There are dozens of hills and hikes that I could have included in this list, but this is one that I simply could not exclude.
The loop of the Twelve Bens range, starting at Derryclare and finishing at Ben Lettery is one of the most beautiful walks I have ever encountered. On a clear day, the vistas are almost impossibly beautiful and the hike is sufficiently challenging for even the most demanding walker. Because it is a loop, one doesn’t have to mess about with leaving cars at the beginning and end of the walk (though if you don’t have cars at both ends, you do face a two-mile hike on road after an already long day’s hike in the mountains).
I have only done the complete walk three times, and each time, done it in the same direction. The hike begins with Derryclare (Binn Dhoire Chlair) – it’s a good climb in itself [at 673 metres] and from the top, looking back to where you’ve started from, you see Derryclare Lake and a less common view of the oft-photographed small island covered in pine trees. The views on the walk between Derryclare and the next peak Bencorr (Binn Chorr, 711 m) are astounding – on one side, Glencoaghan valley and the huge ridge of mountains that make up the return half of the hike, and on the other side, Lough Inagh and the Maumturks. On the western side, a glacial valley is carved from the side of the Bens Beyond Bencorr, one can either swing right/east to walk out to the peak called Bencorrbeg before doubling back, or turn directly west and continue past Binn na tSaighdiúra, dropping height as you descend into Mám na bhFonsai.
Along the descent, and subsequent ascent up to the next peak, there is a view of your entire journey – the peaks that you have already hiked, and all that is still ahead of you. On the other side of the Mám is probably the best view one can get of Ben Baun – the highest of the Bens. Ben Baun isn’t part of this loop, though if one was minded, you can drop down into the mountain pass behind Bencollaghduff – the next peak on this hike – and then climb up Ben Baun via its western side. That pass is called Mamina (Mám Eidhneach) and I’m told that it was the path that pall-bearers would take when carrying a coffin from the Inagh valley to the other side of the Bens. There is a small holy well along the path where they would rest. The main valley between Ben Baun and the rest of the Bens is called Gleninagh (Gleann Inagh) and at the mouth of the valley is a stone row, just about visible from the top of Bencollaghduff [Binn Dhubh, 696m].
From Bencollaghduff onwards, you can also see the ‘Western Bens‘ – Muckanaght (Meacanach) and Bencullagh (An Chailleach) which are not part of the loop either. [One of the wettest walks I was ever on, was a loop around the Owengin river, between the base of the Western Bens and the rest of the range. We trudged through sodden bog in driving rain, decided to cut it short because of the weather and then discovered that we had to wade across a stream at the end]. No wading required on the top of the Bens, though – from Bencollaghduff, one descends a few hundred metres before climbing Benbreen (Binn Bhraoin, 691m). It was while I was sitting on this peak two summers ago when I was treated to the mother of all sound systems – a thunderstorm that broke over the Maumturks and sent huge rolling claps of thunder across the clouds that were just above our heads.
Benbreen also has a large corrie/cirque carved out of its side, as has the next peak in the hike, Bengower (Binn Gabhar, 664m). At this point in the hike, the majority of the journey is complete, but there is still a lot of walking to be done. Luckily, one doesn’t lose much height traversing between Bengower and Benlettery [Binn Leitrí, 577m]- the last peak in the loop – and if you have any spare energy, you could swing right and complete Benglenisky too – but most people,I suspect, just take the path down between them. The descent from Benlettery is steep and grassy and it is easy for tired legs to stumble. It is also easy to be distracted by the great view.
It is a walk best enjoyed on a clear day, and preferably a warm one. Yes, it is hot work on a summer’s day, but what better way of earning a sweat. As I mentioned at the beginning, I’ve only done this walk 3 times, averaging once a year [I’m planning to try it again on Good Friday, in 2 weeks time]. Assuming a long and healthy life, I probably have, at most, about twenty more of this walk in me – I’ll savour each one.
The Ten Wonders of Ireland’s West – Others in the Series
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