Corn Hill: Longford's County High Point / by ellie berry

Highpoint: Corn Hill (3/32)

 
 

Corn Hill of Co. Longford is our third hike of the County High Point project, and the third lowest hill we’re going to visit. Sitting at 278m in the North East Midlands, Corn Hill stands alone, offering amazing views of the surrounding area. We ventured over to Longford on a sunny August evening, and completed our round trip of the high point in roughly an hour. 

Like several of the County High Points, this one has a mast at the top, and therefore an access road. However, in the past few years the hillside has been developed into a local amenity, and features a gravel walking track up and around the hillside. The road at the bottom of the track has been widened to allow cars to park, and can probably accommodate 10 - 15 cars. When we arrived we were one of maybe 8 already parked there, and joined the numerous other people out for a stroll in the evening sun. 

Setting out from the gate, the track is pretty steep for a few hundred meters - however, after a little bit of effort there are amazing views. While 278m would go unnoticed in many other counties, Longford and the Irish midlands are a very flat area and on a clear day you can see for miles. 

Reaching the top of the hill, we follow the walkway in a loop through the forest, seeing the views out from either side of the hill as well. We sit on nearly every bench we pass out of habit - on our long distance trails, a bench is a rare and precious find. On this looped walk we might have spent more time sitting than walking, they were so plentiful. 

After completing the looped bit around the top of the hillside, we detour maybe 10+ meters into the boggy surrounds to touch the trig-point that the trail doesn’t quite pass. In general, the detour wasn’t worth much, and isn’t necessary if you’re just there to enjoy the views (as you can see much less from it). 

From there it was simply back down the steep section of the hill, and into the car. There’s not much else to report from this high point - it’s a lovely wander if you’re in the area, and probably one of the more accessible high points on the list. We saw plenty of families there with young and old. All in all, a nice evening out.

To learn more about trail and hillwalking grading, click here.
To learn more about the County High Points of Ireland, click here.