Benlettery

Coordinates: 53°28′55″N 9°50′43″W / 53.481824°N 9.845263°W / 53.481824; -9.845263
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Benlettery
Binn Leitrí
Benlettery behind the Ballynahinch Castle fishery
Highest point
Elevation577 m (1,893 ft)[1]
Prominence62 m (203 ft)[1]
ListingArderin
Coordinates53°28′55″N 9°50′43″W / 53.481824°N 9.845263°W / 53.481824; -9.845263[1]
Naming
English translationPeak of the Wet Hillsides
Language of nameIrish
Geography
Benlettery is located in Ireland
Benlettery
Benlettery
Ireland
LocationCounty Galway, Ireland
Parent rangeTwelve Bens
OSI/OSNI gridL7754649537
Topo mapOSi Discovery 44
Geology
Type of rockPale quartzites, grits, graphitic bedrock[1]

Benlettery (

An Oige youth hostel is on the southern slopes of Benlettery, off the N59 road to Clifden.[7][8]

Naming

According to Irish academic Paul Tempan, the

Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh.[2] Ó Flaithbheartaigh chronicled about a pool of water on the summit which turns the hair white of anyone who washes in it.[2]

Geography

Benlettery is the southernmost peak of the Twelve Bens and lies at its western edge. Benlettery is connected to the range by a high northerly ridge to the peak of Bengower 664 metres (2,178 ft);[5] this ridge forms a fork which also connects neighboring Benglenisky 516 metres (1,693 ft) to Bengower.[5][9] Benlettery is one of the six Bens that form a horseshoe around the valley of the Glencoaghan River (also known as the Glencoaghan Horseshoe).[10][11]

Unlike most of the other main Bens, Benlettery is below 600-metres in elevation, however, its relative positioning at the southern end of the range, and its "pyramidal" summit (when viewed from the south), means that is often featured as a scenic backdrop to the Ballynahinch Castle and the Ballynahinch Lake.[12]

Ben Lettery Connemara Youth Hostel

On the southern slopes of Benlettery is the 40-bed "Ben Lettery Connemara Youth Hostel" (Benlettery spelt as two words), owned and operated by

An Oige, the Irish YHA;[7][8] it was ranked by Outside.ie as one of the ten best An Oige youth hostels in Ireland.[13]

Hill walking

As with

An Oige youth hostel); however, the high ridge Benlettery shares with the peaks of Bengower and Benglenisky, means that it is also climbed as part a 7-kilometre 3-4 hour horseshoe loop-walk with these peaks.[12][14][15]

Benlettery is part of the 16–kilometre 8–9 hour Glencoaghan Horseshoe, considered one of Ireland's best hill-walks;[10][11] and of the even longer Owenglin Horseshoe, a 20–kilometre 10–12 hour route around the Owenglin River taking in over twelve summits.[9]

Gallery

Bibliography

  • Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. .
  • .
  • Paul Phelan (2011). Connemara & Mayo - A Walking Guide: Mountain, Coastal & Island Walks. Collins Press. .
  • Dillion, Paddy (2001). Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide. Harper Collins. .
  • Dillion, Paddy (1993). The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits. Cicerone. .

See also

References

External links