Cnoc na Peiste [Crocknapeast]

About Cnoc na Peiste [Crocknapeast]

Rising to 497m in the rugged Bluestack Mountains of County Donegal, this "Hill of the Serpent" offers a wild, pathless experience. Its peat-stained slopes and thick heather moorland provide a challenging ascent, rewarding walkers with sprawling views across the Derryveagh Mountains and the serrated Atlantic coastline near the town of Ardara.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is derived from the Irish Cnoc na Péiste, translating to 'Hill of the Serpent'. In local folklore, a péist was a monstrous water-serpent or dragon said to inhabit mountain loughs, a common mythological motif across the west of Ireland.
• •Situated in the eastern reaches of the Bluestacks, the summit provides a clear perspective of the range's highest peak, Croaghgorm, and the distant, distinctive quartzite cone of Errigal to the north.
• •The approach from the south involves navigating quintessential Donegal upland terrain—a demanding mix of deep heather, hidden peat hags, and granite outcrops that require careful navigation in low cloud.
• •While it is classified as a Hump and a Tump, the hill falls exactly three metres short of the 500m threshold required for several other Irish hill classifications.
• •If you find yourself searching for the namesake serpent, you are far more likely to encounter a startled red grouse or a particularly deep bog-hole than a mythological beast.