The County High Point List is a project that takes you all around the island of Ireland, climbing to the highest point within each county. Some of these are epic hikes, where you climb through towering mountains - and some take you on a journey through time instead.

Overview:

Distance: 600m from upper car park to summit
Elevation gain: 60m
Format: Out and back trail
Time: 15 - 90 minutes
Start / End / Parking:
A) There is a small car park at the foot of the hill, here.
B) Slightly further down the road is the Loughcrew Megalithic Centre with ample parking.
Trail difficulty: Easy
This trail is very accessible, but steep for how short it is. It begins with a series of wooden steps, and then is a well worn grassy path to the summit.
Read about trail grading in Ireland here.
Trail quality: 4/5
Very well maintained. A sheep-shorn hillside, with way-markers every few meters.
Views: 4/5
For its location, it offers great views of the surroundings.
Buggy/Wheelchair friendly: No - you could probably bring a buggy but it would require work.
Dogs allowed: On a lead
When did I walk this route: March 2025
External resources:

The County High Point of Meath is a little-known yet ancient neolithic cairn at Loughcrew. Cairn-T, to be precise, or Sliabh na Caille. These small but prominent hills are a palimpsest of the past, with layers upon layers of the last 5,000 years enshrined in stones.

And I’m here, adding my footsteps to the many who have gone before, to gaze at rocks as the sun rises on the Spring Equinox.

In Ireland, the Spring equinox generally happens around March 20th each year. It marks the point when the sun crosses the celestial equator from south to north - and the 24 hours of that day are split perfectly between day and night. From then until the autumn equinox at the end of September, the days are always longer than the nights.

In so much of Irish history and folklore, the equinox and areas that mark it have had cultural and historical significance - a particularly good example being this cairn that I’ve come to see. On this special morning, the sunrise illuminates carvings inside the passage tomb, similar to Newgrange in winter. For many, this event symbolises balance and renewal.

Standing in the freezing sunlight of that early March morning were many people like me, there to witness an ancient piece of Irish heritage and feel connected to the changing seasons. There were others of varying pagan and spiritual beliefs looking to give thanks to the old gods and mark the returning sun - and there were OPW staff, wrapped up well to oversee us all and make sure the cairn was protected for another year.

The name of the hill, Sliabh na Caille, means the hill of the witch, and I was told a few stories by one OPW member of the legends that surround the hill. One of them is that the witch was something of a giant, and as she came bounding across the land with her apron full of rocks, they fell out in her haste and created the hills and large stone piles. More interesting still is her throne or chair that is placed just to the side of Cairn T. If you walk three loops around the whole Cairn, returning each time to the witches chair, you can ask her for a wish or blessing.

I wanted to be on the summit of this small hill before sunrise, which was at 06:29am. For me, this meant that I needed to sleep somewhere close-by the night before. Luckily, the Loughcrew Megalithic Centre is a whole 230m from the trailhead, and has a campsite. Like the majority of campsites in Ireland, they are closed during the winter / off-season months, but they do open specially for the Spring Equinox every year. This year it landed on a Thursday, so once I finished work on the Wednesday I drove east, arriving after nightfall.

Sarah, a lovely woman who’s part of the family who run the centre, met me and showed me around the site, and gave me some general advice for the following morning. The campsite was really nicely laid out, with a really big kitchen and clean bathrooms. I was almost sad that I was only staying the one night, and wouldn’t need to use any of their facilities.

Getting up at 5:30am the following morning left me with plenty of time to get dressed, munch a quick snack and walk up the hill in the pre-dawn light. There were a few other people walking too, and what I would call a medium gathering standing around the summit by the time I arrived. As the day got brighter more sleepy heads crested the hill, with possibly close to 100 people there as the sun shone down the passage tomb.

Due to structural damage to the roof of the passage tomb, the outer gate remained locked. As the sunlight hit the back wall and illuminated the carvings, everyone on the hill crowded forward to get their chance to peer in. Joining the queue, I wondered if I would be able to get any good photos with everyone else being so eager to get to the front. Stopping by an OPW officer, I asked how long the sunlight would fill the chamber, “oh, at least half an hour! I’d say you can let everyone rush forward, and then as it dies down you’ll be able to get a quieter moment.”

Taking his advice, the initial panic did die down and I took my time looking at the other-worldly carvings shining back at me.

Of course, Cairn T isn’t the only site worth seeing here. Sliabh na Caille, or Mountain of the Witch/Hag, is the name of the whole group of surrounding hills, which are home to an incredibly rich archaeological complex. They are so numerous that the major sites are labelled with a letter of the alphabet - hence Carin T.

Below are some photos of artwork in one of the other passage tombs on the same hill as Cairn T, as well as the Hag’s Seat.

Leaving the summit once the sun was well risen, I walked back down to the centre and their cafe and gift shop. I bought two books on the area and sat with a coffee and scone, listening to stories and folklore being swapped all around me.

In general, I would recommend doing this county high point during the summer months when there are plenty of guided tours and people to explain the history and folklore. Find info on guided tours from:

In researching whether there are other talked about routes up this hill (many a local seemed to walk up from another road, but as I couldn’t find any explicit permission I’ve not mentioned it as an option), I did notice that you can use google street view the whole way up the trail and around the summit. You can see every dimple and grassy tuft from the comfort of your own home and decide if it is a walk for you!