Knocknahillion North Top is easily reached from the little layby where the Bun na Croc road meets the Western Way at L8594 5337 A. Knocknahillion North Top is itself invisible from this point, hiding away at the back between Knocknahillion and Barrlugrevagh. There’s a really lovely walk up between Knocknahillion and Barrlugrevagh, following the river (and occasional faint traces of a path in formation). The river takes you up north-east then east to end up in the impressive coum named Benadolug on OSI 37.

Benadolug is at about 430m altitude. It is surrounded by steep rocky walls on three sides, and looks out over Lough Inagh and the Twelve Bens on the fourth. By now Knocknahillion N will have come into view almost straight ahead. The peak looms very impressively from here, even though it’s only about 110 metres up.

The straight line up from Benadolug ends in an easy and fun scramble before coming out at Knocknahillion N’s narrow summit. (This scramble can also be easily avoided.) Knocknahillion itself is a straightforward 10-15 minute walk from here. These two peaks alone make a lovely short walk in the Maamturks, and a reasonably fit walker will do them in under two hours. (But how long is a piece of string?) Ascent is less than 600m, though the ground is rough, steep and for all practical purposes trackless.

The easiest descent option is via Benadolug again. Other descents from Knocknahillion are fraught with peril. In particular, the direct route south-west from the summit to the road, which may look tempting from above, involves negotiating small but very tricky bands of cliffs.

Sidepoint: The name Benadolug would seem to come from the Irish for “Peak of the Two Hollows” or something similar, so perhaps it should be the name of the peak itself, rather than the coum as indicated by OSI. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/373/comment/18881/