A Connemara day out

In an area that's a magnet for mountaineers TONY DOHERTYmaps out a scenic walk

‘AN RUD IS annamh is iontach”, (the thing that’s rare is wonderful) is an old Irish saying and it is one that can certainly be applied to Benlettery in Connemara where you can park on the N59, hop over a style in the garden of Benlettery Youth Hostel and head straight uphill without a tedious slog across marshy ground.

There is a small copse surrounding a ruin above the hostel. Behind this you will find the easiest crossing point on the only fence you will encounter where there is a stout post with boulders at its base. There are rock outcrops on the slopes so zig zag your way between them working over to the left towards the main spur leading up to Benlettery (577m). As you get higher, the vegetation thins out and you’ll be walking on the gleaming quartzite which form these mountains. And shortly, with comparatively little effort, you will bag your first Ben. From its summit you will see why these mountains are so challenging. Great cliffs, narrow ridges, steep scree slopes and precarious ledges make this area a magnet for mountaineers to practise their skills on tricky terrain.

Below you to the south, the Connemara lowlands sparkle with their myriad lakes. This terrain is known in geomorphology as knock and lochan topography and was formed when ice sheets scoured impervious bed rock such as granite leaving an uneven surface of low hills, lakes and a river system so complex it is known as “deranged drainage”. Interestingly if you headed west from here to the other side of the Atlantic, you would find topography of similar origin in Central Park, New York.

The ridge across to Glengower (664m) is rocky but easy to negotiate, dropping down to a col on which there is a small hillock and then up the steep slope to Glengower. This is a mighty spot to view the Bens, with the great circuit of the Glencoaghan Horseshoe sweeping around you. The difficulties of that circuit are clear as you look northwards towards the next peak, Benbreen (691m); a tricky descent among rock slabs to the col and then a steep trudge up a 200m scree slope. So you’ll be glad that this is only an exploratory inspection as you set out on your return journey. It was a hot and muggy day and I didn’t fancy a slog back across the ridge. It looked like there might be a nice shortcut to the east of Benlettery which was nicely shaded. You take short cuts in the Bens at your peril. I have on occasion ended up wading through waist-high bracken and falling into bog holes but this looked reasonably straightforward and so it turned out to be.

Veer off at the bottom of the steep slope of Glengower and contour around the foot of Benlettery on heathery and grassy ground back to your starting point to complete a day of drama without drudgery.

Benlettery Glengower

Map: Ordnance Survey. Discovery Series. Sheet 37 44

Start and Finish: Benlettery Hostel on the N59, 12km east of Clifden. N59 is the main road between Galway and Clifden

Time: Four hours

Distance: 7 kilometres

Total ascent: 700m

Suitability: Moderate. Map, rain gear and walking boots needed

Food and services: Clifden and the surrounding area