Benbrack

The name is most likely derived from the lumps of quartzite stones and boulders that are strewn across the summit of Benbrack.^[2]

Benbrack sits on its own small massif, with Benbaun and the large massif of the core Twelve Bens lying to the south, connected via a deep col called Maumnascalpa to the Bens of Muckanaght 654 metres (2,146 ft) and Benfree 638 metres (2,093 ft); to the north is Kylemore Lough (and Kylemore Abbey), and across the Lough is the massif of Garraun, which is part of the wider Twelve Bens/Garraun Complex Special Area of Conservation.^[6][7]

To the west of Benbrack, at the end of a long spur, is the subsidiary, and similarly named summit of Knockbrack at 442 metres (1,450 ft) (Irish: Cnoc Breac, meaning "speckled hill"). To the north of Benbrack, is the other subsidiary summit of Benbaun, at 447 metres (1,467 ft), which can confused with the larger 729-metre Benbaun to the south, and therefore its other Irish language place name Irish: Maolán (meaning "knoll"), can be used instead.^[5][7]

Benbrack lies at the intersection of two major U-shaped valleys, with Glencorbet to the east, and Polladirk to the west (Polladirk can be viewed from a popular scenic viewpoint on the summit of Diamond Hill).^[6][5] To the northwest of Benbrack, is the small valley and river of Mweelin Irish: Mweelin, around which Knockbrack, Benbrack and Benbaun (477 m) form a small horseshoe, popular with walkers.^[8]

The most straightforward route to climb Benbrack is a 5-kilometre 2.5-hour round-trip via its subsidiary peak of Benbaun, starting and ending at the car park in Kylemore Abbey (L747583); this route can be expanded into the 7-kilometre 3.5 hour Mweelin Horseshoe, by descending via Knockbrack.^[6][8][9]

Benbrack is also climbed as part of the Glencorbet Horseshoe, a 14-kilometre 6–7 hour circuit of Kylemore River, usually done counter-clockwise, which takes in the peaks of Benbaun (477 metres), Benbrack, Muckanaght (optional), Benfree, Benbaun (729 metres), and ending at Knockpasheemore.^[10][7][11]

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  Polladirk Valley with Benbrack and Knockbrack to the left, as viewed from Diamond Hill
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  Summit of Knockbrack as viewed from the col with Benbrack
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  View northwest to Killary Harbour, from the summit of Benbrack

• Fairbairn, Helen (2014). Ireland's Best Walks: A Walking Guide. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848892118.
• MountainViews Online Database (Simon Stewart) (2013). A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Arderins. Collins Books. ISBN 978-1-84889-164-7.
• Paul Phelan (2011). Connemara & Mayo - A Walking Guide: Mountain, Coastal & Island Walks. Collins Press. ISBN 978-1848891029.
• Dillion, Paddy (2001). Connemara: Collins Rambler's guide. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0002201216.
• Dillion, Paddy (1993). The Mountains of Ireland: A Guide to Walking the Summits. Cicerone. ISBN 978-1852841102.

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benbrack.

• Twelve Bens
• Mweelrea, major range in Killary Harbour
• Maumturks, major range in Connemara
• Lists of mountains in Ireland
• List of Marilyns in the British Isles

• MountainViews: The Irish Mountain Website, Benbrack
• MountainViews: Irish Online Mountain Database
• The Database of British and Irish Hills , the largest database of British Isles mountains ("DoBIH")
• Hill Bagging UK & Ireland, the searchable interface for the DoBIH