Doesn’t Benbulben look like a mossy version of Australias Ayers Rock sometimes? To me it does. Here is a lovely shot of the mountain, posted on the Wild-Atlantic-Way-Group on Facebook yesterday by CarverPhotography (if you are not logged into Facebook you need to allow showing of Facebook-content and reload this page to see the picture).
Category Archives: Mountains
Mountains: Errigal and Benbulben
There are two very iconic mountains in Sligo and Donegal that are both worth a hike: Benbulben and Errigal.
Benbulben, although less high, looks most imposing: in several perspectives it reminds a bit of Ayers Rock, just in a totally green, mossy version. It’s roughly half an hour’s drive south of Ballyshannon.
But the irish mountain I like the most can be found in Donegal’s Highlands, which begin roughly 1/2 hours drive north of Ballyshannon. Errigal, at 751 meters (2.464 feet) the highest of the Derryveagh mountains, is a real peak – very unusual for an irish mountain. Most of those are approximately six to seven times older than the Alps and because of that “softened” and rounded by time, erosion, and glaciers.
Apart from Errigal: It stands tall above the Poison Glen in one of the most thinly populated areas of Europe. If the view from up there reminds you of the Scottish Highlands, that would be no coincidence: geologically, the Derryveaghs are an extension of the same mountain range that stretches from Inverness to Fort William.
Errigal can be easily accessed today. There is a pathway now that leads all the way up to the summit. The climb and the views are just spectacular: