TONY DOHERTYcuts out the misery by taking a short cut on one of our most testing walks
GLENBEIGH HORSESHOE is one of the most testing hillwalks in the country. If you start and finish in Glenbeigh village, it is 31km long with a total ascent of 2,300m. You will be glad to hear you can avoid this misery and sample the best of the ridge by following its northern section from Teermoyle (760m) around to Drung (640m), which will halve both the distance and the total ascent.
There is space for five or six cars around the bridge by the ESB relay station. Turn left after you cross the bridge. Keep to the track until you reach its highest point (grid reference 634 856). This avoids a long bog walk and the Kealduff cliffs, and gives easy access to the spur that leads up to Coomreagh.
The walk up the spur is straightforward, with only one fence to cross, but as the posts are rotting, and the fence is on top of a stone wall fronted by a ditch, some forward planning is required to negotiate it successfully.
As you continue upwards the ground steepens, and there is a large outcrop on the centre line of the spur. It is best to leave this on your right, then follow the fence to the small plateau of Coomreagh. This route gives you a great view of the broad sweep of the first leg of the horseshoe, beyond which rise the western peaks of Magillicuddy’s Reeks.
The plateau is an area of water-eroded bog, so pick your best course across it to spot height 593m, which marks the beginning of an arete. As is their nature, this one is narrow in parts, but a well-worn route makes the going easier.
On your left great buttresses of rock plunge down to the valley floor, adding a frisson to your trip. Once across, a short scramble brings you on to the grassy ridge. Take a diversion to the left as far as the summit of Teermoyle (760m) to see the full extent of Coomasahern, with its great cliffs and entrancing lake.
From Teermoyle follow the fence and low stone wall on grassy and boggy ground to the stony summit of Mullaghnarakill (665m). Here you can see south to Cahirciveen and Ballinskelligs Bay. Unless you are a resolute peak-bagger, avoid the tedious bog land across to Been Hill (651m). Instead, follow close to the edge of the cliffs above Coomacronia Lake as far as the col under Beenmore (grid reference 596 863). This point, the only escape route on the ridge, is handy if the weather has turned bad. Drop down the steep slope to Coomacronia Lake, where you will pick up an old bog road that will bring you back to the cars.
If it is a fine day, however, it would be a pity to take the soft option, as a short but steep pull up the stony slopes of Beenmore will bring you to the best part of the walk as you cross to Drung. Here you are indeed the monarch of Dingle Bay as you survey your sublime surroundings from this peak, which has cairns dating back to the Bronze Age.
Follow the spur east from the summit for about 700m, until you can see the corner of the fence that separates the farmland from the moorland. Head for this and follow the fence down to a stream that, when forded, will bring you on to the bog road that leads you back to the starting point.
Glenbeigh Horseshoe, Co Kerry
Start and finishThe bridge on the third-class road at grid reference 894 645.
How to get thereFollow the N70 Ring of Kerry road for five kilometres westwards from Glenbeigh village until you come to the first crossroads. Turn left here and keep right at the fork, which is a kilometre down the road. There is limited parking space at a bridge beside a small ESB relay station.
TimeSix hours.
Distance15km.
Total ascent1,200m.
MapOrdnance Survey Ireland Discovery Series sheets 78 and 83.
SuitabilityRoute is moderate to hard. Compass, map and raingear are essential.
Food and accommodationGlenbeigh and Rossbeigh.