Blackstairs Mountain [Na Staighri Dubha]

About Blackstairs Mountain [Na Staighri Dubha]

Rising as the eponymous high point of its range on the Carlow-Wexford border, this Hewitt offers a rugged, heathery ascent. The broad summit ridge provides a feeling of immense space, looking across the Barrow Valley toward the Brandon Hill massif and south along the spine of the range to Mount Leinster.

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Did You Know?

• •The Irish name Na Staighri Dubha, meaning 'The Black Stairs', likely refers to the dark, stepped appearance of the rocky outcrops and terraces visible on the mountain's eastern face.
• •The summit is a major waypoint on the Blackstairs Ridge Walk, a demanding long-distance challenge that traverses the entire granite spine of the range.
• •From the trig pillar, the view encompasses the fertile Barrow Valley to the west and, on exceptionally clear days, the distant silhouette of the Snowdonian peaks in Wales across St George's Channel.
• •The terrain is dominated by thick heather and blanket bog, which masks a chaotic underlayer of granite boulders, making any attempt at a direct cross-country line a slow and deliberate process.
• •The 'stairs' in the name are strictly metaphorical; any walker expecting architectural elegance will be disappointed to find only a relentless series of peat hags and steep, pathless slopes.