I was a flutter of indecision for days before I finally decided to return to the Leenane Hotel for a three night stay. My reasons for hesitation was the, frankly shite weather we were having and the forecast only promised more. That is until a couple of days beforehand things seemed to improve, so I bit the bullet and headed up.
Wednesday November 16th,
It was a chilly showery morning as I left home and faced into the 260 kilometre drive. The forecast was for it to improve throughout the day and that is what transpired. As is usual, when I got beyond Oughterard, I entered one of the most beautiful places in Ireland. Some clouds clung to the mountain tops and the odd shower could be seen, but overall the glory of Connemara was laid out before me and my anticipation for the trip grew. As it is such a long drive I had decided that I would "enjoy" a run today and keep the hillwalks for the following days. I opted to do a route I had done before, which ran along the shore of Killary Harbour, before returning via the quiet road that cuts under the Bencoonagh Mountains. This would offer either a 16 or 20 kilometre circuit, depending on which route I took at the far end. I drove past the hotel and parked the car down in the valley near the end of Lough Fee.
It was just about 12.20 when I started so I had lots of time. At least that was my excuse for the leisurely pace I set. I was determined to enjoy it. After a short time on the main road I turned onto the lane that heads for Bunowen. This delightful lane leads right to the water's edge and is a joy to trundle along. Add into the mix the glory of the mountains of the Mweelrea massif, plus the wild ground on the left and it is a heady mix. After perhaps four kilometres you pass a shellfish processing plant ( the harbour is a big producer ) and then the lane becomes a green road before finally dwindling to a rough track. I was quite pleased with how I was doing as I haven't been doing much running, but as I said, I was taking it steady. A delightful stretch followed until I reached Rosroe pier where once again I reached a tarred road. This runs alongside Little Killary before you reach a stiff climb at the waters end. I was feeling pretty good so I opted for the longer option and I turned right and headed to Glassilaun.
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| Looking west along Killary |
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| Looking inland |
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| Back at the car |
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| Wonderful views to ease the pain |
As is sometimes the way, not long after deciding on the longer option I started to feel quite tired. By now I had thirteen kilometres done but seven more remained. I did enjoy the wonderful scenery all way back to the car, but it is fair to say that the final few kilometres became increasingly tough. By the time I reached the car I was wrecked. I wasted no time in changing into warm clothes and I had a bite to eat. Thankfully the drive to the hotel was short and check in seamless, so before long I was enjoying a wonderful long hot shower. Bliss. I chilled in the room until six pm when I went and enjoyed an excellent dinner. I then drove back to Glassilaun beach where I enjoyed a few delightful hours fishing. The fish were obliging and the time flew by. A good nights sleep followed a pretty full on day.
Thursday November 17th,
I was looking forward to today. After eating too much for breakfast I left the hotel and began my hike at 9am. It was mostly clear skies and it was forecast to be sunny and calm until dark. It came as a bit of a shock to see rain drifting over the mountain across the water and before long it reached me. Just as I reached for my waterproofs it stopped so I walked happily on. Today I planned to walking along the Western Way until I reached Letterbrecaun and then climb it and follow the ridge back and over Leenane Hill to reach the village. I had done this hike once before almost two years before. That time it was a wet and cloudy all day with nothing in the way of views.
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| A fabulous section of the Western Way nearing Letterbrecaun |
Today I was hopeful for better things. Despite the early spit of rain the morning was looking really good and the mountain tops were mostly clear. After a few hundred metres on the main road, the trail heads left and contours around the hillside through wild and wonderful ground. Everywhere is a delight for the eye. After a few kilometres you enter forestry land and the wilderness feel is lost, but the views remain great. As you progress through the woods you are reaching the glorious Inagh Valley. The splendour of the Twelve Bens is revealed more and more as you get nearer, but what looms ever larger is the wonderfully shapely ridge that drops steeply from Letterbrecaun into the valley. Once you leave the woods the trail heads directly towards the base of the climb.
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| Across the Inagh Valley towards the Twelve Bens |
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It is a full twelve kilometres to reach Letterbrecaun. By the time I reached it the weather was perfect. I wasted no time in starting up. That's not to say I rushed. I took it slow and steady and once you manage to keep going, height is gained quickly. The middle section is the steepest and offers some scrambling of varying difficulty. By keeping mostly to the left difficulties can be avoided. The 600 metre climb went well. I'd love to say that it flew by, but the final section seems to just go on and on. Still, the reward of standing on the deserted rocky summit, with those incredible views, soon had me forgetting the effort to get there. I rested for a little while before starting along the ridge for the return journey.
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| Mountain water and sunny days |
The broken rocky nature of the ground makes good concentration a must as you head towards the northeast top. After the descent from there, the ground becomes turfy and grassy and easier. That said, the descent into the gap under Binn Bhan is steep and requires care. The views in all directions were a constant delight and I found myself taking more pictures than I had in ages. It was only a few weeks before that I was hiking through the Alps, and I truly felt that the scenery today was a match for any I saw during that hike. The serpentine ridge eventually drops to just 250 metres below the final climb to Leenane Hill. This meant a long 350 pull to reach the broad boggy top. On the way up I could see some rain coming in from the sea. Miraculously the rain entered the valley on either side of the mountain and I stayed dry all the way back to the hotel. It had been a great outing that I had enjoyed immensely.
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| Almost back in Leenane |
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| The Mweelrea Massif |
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| Looking east towards Maam and Lough Corrib covered in cloud |
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| The Bencoonaghs |
25.5 kilometres, 1400 metres ascent in just shy of 7 hours. That shower was put to good use again.
