Roskerrig - Barán Loop

I had intended to walk another route today and asked Herself to take me to the starting point. We soon discovered that both roads over the peninsula were blocked and my chosen route was burning with several fire appliances in attendance. Although illegal at this time of year the recent dry weather has encouraged a few bloody-minded people who don't give a toss about the damage to wildlife and the very real danger to properties to set the hillsides alight. There are now many areas of the Sheep's Head that have been scarred in recent weeks. 
Instead, I climbed our 'home' mountain - technically not a mountain, but that's what it is called here. Roskerrig is a very steep climb up to 320 metres and the Barán Loop (Barán means 'the heights' I think) continues down from the summit across an area once cut for turf (peat), but now a deserted if slightly eerie plateau, before descending steeply to tracks and boreens through Ardanenig townland ('Ard is 'high' the remainder probably derives from the name 'Aeongas' - but that's a guess!). 
Photo is the cairn at the top of Roskerrig. If you enlarge the image you may be able to see the huge area currently burning.