"No vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end" was how James Hutton described the vastness of geological time, in this respect the Mourne mountains are a relatively recent introduction to the landscape. Forming deep below the surface before being uplifted, eroded and sculptured by ice, evidence of this activity can be traced in the stones that litter our landscape. The local abundance of stones becomes brutally apparent when digging holes; a spade is useless the pick and shovel being more suited to the job, on the other hand its not hard to find a few stones when you need them. Geologists drawn to the Mournes enjoy a large variety of rocks and land formations resulting from the regions action packed past, a past during which Ireland drifted across the globe enduring volcanoes, deserts, ice, separation and submersion. The rocks, cursed and coveted in equal measure have played an important part in shaping the character and economy of the area. Stone men, skilled in exploiting this resource to the full and with a keen eye and local knowledge could supplement wages by finding and trading specimen's. Following in the footsteps of Diamond Pat Doran I walked along the Brandy Pad, stopping just before I reached the Hare's Gap; a large boulder of pockmarked dursey granite sits just above the path, from here a short steep climb leads to the Diamond rocks. Hammering at the rocks is unnecessary, the best specimens are found among the rock litter below the crags. I spent far to long sketching the castles of Commedagh half way along the route leaving little time to search for crystals in the fading light, I did however manage to find rocks laced with smoky quartz, little value perhaps, except as paper weights.