Buzzards Roost - The Sheugh

The Sheugh, pronounced shuck, is the only climb in the Mourne Mountains guidebook to be given 4 stars. The route has a fearsome reputation, described in the guidebook as being on the humorous side of character building. It was first climbed in 1954, and is full of old school climbing moves including quite a lot of whole body chimney jamming. It offers a unique adventure, with quality climbing almost all the way, with just a few caveats. Firstly it needs an extended dry period, no easy ask in the Mournes, or the route will be wet and considerably harder. Protection is mostly okay with a full rack, but you will need a head torch to help find placements. The rock is also mossy and slightly crumbly in places. It’s fair to assume the 4th star acts as a kind of Siren call, to draw in unsuspecting climbers, who may well end up stuck on the rocks. It is nevertheless a very worthwhile route when in condition, offering a truly unique adventure in an amazing atmosphere that would be hard to find anywhere else. The Sheugh is a memorable climb though the central chimney of Buzzards Roost. Sheugh means a furrow, but can be colloquially used (as it is here) to mean the space between the buttocks. Buzzards Roost is named after the shape of the rock formation as seen in the image below.

The Route Topography

This is the route The Sheugh on Buzzards Roost in Mourne and Down, Northern Ireland. It represents 71m of Granite rock climbing, usually over 3 pitches, of a max grade of S 3c. Clicking the image will load the full screen high resolution The Sheugh climb topo.

Original Image: our own image

Approach & Descent Information

Approach: Park in the Carrick Little top car park (£3 in 2025). There is a small free car park on the corner as you turn onto the gravel road about half a mile before the paid one, this will add 12 mins walk each way. From the top car park, take the path North into the Mourne Mountains. Follow the path past the Annalong woods on the right, then past the small lake called Blue lough on the right and Buzzards Roost should be visible on the hillside to the left. At an appropriate point cross directly towards Buzzards Roost and hike up to the crag. The ground is boggy when off the path. It's best to leave the bags a little further back from the crag to save some time on the descent.

Descent: To descend from the crag, walk South towards Sleive Binnian before scrambling down the steep gully (grass and rock etc) until you reach your bags, likely in front of Buzzards Roost. From here reverse the approach by walking to and following the path back to the carpark.

See Buzzards Roost on the climb map Open climb location in Google Maps

Pitch By Pitch Information

This is a unique adventure climbing though the dark, often dank, depths of Buzzards Roost crag in the Mourne Mountains. The climber's back will get almost as much use as the hands on the first pitch, so removing rucksacks and gear from the back of the harness will make life easier. A head torch will help find holds and in particular gear placements on pitch 1 and 2.

Pitch 1 –28m 3c:
Move into the chimney and onto the first obvious chockstone (wedged block). From this, move up and deeper onto the next chockstone, with some difficulty. From here the route moves up and slightly left, before moving back towards the entrance; up and right, onto another group of wedged blocks (some loose). The belay is above these on an obvious large slanting wedged block. See picture of first belay ledge, taken from the second.

Pitch 1 –25m 3c:
Make an improbable looking traverse horizontally back into the depths of Buzzards Roost to the next ledge system. A head torch may make finding protection easier. There are cracks on both the left and right walls in places.

Pitch 1 –18m 3c:
Move to the back of the ledge and climb a short grove on the right wall (when facing into the chimney) before traversing up and right across a mossy bulge. From here move up and then turn onto the other wall where a long reach to a jug will give access to a ledge followed by a grassy slope against the rock, which leads to the summit. Large boulders further back can be used to build the anchor.

References & additional links

The following links will take you to external websites specifically related to this climb: The Sheugh on Buzzards Roost.
Note: They contained relevant information at the time of publishing.

Climb Info: UKC Page (including great comments)