A Hike up the Reek my Croagh Patrick Experience

To be honest I am not a big fan of hiking but I got pressured into hiking up Croagh Patrick and I am so glad I did. Croagh Patrick is a mountain situated in Westport County Mayo on the west coast of Ireland. It is also known as “The Reek”, and is the location of St. Patrick’s Chapel, which was built all the way back in the 16th century. Thousands of people visit the mountain every year seemingly, especially on the last Sunday in July. A form of penance they say to commemorate St. Patrick, who is said to have fasted on the mountain for 40 days. Madness I tell ye!!

Westport is one of my favorite places in the world and I have been going there for many years. This time around I happened to be with some friends from America and my brother, and they all really wanted to experience “The Reek”. So we got our comfy walking shoes on, rain jackets just in case, and a backpack full of cheese, crackers and of course a nice bottle of champagne to celebrate if we made it to the top!! The first two thirds were fairly leisurely actually, but as we got closer to the top it got quite rocky and there was some rougher terrain to cope with. But we navigated safely through the rockiness and eventually made it to the peak. Ah what a relief, going down will surely be a lot easier I thought, but first things first where’s that champagne!! And then just as we popped the bubbly the heavens opened, and it absolutely bucketed down!! but I suppose how could we possibly think we were going to get away with a clear day in the west of Ireland… duh!! Anyway, we found some shelter and devoured the champagne and cheese, but the rain wouldn’t stop and eventually we said we better just suck it up and make our way down the mountain.

About a third of the way down the rain stopped, Wooohooo! I said, but then that’s when things started getting tough for me. And as I watched my older brother practically sprinting down the mountain at a rapid speed I started getting intense stiffness in my left knee. An old injury I said, from my soccer days I said, that was my story and I was sticking to it. Luckily enough my buddy was very knowledgeable in all things fitness and coached me through with some stretching exercises that got me back on track…. And after a few stretching stops on the way down, I finally made it to the bottom where we all met at Campbell’s Pub for a few tasty pints. Campbells pub by the way is situated right at the base of Croagh Patrick and is actually one of the oldest pubs in Ireland, and I would highly recommend stopping in there for a few scoops after a hard slog up and down the The Reek.

All in all it was a great experience and the views at the top were absolutely spectacular. I would say for a seasoned hiker it should pose no problems. But I think that will be my final jaunt up Croagh Patrick, I now look at it from a far with a pint in one hand and a happy knee in the other.