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Summit Slieve Donard
Summit Northern Ireland's highest peak, at 853 metres. Park in Donard Car Park in Newcastle itself or at Bloody Bridge.
Get your bike atop Slieve Donard, get the snaps to prove it, and be careful on the way down.
Good technical skills are required for the descent.
The descent to the saddle and down Glen River through Donard Wood is the best way down, but you need to like tricky technical riding to enjoy it. Danger on the steps!!
Photo from the archives of Tango and Cash, 1997.
Movies of Summit Slieve Donard
Reviews for this trail
Write A ReviewCURRENT AVERAGE
4.2
OUT OF 5 BADGERS
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Takes about 3 hours to get to the top, so take an IPod and be prepared for a long hard push up. Also, if you do it in the winter you'll need ski gloves, and full windproof gear as well as mud tyres, was about 2 feet deep in snow at the summit in October!
I lugged my Santa Cruz Bullit to the top with 2.5 Wet screams, and I wouldn't fancy descending it on anything less robust!
Also, if you manage to do the whole descent in one go, you are immortal. Two words. Arm. pump.
The wall section was totally covered in deep snow, so involved drifting all the way down, the steps after the saddle were dry though, but a couple of the steps have subsided so be prepared for a bit of hopping. The river section needs a bashring and the forest section is fast and fun.
All in all, a hard challenge, not like fun DH or FR, but something you can be proud of. -
Super-ardous climb but worth it for the extreme challenge. The steps down are great in the dry. Another option is to ascend from Bloody Bridge and then come along the Brandy Pad to the back of the saddle and then on up. Actually coming down that way might be fun too. If you want a change Commedagh offers some scary stuff coming down from the summit at high speed on grass with the sheer drop of the pot on your right and then technical and steep into the back of Donard wood. This ride only lost a badger for the hard carrying climbing.
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Donard is extremely technical. Getting your bike to the top will push you to your limits mentally. From the summit to the wall starts off fast with drop-offs no more than three feet in height and from the wall to the begiining of the river is very tough. The descent here is technical and some parts are best ridden of the brakes to get the momentum over a few tricky spots. Other parts while on the "steps" take cat like reflexes and I would advise this for the more experienced riders only. You will experience riding on the edge of sheer drops while negotiating two feet drop offs. When at the river you will begin to feel the ache of arm pump from the descent and this may cause problems. This is true when bunny hopping small man made crevices along the route. These are fringed by granite cornerstones and will cause puntures. Bunnyhopping is easy, bunnyhopping with aching arms? Impossible.
Good tip: Fill your tyres with grass so you can ride the rest of the descent if you get a punture.....I did.
Riding to the gate will be hard on your return. It is heavily eroded at parts and resembles mars more than anything. If you like technical you will like this part. From the gate to the car park is awesome. Its fast safe and a great way to enter the downhill experience if a novice.
Therefore I will categorise Donard into three stages.
Summit to river:extreme 5
River to gate: Intermediate to easy: 2-3
Gate to carpark: Intermediate 2-3
*Faster speeds on intermediate routes increase rating 3-4.
Toilets at carpark. Parking free and safe! -
Not much biking to be had on the way up once you get off the proper paths, but a great achievement just to have done it. Really technical on the Glen River way down, so if you no like, don't bother or you will hate it.
