Photos & Summary – Liam Johnston.

Patrick Pierce led a dozen Ramblers on his, by now, annual Glencoaghan Horseshoe walk in the Connemara Bens on the 12th September.  The walk started at Benlettery and involved five other summits in the Bens – Bengower, Benbreen, Bencollaghduff, Bencorr and Derryclare.  The walk involved an as cent of 1700 metres and 14 km distance.

The weather on the previous day was really bad with very heavy rain all day, so a key concern was what weather conditions would be encountered on the walk.  We were fortunate.  The day of the hike started with good weather.  While clouds gathered later in the day they did not settle on the Bens and visibility was good throughout the day.  We experienced some showers and strong gusts but these passed quickly.

The hike was challenging and involved some tricky descents requiring great care.  Everybody completed the hike without incident and, although tired, this did not interfere in any way with the evening’s entertainment.

Garmin track opened in Viewranger – notice differences in stats