A summit you bag on the way round
Dart Mountain (Irish: An Dairt, ‘The Lump’) is the second-highest peak in the Sperrins at 619 metres, sitting on the boundary between counties Tyrone and Londonderry rather than wholly in one. The name is honest about the place: it’s a rounded bog dome, not a dramatic peak, and few people climb it on its own. What it’s really good for is the round – Dart is the second summit on the classic Sawel and Dart loop, taken in after Sawel, the higher and more satisfying top.
So if you’re choosing, the loop is the thing, and Sawel (678m) is its high point. Dart is the one you tick off on the long curve back. The reward is the walking itself: a big, empty traverse of one of the least populated corners of Northern Ireland, where on a clear day the whole Sperrin plateau rolls out around you.
The Sawel and Dart loop
This is a demanding 17 km walk that averages around five hours over often boggy ground, and it’s one of the best-known hill routes in the Sperrins. The saving grace in bad weather is the fencing: wire fences run along the ridge and act as a handrail for navigation in all conditions, which is genuinely useful when the cloud comes down – and on these hills it often does.
The route, roughly: start from the roadside parking east of the crossroads of the Glenelly Road (B47) and the Sperrin Road. Walk about 1.5 km east, past the Glenerin Burn and a small woodland plantation, to a gate set at an angle to the road – that’s the start. Head north on a defined path over the Glenerin Burn, past a derelict cottage, up to County Rock on the ridge, then turn left and follow the ridge west to the summit of Sawel. From Sawel, go south-west over a stile towards Dart, following the fence line. From Dart, drop south over the crest of the spur, keeping to the western side where you’ll pick up an old bog road, and descend to the Glenelly Road. From there it’s about 4 km east along the road, past the Sperrins Heritage Centre, back to the start.
The honest warnings: this is exposed, remote hill country with no facilities on the route, the ground is wet and heavy after rain, and the last leg is a few kilometres of road-walking back to the car. Go properly shod, carry a map and compass (and know how to use them – the fences help but aren’t everywhere), and don’t start late.
Wildlife on the hill
The Sperrins are quiet enough that the wildlife shows itself. Watch the open bog for hunting raptors – kestrel, buzzard and sparrowhawk – and the lower ground for hares, rabbits and badgers. The vegetation is classic blanket-bog and moorland: heather, with bilberries and cowberries underfoot, and woodland and rivers lower down. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times for both light and birds.
Practical information
- Start and parking: Roadside parking area east of the Glenelly Road (B47) / Sperrin Road crossroads. Space is limited, so arrive early on fine summer days.
- The walk: 17 km, about 5 hours, demanding, over boggy open mountain. Wire fences are the main navigation aid in poor visibility, but bring a map and compass anyway.
- Access and cost: Open hill country with no admission charge, but treat it as working farmland – keep dogs under close control near livestock and ground-nesting birds.
- Nearby: The Sperrins Heritage Centre is about 4 km east on the Glenelly Road; the Beaghmore Stone Circles and Davagh Forest (with its dark-sky observatory) are within reach for a fuller day in the hills.
Check the forecast the night before and pick a clear day. On a Sperrins peak with no view, Dart is just a lump of wet bog with a fence across it; with the cloud off, the loop is one of the finest long walks in the north.