Banishing the blues in the Bluestacks
Malcolm Rogers heads for the Bluestack mountains.
 By Malcolm
Rogers
OK, let’s clear one thing up. Donegal gets its English name from
the ‘Dhún na nGall’ meaning “the fort of the
foreigners”, a reference to our old friends the Vikings. When the
county was first created it was sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnell
(Irish: Tír Chonaill) after the Tyrconnell earldom. This however
is technically incorrect as the Inishowen peninsula, now part of Donegal,
was historically distinct from Tír Chonaill.
Tyrconnell was the last truly independent Gaelic sovereignty effectively
the last Celtic medieval state in Ireland. Tirconnell is also, of course,
a single malt whiskey but I expect you already knew that.
However I can’t help you with the origins of the Bluestacks —
the mountains we’re heading for in this article. Don’t know
where they got the name. If somebody asked you in a quiz where they were
you’d probably say something like West Virginia. But they are, in
fact, amongst Ireland’s most northerly mountains ranging roughly
from Donegal Town northwards towards Letterkenny.
The highest point, Blue Stack itself — a “here I am, here
I stand” sort of mountain — reaches some 2,219 feet. Surrounded
by Banagher Hill (1,268ft), Croaghaniwore and Lavaghmore it overlooks
Lough Eske. Blue Stack is only some 3km outside Donegal Town — famous
for its 15th century castle, tweeds and traditional music pubs —
and must be one of the few places in the world where you might be ensconced
in a pub in the town centre and think: Hmmm, I might just go and climb
one of the most beautiful mountains in the entire continent. And then
just walk there; it’s only five miles away.
Of course you could do it the easy way and book yourself in at Harvey’s
Point Country Hotel which lies on the shores of Lough Eske smack bang
on the Ulster Way and the Bluestackway. The old boreen which makes up
this part of the Ulster Way winds past the hotel then follows the lough
shore taking you through ancient woodland and past quietly lapping water
— if you’re lucky you might just spot the 21st century.
Just a word about Harvey’s Point before we tog out for our first
attack on the Bluestacks. First-class accommodation, a truly warm welcome
and food is just like your mother used to make (assuming she was a leading
chef who caught her own fish daily at the bottom of the garden). This
is bleak chic at its most impressive.
The residents’ restaurant at Harvey’s Point has a magnificent
panoramic view across Lough Eske, home to the increasingly rare char —
a tasty species of salmon. Even scarcer freshwater oysters, reputedly
containing pearls lurk along the lough’s edges. However it’s
illegal to fish for them so this doesn’t represent a viable way
of bankrolling your holiday.
 After standing
a while looking at the islands floating in dreamlike quality and day-dreaming
about stumbling across a few pearls it’s time to head into the uplands.
A few stands of alien conifers — probably between 30 and 40 years
old — adorn the lower slopes of the Bluestacks but as the meadows
fall away you’re soon into a limitless, rolling moorland leading
to the mountains proper.
Most of Ireland would have once been covered with ash, alder, hazel and
birch but this woodland has long disappeared — and not just because
of human intercession. Listen to this Fact Fans: Research in Donegal has
shown that eroded peat has been washing into mountain lakes for the last
3,000 years, causing the soil to erode — thus unable to support
native woodland. So it isn’t all our fault!
Whatever the reason for Donegal’s magnificently surreal landscape
you’ll be struck by the by the almost wanton promiscuity of space
with moss covered uplands stretching to the horizon.
As you head north from Lough Eske the Ulster Way takes you to the east
of Banagher Hill with terrific views of the main peaks in the Blue Stacks,
the Sligo mountains and Donegal Bay. This is Mother Nature in her wildest
mood.
The Donegal poet William Allingham wrote: “I never came back to
Ballyshannon after an absence without thinking that it looked the oldest
place I ever saw.” Ballyshannon is just down the road from Harvey’s
Point and as you stand in this elemental and all but empty land stretching
between Lough Eske and Eglish Valley you’ll probably find yourself
agreeing with Mr Allingham. The place does seem inordinately old —
even by Irish standards — and one of the most poignant, ethereal
places you’ll ever come across.
Go there on your first available weekend.
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