A winter's hike to the top of a beautifully snow-covered Benbulben

Benbulben, or Binn Ghulbain, if you are attempting Irish, is the famous County Sligo steep-sided, table-top mountain which forms part of the Dartry mountain range. It stands 526m high and consists of various layers of limestone, each layer containing fossilised seashells, which existed when the environment was shallow sea. The distinctly shaped plateau, table top, was formed during the last Ice Age, when glaciers started to shift.

It’s hard to miss Benbulben as you drive around the area, in fact I can see the Dartry Mountains from our home. For over 5 years Benbulben has been taunting me to dare to get to the top of it. The opportunity to do so presented itself when a friend told me about High Hopes Hiking, an organisation providing guided hikes both in Ireland and the UK. A five-hour 12km guided hike to the top of Benbulben had been advertised for 3rd January 2026. A cracking way to kick off the New Year! And so there we were, me and Paul, at the meeting place, St Luke’s Bridge, 5km north of Drumcliffe and about a 45min drive from Black Pig Lodge, on a very cold and snowy January morning.

Once we parked up, we met the other hikers (of which there were 13) and the two guides, David and Jimmy, and after a few introductions, we set off. We initially walk up the tarmac road and then start to cross the bog towards the mountain. Even in frozen conditions the bog was, well, boggy. This is Ireland. Expect bog. Wear decent hiking boots. The landscape is somewhat soggy and fascinating, and we hopped across babbling streams as sheep jumped out of our way (alas, no dogs are allowed on this hike and so we had left ours in his favourite kennels for the day).

Eventually we reached the start of the climb. It is not too steep, steep-ish, but anyone with a decent level of fitness can complete it. I think it took about an hour. It’s good to stop now and then to catch your breath and take in the views. Up and up, thighs starting to burn a little, and I wondered when we would reach the plateau, the flat bit.

We dodged the sink holes (they are pretty easy to spot), and then, at last, we were at the top. The ground levelled out and it was time to take in the 360 degree views …at which point a blizzard whipped up. I have never done a snow hike before but it became immediately apparent why snow goggles are a thing. The tiny hard flecks of snow bounced off my eyeballs as I tried to look ahead. It was painful. Snow everywhere, no view. We trudged to the concrete summit marker and our guides registered a wind chill of minus 9 degrees. My stomach was starting to rumble. How exactly do you eat lunch at the top of a mountain in a snow blizzard? We cracked on towards the end point of the Benbulben range, where it looks out across Yeat’s country and the great Atlantic ocean, where the best views are …

As we reached the end point of Benbulben, by some divine intervention, the skies cleared, turning bright blue. Thankfully, the blizzard had blown through as David, our guide, had promised it would. The sun had come out. And yes, there were views! Views that looked out to the sea, the Sligo coastline, Mullaghmore and Streedagh bays, Slieve League (Ireland’s tallest sea cliffs in the distance).  Like my fellow hikers, I was buzzing. To be so high up. To have such 360 degree views. I ate a mars bar and felt the warmth of the sun on my face. I was thawing out nicely.

The top of a mountain is such a special place, almost spiritual. And ecologically fascinating. There are plant species that grow nowhere else in Ireland but Benbulben, such as the Fringed Sandwort, and many other alpine species.  

After a while we started the return leg, a slightly different route along the edge of the North face of the mountain where its steep craggy sided edges drop precipitously downwards. We passed peat outcrops where long icicles had appeared in the freezing conditions. The one-meter depth of peat that sat atop the limestone had taken 1000 years to form, approximately 1mm per year.

The return leg down the mountain was fine, a little slippery in places, but I was feeling so elated I didn’t care. Back at the carpark we chatted and then said our farewells to head back home.

I can heartily recommend a hike up Benbulben. Choose a dry day if you can, summer or winter. And I recommend going with a guide, such as High Hopes Hiking, especially if it’s your first time up the mountain. I will confess I have become hooked on hiking and have already booked David’s 5 hour loop walk up Slieve League in County Donegal in March. He advertises regularly on his Facebook page.