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Dartry Mountains Area   NW: Benbulbin Subarea
Rating graphic.
Benwiskin Mountain Binn Mhiosgáin A name in Irish 'peak of the haystack' Sligo County in Connacht Province, in Arderin List, Dark fine-grained cherty limestone Bedrock

Height: 514m OS 1:50k Mapsheet: 16 Grid Reference: G72344 49116
Place visited by 198 members. Recently by: Krzysztof_K, ryanguinness10, abacusms, knightsonhikes, NualaB, nupat, bowler, patman1974, farmerjoe1, wintersmick, eimirmaguire, ToughSoles, Overarroo, Carolineswalsh, FoxyxxxLoxy
I have visited this place: NO (You need to be a logged-in member to change this.)

Longitude: -8.42658, Latitude: 54.3899 , Easting: 172344, Northing: 349116 Prominence: 39m,  Isolation: 1.3km
ITM: 572293 849115,   GPS IDs, 6 char: Bnwskn, 10 char: Benwiskin
Bedrock type: Dark fine-grained cherty limestone, (Dartry Limestone Formation)

This peak is remarkable for its wave-like profile when seen from near Ballintrillick. However, it is probably its resemblance to a leaning haystack which accounts for its name. Ir. miosgán is cognate with Welsh misgawn/meisgawn, which has this meaning.   Benwiskin is the 524th highest place in Ireland.

Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/425/
COMMENTS for Benwiskin (Binn Mhiosgáin) << Prev page 1 2 3 4 Next page >>  
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MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Benwiskin (<i>Binn Mhiosgáin</i>) in area Dartry Mountains, Ireland
Picture: Looking north from Slievemore to Benwiskin, Gleniff valley to the right
 
wicklore on Benwiskin, 2009
by wicklore  13 Sep 2009
I followed eflanaga's route taking in Benbulbin, Benwiskin and Slievemore. It was a long hike and I measured it at about 20 kms return. After chatting to a family on Benbulbin for a few minutes I didn't see another person for the rest of the day. The walk to Benwiskin is long and hard, with rough ground and a lack of a path. I was tired when I reached Benwiskin, and there was still the return journey!

The views were stunning, especially along the cliffs from Slievemore to Benwiskin. I was quite alert for angry farmers as I neared Benwiskin, but I never met a soul. The summit of Benwiskin still has the unused spars and rolled up fencing referred to by gerrym a year ago.

Something that struck me was the hundreds of holes across the bog all along the route. It is like the ground collapsed, leaving behind holes everywhere. Many of them are only a few feet deep but quite a few are 10 feet or deeper. Most have gradual slopes, but more than a few were steep and dangerous looking. One at G726 463 starA was about 20 feet deep with steep sides. Be warned!

Benwiskin was a thrill to have accomplished, both because of the long route to get there, and the sense of urgency to avoid angry landowners. It is interesting to note that at no point along this route is there any signs or other notice that this is private property. Therefore I'm not even sure if the route from Benbulbin crosses any disputed access areas. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/425/comment/4089/
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MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Benwiskin (<i>Binn Mhiosgáin</i>) in area Dartry Mountains, Ireland
pquinn572 on Benwiskin, 2008
by pquinn572  16 Jun 2008
Benwiskin seems to have serious access problems at the minute. I went down to climb it 3 weeks ago when I was confronted with a series of ‘Private Property’ and ‘Trespassers will be Prosecuted’ signs so I decided not to go up. It was only this week when I was reading Paul Clements’s ‘The Height of Nonsense’ that I found out about the ‘Bull’ and I tell ya, I was glad I didn’t go up. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/425/comment/3120/
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MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Benwiskin (<i>Binn Mhiosgáin</i>) in area Dartry Mountains, Ireland
Picture: Benwiskin
 
