What it is
The story goes that until a few decades ago, walkers caught out on the high Mournes could crawl under the Shelter Stone and find food, candles and matches left by whoever passed before, with a visitor book to sign. That informal system has long gone. The stone is still here: a set of granite slabs jutting from a steep hillside above the head of Ben Crom reservoir, tilted just enough to make a dry alcove you can clamber under. At grid reference J325274 it is one of the best-known wild-camping spots in the range, and it is flagged in red on the downloadable PDF trail maps from the official Mourne Mountains site.
Set your expectations first: this is a low overhang, not a cave. Enough room for a small group to get out of the wind, and no more.
Getting there
There are two ways in, and the shorter is the one to take. From Hares Gap, follow the track that climbs past the head of the reservoir. The alternative starts lower down at the Silent Valley reservoir complex and is a longer, quieter walk before it joins the same ground near the stone. Take that one only if you actually want the extra distance and the solitude.
Either way you are on open mountain the whole time. Boots, a checked forecast and a map you can read without a phone, not trainers and optimism. The ground is uneven and turns greasy after rain, and mobile signal is patchy on the upper slopes.
Wild camping, honestly
Wild camping in Northern Ireland sits in a legal grey area: strictly, you need the landowner’s permission, and there is no formal arrangement here. People camp anyway and nobody has objected, but you do it at your own discretion. If you stay the night, leave no trace of it – pack out everything, food scraps and toilet paper included, because there are no bins and no toilets. Don’t clear vegetation or stack new stones to level a pitch, and if you run a stove keep it small and carry the ash out. A grid reference is all anyone needs to find the place; it does not need another cairn.
Nearby
- Ben Crom reservoir – a short, steep descent from the stone puts you at the water’s edge.
- Hares Gap – the mountain pass most walkers use to reach this side of the range, with the nearest parking.
- Annalong – down on the coast, a working fishing harbour if you want a village and a meal after the hill.
If you are weighing the two approaches, go from Hares Gap unless you specifically want the longer, emptier walk in from Silent Valley – and check the forecast the morning you leave, not the night before.