Blue Stacks

Crash Site ( WWII )

Welcome to the Croaghgorms. The easily recognised summits to be seen on the left hand side as you drive from Donegal town to Ballybofey on the N15. Usually covered by cloud or snow, these peaks seem to have a weather system of their own! .This route will take you from the farm that the bodies of the aircrew were brought to after the horrific crash on January 31st 1945, to the point of impact on that dreadful night as the crew made their way back home to their base at Lough Erne. But, due to navigational difficulties, the gallant sub-busters unknowingly found themselves on a different flight path. At fifteen minutes to midnight, on the night that would change the lives of so many families, the flying boat struck the mountain with deadly force. Only one member of the crew survived. With injuries from the crash, he crawled from the twisted wreckage, and made his way to the farmhouse to get help for his comrades at arms.
In 1945 rural Ireland, with a telephone in the house being unheard of, one of the brothers got on his horse and went to the local telephone at Brockagh to alert the authorities.

Starting/finishing point: For this walk, start at the old school house at grid ref. G959941. To get here, you must travel on the R253 from Ballybofey to Glenties, and turn off at the junction at grid ref. G968963.Turn down the back road and keep going until you come to the old school house. There is enough space here to park a few cars safely off the road. From here, walk approx 100 metres back towards the main road, turn down to the right, and follow the road down towards the farmhouse on the other side of the bridge.
A few of the farmer‘s dogs will no doubt bark at your arrival, but I’ve never heard of anyone being bit.
Pass the second bridge, stay on the left side of the river, and make towards height 642(G970909)
After you pass the last of the recently planted trees (on the right side of the river), cross the river, and make your way up the slope towards the high ground in a southern direction.
When you reach the high ground, make for height 626.Approx 250 metres west of height 626, you can‘t fail to notice the pure white rock form.From a distance, this looks like the last bit of snow on the mountain.After you pass the rock form, you will have to go down to slightly lower ground before ascending to the crash site at G954897 (approx).
At the site you will find two engines, small pieces of wreckage and if you look carefully, bullets, forks, depth charges and many tiny pieces of the Sunderland flying boat.
When you stand on the crash site, look down the valley towards Lough Croaghanard, listen to the sound of the overhead aircraft as it begins it‘s descent to Carrickfinn airport, you can almost believe that you can see the final minutes of flight. It’s only when you turn around and look uphill, that you see how close to clearing the mountain the plane actually was.When you spend some time here looking for that elusive piece of wreckage memorabilia, you can‘t help but feel a little bit of sadness for the so tragic loss of young life in those dark days of world war two.
From the crash site, it‘s a short walk to the highest peak of the blue stacks at peak 674.
From the summit, make your way northwest to Sruell gap. In the distance you will see a single fence post, a marker on the only “way marked” path of the Ulster way in Donegal.From here, contour around Lavagh More, unless you feel energetic and want to summit this peak as well, and head towards the second marker post.Keep moving in a northern direction until you reach the footbridge.
After the bridge, cross the field, make your way through the old farm-yard, walk up the lane until you come to the road, turn right, and continue along the road until you reach the starting point.
Points to note: When you reach the second bridge beside the farm-house, it‘s very tempting to cross it, go through the gate, and follow the new “road” through the young trees.After the “road” ends, you will have to cross rough ground. I.e. recently planted trees, drainage systems, and generally backward ground until you pass the lake and come to the end of the “flat” ground.From here, the only way is up.Approx 1 hour of uphill climbing!
When you reach the high ground, navigation can become difficult if the weather deteriorates and visibility drops to near zero.Check your position regularly so that you know where you are!

Distance: approx 12 kms
Ascent: 520 metres
Time: approx 5 hours (depending on time spent at crash site).
Maps:
OS 1:50000
Sheet 11