murphysw on Benwiskin, 2007
by murphysw  3 Jun 2007
Another eye candy shot of the unfortunately inaccessible Benwiskin taken from G738503 starB Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/425/comment/2724/
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Fatality on Benwiskin July 2021
by noucamp  3 Jul 2021
Fatality on Benwiskin July 2021 see
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/fatal-fall-of-man-in-dartry-mountains-leads-to-calls-for-better-signage-1.4610238
A young man who died after falling off a cliff in the Dartry mountain range in Co Sligo on Thursday had arrived in the area with his girlfriend that morning, it has emerged.
There has been an outpouring of sympathy for the young couple, who had hired a car for their trip to Sligo, as locals reiterated their concerns about the dangers of the mountain for people not familiar with the terrain.
The man who died was named locally as Alex Braun, who was in his mid-20s, and is understood to have been a US citizen living in Dublin.
His girlfriend, a 27-year-old Spanish woman, was rescued from a narrow ledge on the side of the cliff, after a “complex operation” involving about 20 members of Sligo-Leitrim and Donegal mountain rescue teams, who also recovered the man’s body.
The couple had been walking in the Gleniff Horseshoe. The man’s body was recovered from under the Anacoona cliffs between the Ben Bulben and Ben Whisken mountains at about 9.20pm on Thursday.
Alan Sayers, a member of Sligo-Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team, said the tragedy highlighted the need for more warning signs on the mountain, given the huge numbers of people climbing to well-known landmark Diarmuid and Gráinne’s cave, which is being widely promoted on TikTok and YouTube.
It is understood that the couple had climbed over the cave and across the top of Ben Whisken mountain. They were descending the side of the cliff when they became stranded on a ledge.
Mr Sayers said that although it was easy as a hiker to walk yourself somewhere that you couldn’t get out of, it was crucial that people were properly prepared and knew where they were going.
Sligo County Councillor Donal Gilroy, of Fianna Fáil, who lives in the area, has raised concerns about traffic on the mountain.
Mr Gilroy said he had to be stretchered off Kilimanjaro while hiking for charity. “I climbed Kilimanjaro but I wouldn’t climb Ben Whisken,” he added.
The mountain rescue teams were winched on to the mountain by the Strandhill-based coastguard helicopter, and abseiled to the woman, after being alerted by a woman who observed the tragedy unfolding.
The young man’s body was removed to Sligo University Hospital, where a postmortem will be carried out.
A Garda spokesman said inquiries were continuing. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/425/comment/23200/
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Pleasant route from Glendarragh
by Wildcat  14 Feb 2013
Drive along a series of side roads from Grange and find your way past the waterworks to Glendarragh, the glen between Benbulbin and Benwiskin. There's a large parking area beside Luke's Bridge (grid ref 698473 starC). Just beyond the bridge, take the left fork and follow the surfaced road eastwards (towards Benwiskin) as far as grid ref 707472 starD, where the road crosses the stream by bridge. A gravel track on the left continues towards the base of the hill. Follow this until it does a right-angle bend southwards where you should leave the track and cross tussocky and rather wet ground (still heading east). At 290m, the gradient becomes steeper and the ground improves. Go directly uphill. There's a fence on the left but it bears left across the hillside so there's no need to cross it. The steeper section eases above 440m and a pleasant walk leads up to the 508m top (grid ref 719479 starE), with great views all around. There are some interesting holes in the ground (dolines) near the col south of the 508m top. The route to Benwiskin is clear and easy, with occasional sections of path - just head northwards along the broad ridge, with peat hags generally easily avoided. You'll pass a lovely little pond by the cliff edge (grid ref 721486 starF) then there's the final rise to the summit (514m, grid ref 724491 starG), with a fence on the right. To appreciate the extraordinary northwestern cliffs would require crossing a fence easily and continuing northwards to grid ref 725493 starH. Although there were no 'keep out' signs (2 February 2013), this land may be part of Bull McSharry's farm! It may be best to view the cliffs from a distance! From the summit, return to Luke's Bridge by the same route. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/425/comment/14923/
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MountainViews.ie Picture about mountain Benwiskin (<i>Binn Mhiosgáin</i>) in area Dartry Mountains, Ireland
Picture: Last Digit
Last Digit on Northern face
by swoop  9 May 2011
This was taken 08/05/11 at 6pm approx , from the last knuckle ridge / digit on northern face of Benbulbin looking over the valley along Slieve Mor , at Benwiskin . Truskmore is on right of shot, and Tievebaun was visible from here also. Pic shot from - normal Grid Ref = G 692 466 starI
10 digit Grid Ref = G 69247 46638 starJ , Latitude = 54.36738 (north) , Longitude = -8.47321 (west)
Latitude = 54°22'3" (north) , Longitude = 8°28'24" (west) ,Tetrad = G64Y ,Altitude = 454 metres Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/425/comment/6345/
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