So the weather in Ireland can be very random (an understatement if ever there was one), we can literally have four seasons in one day and March can be a particularly random month.

Now with that in mind, deciding to climb a few mountains over the March weekends definitely led us to experience very different weather conditions.

The first weekend in March we climbed Slieve Binnian see post here and over the second weekend we climbed Croagh Patrick, mainly because it is a much closer drive to us (from Galway), and being as it was just before Saint Patrick’s day it seemed appropriate.

Whilst our the climb up Slieve Binnian was very wet,  filled with intermittent heavy banks of mist, so much so I really didn’t get to see much. In complete contrast, the views from Croagh Patrick were simply stunning.

We had absolutely fantastic weather for our climb, so much so I had to take off some layers of clothing and I could easily have mistaken it for a summer’s day.

You couldn’t have had two more climatically different mountain walks if they had been on different continents.

Croagh Patrick sits overlooking Clew Bay in Co Mayo and is just a few short kilometres outside Westport Town. The mountain dominates the horizon and is easily found by following the many signs marking the route to its base.

Also known as Ireland’s Holy Mountain Croagh Patrick has been a site of pilgrimage for over 5000 years.

Chosen by Saint Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint as the site for his forty-day fast in 441AD, the mountain has now become a renowned site for the Patrician Pilgrimage and each year attracts over 25,000 visitors on the last Sunday (know as Reek Sunday) in July alone.

For more details about climbing Croagh Patrick click here.

Croagh Patrick facts & figures:

• Croagh Patrick is 2,507 feet tall
• Walk/climb time about 2 hours up and 1.5 hours down (average fitness level)
• Croagh Patrick or Cruch Patrick translates to Patrick’s Stack and is known locally as either that or the Reek.
• There is a small chapel at the summit, which was established in 1905. Historically a small chapel can be traced back to Saint Patrick’s own time named Teampall Phadraig.

Next weekend we are back up North to revisit Slieve Donnard.