OUTDOORS Walk of the month – Oghillees Mass Rock, Newport

Newport’s own Camino


Walking
Cathleen Fergus

Oghillees, Newport
Distance 4km to 16km, depending on route taken    
Time1-5hrs
Difficulty Easy/moderate
Surface Bog road, bog, hilly terrain
Gear Walking boots, raingear, camera

In 2012 alone, over 190,000 peregrino completed the Camino de Santiago or the Way of St James, which traverses northern Spain. Of this 190,000, almost 25,000 begin in St Jean Pied De Port, the traditional starting point of this 800km voyage of discovery. Fear and excitement combined take you uphill into the Pryrenees, and so it begins.
The Camino will throw up many obstacles along the way: blisters, sun burn, bed bugs, tummy bugs, loneliness, overcrowding, sleep deprivation or tendonitis. No one gets away scot free, but what gets every one to the end each day is not their fitness, their brand of boot or the carafe of vino tinto with the pilgrims’ meal, rather it’s the power of the mind to keep going regardless, because ‘if the mind is willing, the body will follow’.
Nestled safely below Ben Gorm in the Nephin Begs, looking down on Clew Bay, lies Oghillees Mass Rock. Each year on the Monday of the June Bank Holiday weekend, young and old make their ‘way’ here. Some may say this and other walks cannot be compared with the Camino, but for those who battle through illness or keep going when others would just give up, going for any walk, going out or, in this instance, making it to the Mass rock – this is their Camino.
This Mass rock is one of many used in times of persecution during Cromwell’s campaign and the Penal Laws of 1695. Its location is not by accident. With miles of views in every angle, those on watch had plenty of time to issue a warning if there was any risk of being discovered.
To get to the Mass rock you have a myriad of routes to choose from. The Mass Rock Route is signed with purple arrows on yellow as an extension to the Oghillees loop, the longest of the Derradda Loop Walks, which starts at Derradda Community Centre.  
Follow the red and green arrows, towards Lettermaghera and rather than turning back down towards Lough Fadda, continue west along the red arrowed Achill Spur until you meet a junction and follow the markers for the Oghillees Mass Rock, 4km further up the hill.
The route is well marked with a stream to your left as you ascend, making sure to veer right at the final marker that leads you across to a cluster of stones where an outline of the cross can still be seen today and where, the sound of the more recently appointed metal cross humming in the wind will act as a reassuring guide.
The Achill Spur can be accessed by a number of different routes; depending on how long or short you wish to make your walk. The Spur and all the trails that loop off it can be accessed off the Great Western Greenway, at one of the many junctions along the way. For those of you who have already experienced the Greenway, the routes above it offer the chance to come back and discover the spectacular beauty that surrounds it.  
Alternatively, drive to Carrowsallagh, around five miles from Newport, take the road to the right and follow to the junction, taking care to park where you do not obstruct property or machinery.
This walk can be done at any time of the year. However, in bad weather it is advisable to stick to the Lower Achill Spur or Greenway.