A Wonderful Couple of Days In Cloghane..Benoskee and Brandon

Saturday April 9th;

 Saturday finally arrived and after 11 days in a row at work I was very glad when a couple of days off, and I could head away. I couldn't make my mind up where to go and I had kinda decided that I would head to The Reeks and Rossbeigh, however as I drove back I decided to head to Cloghane instead and I booked myself into the excellent Brandon Hostel for the night.

It was a beautiful morning and it promised to stay fine all day. Tomorrow was supposed to be windswept and rainy, so I was determined to make the most of today. As is usual the sight of the wonderful mountains in the Brandon area was breathtaking. I formulated a plan as I drove back and decided to do a hike up Benoskee first, check into the hostel in the afternoon, and once I had dug sufficient bait, to fish Fermoyle beach until after 10pm. It promised to be a full day. I parked at the junction for Cloghane and after a three kilometre walk along the road I was able to finally gain access to the beautiful valley on the western flanks of Beenatoor, an outlier of Benoskee itself. A good track enters the valley and in the sunshine everything looked wonderful and the nearby woodland was full of birdsong. I was immediately enchanted. The easy going didn't last for long before I turned and commenced the long, steep near 500 metre pull to the top of Beenator. This certainly got the blood pumping but I was feeling quite strong and I made good progress. The calm of the valley was replaced by a chill breeze as I got higher and this added incentive to keep moving. From the broad boggy top there is a gentle drop of 70 metres before a gentle climb of 90 metres saw me reach the next top Coombane at 610 metres. This offers a great place to relax a while and take in the super vistas on display around you. The Brandon massif looks stunning, jagged and spectacular as it rises from the blue shores of Brandon Bay. The Maherees stretch out into the deep to the north and of course the bulk of Benoskee looms large nearby. Next up came the 300 metre climb to the 820 metres summit.This is not too bad as it isn't too steep and the ground is pretty solid underfoot. The odd patch of snow and ice was to be found in shady nooks and that, coupled with the strong cold breeze, told that winter hadn't fully retreated just yet. I found a sheltered spot at the summit to have my lunch and savoured much more than the food. Up here the views were to be found in a full 360 panorama. Loop Head in Clare speared the ocean way beyond the Maherees in the north. Baurtregaum and Caherconree looked majestic as they buttressed the eastern side of the peninsula. The mountains of the Iveragh Peninsula were neatly arranged over Dingle Bay and I could even make out Mount Hillary away in the distance.

I have seldom enjoyed myself more on the mountains and it wasn't over yet. I now had over 950 metres ascent done, so the bulk of the climbing was done for the day, but there was still a few climbs in the offing as I planned to cross over each top that lay between me and Slievanea. The descent to reach the long boggy area between the hills that overlook dingle Bay and the tops I was doing that looked over Tralee Bay is straightforward. Down here, over 400 metres lower down, it was once again warm in the sunshine and the breeze was light. The recent good weather had dried somewhat the normally drenched ground, and it was easy enough to head towards the first top Beenbo at 477 metres. This offers a new perspective on the valley below and actually has some nice rock ridges if you climb from the valley. An easy drop and another rise saw me reach Slievenagower at 486 metres. The hills here drop spectacularly to the lakes in the valley floors and are proof positive that hills don't have to be super high to be mountains. Time was shoving on and if I wanted to avoid having to rush the remainder of my day I would have to forego Slievanea and descend from the next top, the beautiful Slievenalecka 458 metres. The initial 50 metres of descent from this airy top requires some care as it is quite steep. A fall here would be serious. The difficulties are soon past though, and the remainder of the descent is easy. I dropped to the track at the end of Lough Adoon and this actually led directly to the car. I arrived back after taking 5 hours 10 minutes to cover the nearly 19 kilometres and all in all had climbed over 1300 metres. I was delighted.

A short drive saw me reach Cloghane, where I checked into the hostel and collected the room key. I returned to the lagoon at the back of Fermoyle beach and dug lugworm for over an hour. Once I had sufficient, I drove the kilometre or so to the beach and readied myself for some beach fishing. I wasn't too hopeful given my recent rate of success, but it transpired to be a delightful session with plenty of small bass being caught and one fine specimen landed. The rod tips were hopping into the darkness and I was a happy chappie when I finally called time at nearly 22.30. It had been a simply great day.

Sunday April 10th;

I wasn't expecting this morning to be anything other than wet and windy, so it was actually quite pleasing to find that, while the sun was hidden behind a layer of cloud, there was no rain and it was only the highest tops that were veiled in mist. I decided that I would go for a straight up and down Mount Brandon and that it would be a bonus outing for the trip. I left the car where it was and walked up from the village. The first kilometre follows the Dingle Way and is a delight as it rises from the village through grassy paddocks and alongside a stream before then joining a narrow road that rises to the car park near the grotto. The views are lovely and the elegant triangle of Brandon Peak is the star of the show. I also looked across the bay and admired the peaks I had been on yesterday. The breeze was quite stiff and it promised to be windy on top, but the bulk of the route is fairly sheltered. After the grotto the trail rises fairly gently on the flanks of the spur that rises towards Benagh and the Faha Ridge. I would have liked to do the ridge, but with the wind as it was, it would have been too dangerous. At around the 600 metre contour the trail rounds the shoulder of the mountain and heads into the back of the savage ground below the north face of Mt Brandon. This is always a spectacular place to be and as I walked in I reminisced on the time I walked in here in the fierce winter of 2010, when I needed crampons from just above the car park.

After completing the steep 150 metre climb to surmount the back wall of the coum, all that was left it the easy pull to the summit of Mt Brandon itself. I was now in the mist but fleeting breaks in the fog gave misty views towards the wonderful coastline near Ballyferriter and Slea Head. The wind was buffeting but not too bad so I decided to continue along the ridge as far as Parias Mor and descend towards Teer before crossing back over the spur of Benagh and returning to the main trail once again. It was a lovely addition to the day and allowed me to enjoy the superb views of the huge coum that rests on the north side of the ridge. Some rough ground has to be crossed to treach the crest of the ridge again but thereafter the descent is easy. Today had been a short day but it still gave me a lot of satisfaction and ended the trip nicely. 15 kilometres in 3 hours 40 mins and over 1000 metres climbed...nice