Croagh Patrick

Croagh Patrick is a cone of quartzite above Clew Bay that has been climbed as a pilgrimage for well over a thousand years, and on the last Sunday of July thousands go up in a single day, some of them barefoot. The path starts at Murrisk and rises 764 metres in about three and a half kilometres, which is steep by any measure. The last section is a loose scree cone where you slide back with every step, and the descent of it is worse than the climb. A small stone chapel stands on the summit, and the view takes in Clew Bay with its drumlin islands, Clare Island and the Nephin range.

What you actually see

• The summit chapel - a small stone church built on the cone in the early 1900s.
• The scree cone - the loose final climb that takes most of the effort.
• Clew Bay - the drowned drumlin islands spread out below to the north.
• Reek Sunday - the last Sunday of July, when the mountain is busy from dawn.

When to go

May to September for the most settled ground and the longest daylight. Start early, because the mountain regularly clouds over by midday and the view is the whole point. Avoid the last Sunday of July unless the crowd is what you came for. Allow four hours return at a moderate pace, and more if the scree is wet.

Honest expectations

It is a hard walk on bad ground rather than a hill stroll, and the loose scree causes turned ankles every summer. Poles and proper boots make a real difference. Cloud hides the bay often enough that you may climb for nothing. The car park fills early, and on pilgrimage days the queue on the cone moves at a crawl.

Nearby

Westport is fifteen minutes east; the Murrisk shoreline sits at the foot of the path.