off the beaten hiking track. The areas approaching these local caches and Donard itself boast a number of Ogham Stones, Bullaun Stones, Mottes, Moated Sites, Holy Wells and Megalithic Tombs so keep an eye on the OS maps for references to these while in the area.
This and its neighbouring cache on Corriebracks form a most pleasant walk on rolling hills and bog tracks from the parking coordinates given. The two should be completed in under two hours from parking spot B which I used. Incidentally, there are Standing Stones clearly seen close to the farmhouse at Parking B.
The hike indicated above is about 8K long with a total ascent of just 380m. While Church Mountain looks imposing during the approach and it appears to be covered in forest, the walk up is quite easy and the gradient is slight. Some of the terrain is rough but mostly on well defined stoney tracks and bog paths. We did it on a beautiful Summer evening and the views of the distant Blessington Lakes were superb. We also viewed a number of the Wicklow mountains from angles that were completely new to us.
Parking A is outside land which appears to be private but there is a road going through a gate to Parking B which we used. We parked close to a farm house at Parking B which has room for one or two cars and we asked at the farmhouse and they had no problem at all with us and even showed us the best route to the mountain. From Parking B you pass through a gate and follow the sandy stone track through another two gates (please make sure to close!) till it leaves the forestry and goes out on to open ground. The track continues to a T junction (waypoint N53 03.042 W006 34.359). To the right is Church Mountain and to the left is Corriebracks. For Church Mountain you will see the track bend around to the left through more forestry. You must follow this and shortly after the bend another gate will appear on your right with access (N53 03.299 W006 35.063) to the summit of Church Mountain. The path winds through the forestry and finds a fence. It follows the fence right to the summit on rocky and gently rising ground. Near the summit you pass over a small wire fence and turn left to the summit cairn on clear open ground where the views are smashing.
It is possible to reach all 5 local mountain caches in one hike from this or the other end (as you can see from the second illustration above) but be aware that it would be over 20K in total with approx 800m of ascent in total. This would probably take at least 6 hours. To do this you would have to do Church Mountain first, then Corriebracks and on to the others as required.
A much better plan would be to have a car at either end of the mountains and simply zig zag to each cache along the way.

From Mountain Views:
Church Mountain Mountain Wicklow County Sliabh an Chodaigh A name in Irish (Language) (Ir. Sliabh an Chodaigh [AMacAB], 'mountain of the covenant') Height: 544 metres OS 1/50k Mapsheet: 56 for top Grid Ref: N94877 01261 Amend Latitude: 53.053878 Longitude: -6.585831 ITM: 694805 701294 Prominence: 129m Isolation: 2.1km Rating graphic. "The site is pre-Christian. There are the remains of a large cairn on top of the mountain. The stones have evidently been scattered into irregular heaps. There is a partially cleared space in the middle, in which there are the foundations of a building, apparently a small ancient church.... Lewis (Topog. Dictionary, 1837, s.v. Donard) says that numerous pilgrims resort to the church on the top of the mountain to visit a well which is close to the walls. This well is still known, and I have heard it called St. Gad's Well by local people" [Price, PNCW]. See Máire MacNeill, 'The Festival of Lughnasa' (pp. 96-101) for details of the mountain pilgrimage. Also called Slieve Gad. Church Mountain is the 367th highest summit in Ireland.
Do not start the trek without all the proper mountain rain gear, waterproof boots and the guidance material, compass, map, GPSr with mapping etc.

Please note that all parts of this cache are hiked at your own risk. The cache owner takes no responsibility of any sort for any reason including accidents or mishaps.


Please be aware that cars parked in areas close to walking trails are vulnerable and they can be vandalised or stolen. Unfortunately this is an ongoing problem which is extremely difficult to solve, so there is a risk involved. I have heard recently that many hiker groups are parking at the nearest population centres and getting taxis to and from the start points at very little expense.

Please observe the country code to the best of your ability. Local landowners often generously allow access to upland areas across or through parts of their private property. Please, please be conscious of this and return the courtesy by keeping all gates closed, immediately and not on your way back!. Please use the gates where appropriate but if you have to climb over them then use the hinged side ONLY.
Please do not cause any damage of any sort to fences or barriers along the way.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Dhvgr pybfr gb (ohg abg nzbat nal bs gur pnvea fgbarf) fhzzvg pnvea va ubyybj haqre n pbhcyr bs ebpxf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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