Montpelier Hill

About

Montpelier Hill or Mountpelier, also known as Slieve Gorra, is a hill in County Dublin, Ireland, with a height of 383 metres (1, 257 ft). It is at the northern edge of the Wicklow Mountains and overlooks Dublin city. On its summit is an infamous ruined sporting lodge known as the Hell Fire Club. There are two flattened prehistoric passage tombs on the summit. Around 1725, stones from these tombs were used to build a sporting lodge for Anglo-Irish politician William Conolly. The lodge was used by the Dublin Hellfire Club, a private club for upper class young men who reportedly engaged in debauchery, occult activities, and ritual murder. The building has since become associated with the paranormal and is reputedly haunted. Montpelier Hill is popular for hillwalking. On the slopes is a forestry plantation, known as Hell Fire Wood, which consists of Sitka spruce, larch and beech. The hill and much of the surrounding lands are owned by the state forestry company Coillte and are open to the public. At the eastern foot of the hill are the ruins of Killakee Estate, the former country estate of the Massy family, and the Stewards House. To the west, the hill overlooks the Glenasmole valley.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.