Galtymore

Galtymore reaches 917 metres on the Tipperary and Limerick border and is the highest mountain in Ireland not on the coast - every higher summit is in a coastal range. The Galtees run about twenty-five kilometres east to west as a single ridge, and the northern face is the interesting side: a series of corries cut by ice, each holding a small lake - Lough Curra, Lough Muskry, Lough Diheen - beneath steep headwalls. The commonest route is the Black Road from the north, a stony track climbing steadily to the ridge and then west to the summit, taking four to five hours return. It is a big open hill with no shelter, and the summit plateau is featureless enough that cloud makes navigation a genuine exercise. A cross and a trig pillar mark the top. Weather on the ridge is markedly worse than in the glen below.

What you actually see

• The corrie lakes - Curra, Muskry and Diheen under the northern headwalls.
• The ridge - twenty-five kilometres of high ground running east to west.
• The summit - 917 metres, with a cross and trig pillar.
• The Black Road - the standard stony ascent from the north.

When to go

May to September for daylight and settled conditions. Cloud sits on the ridge often. Winter here needs proper equipment; the northern corries hold snow late.

Honest expectations

Four to six hours of open hill with no shelter or water. The summit plateau is featureless in cloud and navigation errors put you a long way off. Boggy ground on the approaches. Land is farmed; park considerately.

Nearby

The Glen of Aherlow is below the northern side; Mitchelstown Cave is south.