Wandeling · Co. Sligo
Benbulbin
Benbulbin is a 526 m table mountain in the Sligo country, characterized by a flat top and a sheer face. It is the peak referenced in Yeats’s poetry and serves as the primary hiking destination for the area.
The lake
Yeats country centers on Lough Gill, a long, narrow body of water just west of Sligo town. Benbulbin, a flat-topped massif, sits on the north shore. The lake’s name is tied to the poetry of W.B. Yeats. The Innisfree from “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” is a small island in the middle of the lough. The poem’s nine bean-rows and the bee-bells of the lake are here, on this water. The place matches the poem’s description. It is quiet, green, and half-enclosed. On a still morning, the mountain reflects in the water. It is hard to find another spot in Ireland that fits its own description so exactly.
What to do
Walking the shore is the classic option. A loop around the lough takes you past the forest on the west shore. You see the open water where the mountain is reflected. Small settlements dot the east side. Boating is the other half. The water is sheltered and calm. A slow afternoon on the lake, with the mountain ahead and the forest behind, is the best use of a Sligo day.
The water and its banks
The lough runs about 8 km (5 miles) long and 2 km (1 mile) wide. It is long enough that the far shore changes character as you go. The Bonet River flows into its eastern end. The River Garavogue drains it westward towards Sligo town. The wooded hills of Slieve Killery and Slieve Daean dominate the south shore. The lake is part of the Lough Gill Special Area of Conservation. This area is noted for rare plant and animal species. That is another reason to keep to the shore paths.