Knocknacloghoge (Lough Dan)
Duration: About 3 hours
A fairly easy walk in great scenery between Lough Tay and Lough Dan. Shame the name of the hill is such a mouthful ! The area around Lough Dan really is one of my favourites – since there are no roads the area is completely car free and has a great feeling of quietness. Knocknacloghoge itself also seems to be a little off the beaten path so its much quieter than other hills around Lough Tay.
 Knocknacloghoge |
 Lough Dan from summit |
 Meandering river … |
Route
- The start of the walk is at the Pier Gates, entrance to Luggala Lodge. Car parking is easiest further along the road (towards Roundwood) where there is a layby on the right. Next to the Pier Gates themselves is a pedestrian kissing gate that leads onto a tarmac road leading downhill.
Pier Gates, pedestrian gate is to the left. - Follow the tarmac road downhill, then turn left at the white cottage (the estate gatehouse) – there is even an old sign on the cottage pointing towards Lough Dan …
- Follow the road past a farm and you will cross two bridges. The road ends after the second bridge and there is a gate on the right that leads up to Knocknacloghoge itself. Cross the gate and follow the path up hill to a second gate. Keep going through this gate.
Second bridge. Gate leading to hill is across the bridge and to the left - On the right a little way on (running across the hill following the line of the bracken) is an old drove road, now a grassy path. Follow the road as it heads up around the side of the hill.
Drove road - The summit of the hill will come into sight on the left. The road itself continues around the hill without going to the top, so follow the path on the left that heads up hill from the drove road. Take this path towards the summit. This path eventually peters out, but the hillside is criss-crossed with small paths and any of these can now be taken to reach the top.
Summit cairn - To descend, begin by following the path that leads south from the summit. Bear to the left and keep heading towards the head of Lough Dan (there are cliffs to the right). There are two options for descending. If its late summer and the bracken is thriving (it can be 4 or 5 feet high), then follow the line of the bracken left back towards to the drove road and retrace your steps back to the start of the walk. If the bracken is passable, then a nice alternative is to descend towards the cottage at the head of Lough Dan and return left along the old road.
Cottage at head of Lough Dan - For a much longer walk, its also possible to descend to the south-west towards the Inchavore River and either walk back to Lough Dan along the river, or cross the river at the Copse and climb Kanturk and Scarr. I wouldn’t recommend either of these options though – the descent from the hill is over boggy, lumpy ground, and the path back along the river is similarly unpleasant (with the addition of deep bracken to add to the “fun”). If its been raining the river will also almost certainly be impossible to cross without getting wet.
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(2 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
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February 2nd, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Hello,
I did this walk with my family last week-end. When we got to the end of the road (having crossed the two bridges) there was no gate go through to ascend Knocknacloughoge. There was a 4 foot barbed wire fence. We went over the style towards Lough Dan instead – the fence continued all the way to Lough Dan. Should we have crossed the fence at the road end?
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:47 pm
You can see the gate in the middle left of this picture, on the path at the other side of the bridge:
That picture was taken in August 09. I’ll try to go and have a look this weekend, but it would be a real shame if the farmer has now put up a fence to block access.
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I’m afraid the gate is gone! There is no way up the mountain unless you cross the fence. There is a gate to the left of the style but this is the main path to Lough Dan.
All the best,
Ciaran
February 7th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Ok, I checked this walk this morning and the gate is still there and has no barbed wire – the gate is not even locked so there’s no need to climb over. Here’s a photo I took to confirm:
Click on the photo to see a larger version
This photo was taken standing on the second bridge. The gate to the left leads to private land, the middle gate is to the Lough Dan road (where I gather you walked – access is via a stile to immediately to the right of the gate and clearly marked “Lough Dan”), and the right-hand gate leads up to Knocknacloghoge. Here’s another image taken looking back from the path heading up the hill:
Click on the photo to see a larger version
No barbed wire and there is direct access over/through the gate, so I guess there is some misunderstanding. The route directions seem ok (just follow the road, and there are no turnoffs that might be taken by mistake) and I gather you did find your way successfully to the gate, so I assume its at that point where the mixup happened. If so, maybe these photos will help with finding the right gate to use. I’d certainly encourage you to have another bash at the walk as its a very nice one.
Despite the somewhat dank and misty weather today, I seemed lucky and got a clear pocket at Knocknacloghoge. The bracken has died back so its a good time of year to do the longer circuit including Lough Dan. This also reveals an old village or summer camp above Lough Dan that’s usually hidden under the bracken:
Click on the photo to see a larger version
Click on the photo to see a larger version
Also lots of deer around !
Click on the photo to see a larger version
February 7th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
My apologies. Now I really do not know where we went wrong. I will definitely do the route again. Thank you for your diligence.
Ciaran