0:00:39 > 0:00:44The Kingdom of Mourne is an area of outstanding natural beauty
0:00:44 > 0:00:46and our very own Peak District.
0:00:46 > 0:00:51But these granite crags prove that wilderness doesn't have to be remote.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56The 12 summits of the High Mournes are a short drive from civilisation,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00yet the scent of freedom fills the mountain air.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04We begin where the mountains sweep down to the sea
0:01:04 > 0:01:06on a famous hiking route.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12But if you fancy an adventure on the road less travelled,
0:01:12 > 0:01:14there are many ways into the Mournes.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21And this is certainly different.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31The Blood Bridge river near Newcastle
0:01:31 > 0:01:33is a natural playground for the young at heart...
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Keep your arms tucked in like this. Go on this side here.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39..a place where it's best to go with the flow.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44It's just another day at the office for Kieran O'Hara.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47He's head of mountaineering at the Tullymore Mountain Centre,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51teaching all the safety skills that ramblers and climbers might need
0:01:51 > 0:01:54in the great outdoors.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Wet bouldering is an activity where you deliberately aim
0:02:00 > 0:02:02to get in the water and the river to make your way
0:02:02 > 0:02:05up through rivers and gorges using some handholds in the rocks
0:02:05 > 0:02:08and trying to make your way by swimming through pools.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11A lot of people are very apprehensive with this activity
0:02:11 > 0:02:13and trying to sell it to people is quite hard.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16But almost without fail, when people finish this,
0:02:16 > 0:02:18they think it's the best thing they've ever done
0:02:18 > 0:02:20and think it maybe appeases that childish side
0:02:20 > 0:02:24that you shouldn't really be in there - stay out of puddles!
0:02:29 > 0:02:32The Brandy Pad begins opposite Bloody Bridge car park,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34between Newcastle and Annalong.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37The smugglers' trail is a popular hiking route,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40running parallel with the river between Slieve Donard
0:02:40 > 0:02:42and Chimney Rock Mountain.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45It's a steady climb up through heather and rough ground,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49past a derelict Crannoge Quarry and on to the famous Mourne Wall -
0:02:49 > 0:02:53the gateway to the wild core of the mountains.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07It's somewhere I think of as home -
0:03:07 > 0:03:10even though I'm not originally from here, I love coming back here.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14This time of year, you get all the changes in the weather.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Days like this are pretty special.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20You can see for yourself today - it's just fantastic.
0:03:23 > 0:03:28He travels the world, seeking the highs only mountain tops can gift.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32And yet it's easy to see why Kieran is inspired by home turf.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35One of the things you forget to do...
0:03:35 > 0:03:38you're concentrating on your feet
0:03:38 > 0:03:39and you're looking up to the mountains...
0:03:39 > 0:03:41- just look at the view back there. - I know.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44- Look how far we've come already. - The perspective is so different
0:03:44 > 0:03:47when you look back - you get to see things you didn't see on the way up.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51- It's class, and there's plenty more ahead.- Lots to do. Keep going.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58I've climbed and travelled in Russia, South America,
0:03:58 > 0:04:04the Himalayas, Africa, a few venues, and across the European Alps.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07I want to get back and get a thrill seeing them again,
0:04:07 > 0:04:10but the rock climbing in the Mournes is fantastic
0:04:10 > 0:04:13and some of the best granite, so there's loads of scope here
0:04:13 > 0:04:18to do new routes, new climbs, climb old routes, routs you've not done.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Walks on the right day, when you get on the top of the hill
0:04:21 > 0:04:24on a beautiful winter's day, sun setting, and you're looking across
0:04:24 > 0:04:29with the visibility - it's still a fantastic place to be.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33And in the Mournes, you can get four seasons in just a morning.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36You have to be ready for all weathers up here.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40It does change, and the forecast's always worth looking at.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43It's kind of doing what it said today - nice, clear start,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45it'll get showery as the day goes on.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49- It's definitely fresher and colder now.- Fresh! That's the word!
0:04:49 > 0:04:50That's exactly the word.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57The Brandy Pad gets its name from the barrels of liquor
0:04:57 > 0:05:00smuggled along this route in bygone days.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03The ponies that carried the contraband are long gone.
0:05:03 > 0:05:08And so, too, are the ancient hunters, farmers and stoneworkers
0:05:08 > 0:05:11who've taken the high road down the millennia.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15There are echoes of that past as we head up the trail,
0:05:15 > 0:05:20crossing the river to the now derelict Bloody Bridge Quarry.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23It's an impressive relic from a more recent stone age,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26when granite curbs and cobbles were cut from the bedrock
0:05:26 > 0:05:30and shipped away to pave the streets of industrial Britain.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37This is quite something. You spend time coming up into the mountains,
0:05:37 > 0:05:42realising the scale of what it is that we have around us.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Then you get here and feel even smaller still!
0:05:45 > 0:05:48Absolutely. Yes. This is quite a big working in here -
0:05:48 > 0:05:53over a large sum of years but on industrial scale, as well.
0:05:53 > 0:05:59So it was definitely one they used much more than hand and chisel.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01It was machinery employed here.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07History is indeed written in stone up here.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11And the 22-miles Mourne Wall is a significant landmark.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15- Here we go. We start to see a bit more.- That's impressive.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19'Crossing it is a right of passage - a passport to a stunning walk.'
0:06:19 > 0:06:22The Mournes don't reveal themselves all at once to you
0:06:22 > 0:06:27- through that track.- No.- You have to earn this view, you feel.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32It draw you on - we've got a fantastic view now coming in,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35but you know there's a bit more down there.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47It's quite a moody sort of presence now we've gone up to meet the clouds.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51- Yeah. They've lifted across.- Yeah.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54It's really gorgeous, this.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56You can actually see the Brandy Pad
0:06:56 > 0:06:59stretching all the way, threading its way through the hills there, too.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Yep. The castle, Slieve Commedagh, just above the Brandy Pad,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05and you see the Mourne Wall dropping down into the saddle
0:07:05 > 0:07:07between Commedagh and Donard.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10Round the corner takes us down into Newcastle.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12You can see that from the main street.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15You're looking up between those two hills.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Across the left, we've got Slieve Beg
0:07:17 > 0:07:23with its very distinctive big gash through it - Devil's Coach Road.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25- Quite evocatively named, isn't it?- Absolutely.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31It's quite an exciting gully that cuts straight up, quite a feature.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38The sky is really dramatic today, as is the skyline.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Slieve Bearnagh looks amazing from here.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Fantastic - you can really see the profiles now.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47Do you see the wee silvery line of the lough just below it?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49We must be on eye-level with it.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Must be at exactly the same height as Bearnagh Lough -
0:07:52 > 0:07:55you can just about make it out, looking across there.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57- It's absolutely beautiful.- Yes.
0:07:57 > 0:07:58Spellbinding.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17If you've been inspired to pull on walking boots and see it yourself,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21check out the website...
0:08:23 > 0:08:27You'll find route maps, safety advice and links to walking clubs
0:08:27 > 0:08:28in your area.
0:08:31 > 0:08:32Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:08:32 > 0:08:34E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk