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The Sperrins, County Tyrone | County Londonderry

The Sperrins
The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains are the names given to a range of hills in Northern Ireland. The word Sperrin derives from the Irish: Na Speiríní which means ‘the spurs’. It is one of the Ireland’s largest upland areas and stretches across the countries of Tyrone and Londonderry. Its distinctive glaciated landscape runs all the way from the south of Strabane and on eastwards to Maghera. To the north it stretches almost as far as Limavady . The region is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and supports a population of around 150,000. The A6 Belfast to Derry road crosses the range via the Glenshane Pass, a stretch of the road notorious for bad weather in winter. Carntogher towers over the Glenshane Pass but it is Sawel Mountain that is the highest peak in the range. Sawel is also the seventh highest mountain in Northern Ireland with a summit of 2224 ft. The Sperrins are probably the least explored mountain range in Northern Ireland but those who make the effort are rewarded with dramatic landscapes and rivers full of life. The varied scenery is complete with mountains, valleys, forests and lakes. The Sperrins have long been used as a source of building materials and now even to the exploration for gold. Quarries form prominent scars on the landscape and some are visible for miles around.

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On this day:
Launch of BBC2 - 1964, Enoch Powells Rivers of Blood Speech - 1968, Sinclair ZX Spectrum Launched - 1982
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