Friday November 18th;
The forecast for today was very good again so I decided tha another hill walk was just the job. I was feeling surprisingly good after yesterday's outing and I toyed with the idea of doing Mweelrea today. That would mean another big outing and would leave little time for anything else. As I wanted to do some more fishing I opted instead to head to Murrisk near Westport and climb, one of the most famous mountains in the country, Croagh Patrick. I had never climbed it and this seemed too good an opportunity to miss. It was a beautiful morning and I really enjoyed the scenic drive. I was parked and on the move for 09.30.
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| The lovely conical summit beckons |
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| Clare island |
It was very quiet, with only a few cars in the large car park. I carried an almost empty rucksack and had just trail runners on my feet as I knew that there would be a good track most of the way. I set off at a good pace and soon I was climbing steadily up through the mountainside and enjoying wonderful views. Croagh Patrick is a very shapely mountain. The summit is a pleasing cone shape and as it rises from the sea shore it is big and imposing and dominates the landscape for miles around. At 764 metres it is not the highest mountain in the area but every metre is climbed so as to reach the top. It is basically an l shaped climb. The whole mountain is basically one long ridge that runs east to west, with the main summit rising over 200 metres from this. The climb is an l shape, running pretty straight south until it reached the crest of the ridge at the 500 metre mark. It then traverses easily west until you reach the base of the cone and begin the final part of the climb. This being a so called "holy mountain" it attracts many thousands of people who come as pilgrims to climb it each year. Indeed, on the last Sunday of July, as many as 25000 people turn up to climb it, and this is a major logistical event for the various rescue and civil bodies. Thankfully today it was quiet and felt more like a normal outing.
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| Clew Bay |
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| South from the ridge |
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| Towards Mweelrea and the Sheefry Hills |
Initially the going is easy, but up at around the 300 metre mark the track is rough and eroded and steepens to about 25 degrees. It is however wide enough that you can zig zag if you wish. I passed a few women who were having a fine old time, if the chat and banter was anything to go by, and once I reached the ridge I basically had the mountain to myself. A delightful kilometre passed on the ridge and here I was able to enjoy views to both the north and the south. Some showers of rain misted across the expanse of bog to the south and lit by the sunshine the whole effect was lovely. The views were as delightful as I hoped and everywhere I looked was a joy. At the base of the cone the trail steepened and an excellent path is built most of the way to the top. It didn't take too long to reach the top, "adorned" as it is by a church and "St Patricks Grave" which is strewn with tokens of memory and superstition. Some cloud and sleet arrived and tried to spoil the views and this coupled with the stiff cold wind meant I didn't linger and headed back down. It didn't take long to reach the again and here I met more people, including a couple of young men who were doing the climb barefoot. I was back down at the car in less that two and a half hours. It had been a short but very pleasant outing of less than 8 kilometres and 750 metres ascent.
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| Summit oratory |
I went to a nearby beach to try my hand at a spot of fishing. It was windy and the rain showers became more frequent. I did catch a whopper of a flounder but also lost five rigs, so it was an easy decision to cut the session short and head back towards Leenane. I returned to the hotel via the Louisburg/ Doo Lough road and it was once again a joy. The section that approaches and passes Doo Lough is, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful drive in the country. I didn't stop to take pictures, but instead drove very slowly along the deserted road and savoured the experience. Everywhere in that neck of the woods is truly beautiful.
Saturday November 19th;
All good things must end and today I had to head back home. The good weather was also to end, with rain and wind the offering for the day. It was forecast to arrive at around 10am so I was hoping to get a swift hillwalk in before heading home. Check out was up until midday so I wasted no time in setting off after a swift breakfast. I decided that the nearby Devilsmother would make a suitable outing. I was on the move by 08.30 and it was a pleasant morning. The sky was cloudy but the tops were clear, and while there was a stiff breeze, it remained dry. All and all not a bad start to the day.
After a kilometre and a half on the road I made my way onto the open mountain. The going is initially steep but after a while the gradient eases back when you gain the crest of the long broad ridge. Up at the 230 metre contour there is a nice 1.5 kilometre flat stretch which I jogged along. I was conscious that time was limited and that I needed to be fairly swift if I wanted to have a shower etc before heading home. It is four kilometres from the road before you reach the saddle under the climb to the summit, so todays outing is a fair bit longer than yesterdays. I needed to be finished in three hours. With that in mind I put in a good effort on the 300 metre climb to the 645 metre summit. Mind you I recieved some help from the strong wind which pushed at my back on the way up. It was also threatening rain and this duly arrived just before the top. I was still below the cloud and the land looked wild and windswept. It made me appreciate all the more the good weather of the previous days. The descent is initially quite steep and some care was needed to keep control as I jogged downhill. Sodden ground and a buffetting wind ensured I kept maximum concentration. The steep ground gives way to a broad easy ridge that descends steadily to the road at the innermost reaches of Killary. I kept up a steady trot the whole way down and soon I was once again on the road. I now had nearly four kilometres back to the hotel so I kept up a gentle trot all the way back and I arrived drenched, tired but equally delighted into the hotel at just 11.10am.
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| Even on a dull morning Joyce Country looks great |
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| Lough Finny and Lough Mask beyond |
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| Starting up the hill..the hotel nestling under Leenane Hill |
It had been a near 14 kilometre hike with almost 700 metres ascent, and I was very pleased to have done it in just 2 hours 36 minutes It was great to enter the room and get out of the wet gear before a final shower and change into clean dry clobber. I even had time to enjoy a coffee and cake before checking out and beginning the long drive home. Hotel life is without doubt a very civilised way to enjoy the mountains.
