Walked almost every inch of this magnificent mountain today, albeit in a very unorthodox fashion. Initially I took the lazy way and parked beside the lough near the summit, then walked to the northeast edge of the cliffs. Walked in a generally southwest direction then, taking in the amazing views over Benone, Magilligan, Lough Foyle, Inishowen, the Roe Valley, and finally towards the Sperrins. All the while, I continually went as close as I dared to the edge of the cliff to see as much of them as I could from above. Having gone well to the south, I encountered a fence that took me east to the summit itself and the trig pillar. I then retraced my steps back to the car park, and drove round to a another car park in a forest just off the Aghanloo Road, not far south of its junction with the Seacoast Road. A long walk along the forest trail eventually took me out at the base of the cliffs on the west of the mountain. i walked south along the cliffs, ascending all the time, until I think I wasn't far off the point where earlier in the day I turned east from the cliffs to reach the summit, although I didn't go all the way up. Instead of going back north to regain the forest track, I thought I would cut directly west through the forest to the car park, which was a mistake. There was no trail at this end, and I took a zig-zagging route through dense trees, up and down steep forested slopes, tired and disorientated. Eventually, I did emerge close to where I wanted to be, although I'm not sure it saved me any time. Met a herd of goats at the southern edge of the cliffs too, but not sure if they were wild.

This mountain proves that height isn't everything, as the views are truly amazing from the top, particularly being blessed with a day like today. It is also equally attractive from below, the cliffs being very impressive from the west at the base. In fact, unusually, I ran out of space on my camera memory cards. Highly recommended whatever way you chose to approach it. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/860/comment/16009/

Options for accessing the mountain are more limited now than when I was last here about 3 years ago. Walkers are no longer permitted to park at St. Aidan's Church (C678315 A), the car-park being marked as private, only for use of parishioners and visitors to the holy well. Furthermore, the path starting behind the church is temporarily closed because of tree-felling in the woods. We were told that the same applies to the path starting at Ballycarton Wood (C677294 B). Access is now possible from a forest gate (C70303173 C) on Leighery Road. This takes about 140m of ascent out of the walk to the summit. Rather than parking at the gate itself, where it's very tight, continue 50m round the sharp bend to a spot where there is ample space for about 10 cars, and then walk back to the gate.
Whilst I certainly wouldn't want to deter anybody from climbing this beautiful and fascinating mountain, it's worth saying that Binevenagh, like many craggy mountains, has rockfalls regularly. We witnessed a couple of medium-sized rocks break away off the main cliff and tumble down while we were sitting below one of the fangs. This seemed to be completely natural, not triggered by any human activity. We were not in danger, but could have been if we had been at the foot of the main cliff. So, a close-up visit to the crags requires some caution and experience. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/860/comment/23225/

On Sunday 1st May a group from the Belfast Friendship Club took the train to Bellarena and climbed Binevenagh. There were 10 of us, and 7 nationalities represented: Hungarian (X3), Indian (X2), Spanish, Czech, Rumanian, German and English. The weather was perfect and we were able to picnic on the cliff-top. We had only a little time to explore one of the fangs on the way down, but we saw some lovely purple orchids there. As the train was delayed by half an hour on the outward journey, we ended up running the last 20 mins to make sure of catching the train. Next trip: Cave Hill! Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/860/comment/6342/

Thaistil cnocadóirí Phobal ar a'n Iúl (grúpa atá lonnaithe san Ómaigh) ó thuaidh go Binn Fhoibhne i gContae Dhoire ar na mallaibh. Dhreap naonúr againn an sliabh Dé Domhnaigh. Lá breá grianmhar a bhí ann agus tonn teasa coicíse ag teacht chun deiridh. Thosaíomar ó gheata foraoise ar Bhóthar Leighery (C70303173 C) agus dhreapamar suas go dtí iomaire an mhullaigh, ag siúl siar ó dheas. Bhí lón againn ag an bpointe is airde ar bhruach na haille, áit a raibh radhairc mhaithe ar Loch Feabhail, go Inis Eoghain agus ó dheas i dtreo Bhinn Bhradach agus Sliabh Speirín. Ina dhiaidh sin leanamar ar aghaidh go dtí an lochán agus ansin go dtí an mullach (de réir na léarscáile, 385 méadar in airde). Bhí an tuiscint láidir againn go bhféadfadh an cnocán atá suite soir ó thuaidh den loch a bheith níos airde. N’fheadar an ndearna duine ar bith é seo a fhíorú le hionstraimí cruinne le déanaí. Chuamar ó dheas ag deireadh na n-aillte agus ansin thrasnaigh muid ó thuaidh faoi bhun na bhfiacal. Tá Binn Fhoibhne an-suimiúil mar gheall ar an dúlra. I measc na mbuaicphointí bhí fiacha ag grágáil, spléachadh gairid ar éan creiche, b’fhéidir fabhcún; fraocháin aibí, saileach reatha ar ardchlár an mhullaigh, go leor méaracáin gorma, tím chreige, odhrach bhallach agus boladh cnis; síológa aitinn ag pléascadh; agus leamhain (cinnabar nó burnet, níl mé cinnte) ag tuirlingt ar mhéaracáin gorma agus ar bhuachalán buí. Thóg an tsiúlóid 4 uair an chloig ar an iomlán mar thógamar go bog é. Chuaigh cuid againn ag snámh ag Trá Bhun Abhann ina dhiaidh sin chun fuarú.
For their latest outing, the walkers of Pobal ar a'n Iúl (based in Omagh) travelled north to Binevenagh in Co. Derry. Nine of us tackled the mountain on a warm, sunny Sunday as a two-week long heatwave was coming to an end. We started from a forest gate on Leighery Road and climbed up to the summit ridge, walking from north to south. We had lunch at the highest point on the cliff-edge, where there were good views across Lough Foyle to Inishowen and south towards Benbradagh and the Sperrins. Afterwards we continued to the lake and then to the 385m summit, according to the map. We had the strong impression that the knoll north-east of the lake might be higher. I wonder whether anybody has verified this with accurate instruments lately. We the descended south-west at the end of the cliffs and then traversed northwards below the fangs. Some of the nature highlights included ravens croaking, a brief glimpse of a bird of prey, possibly a falcon; ripe bilberries, creeping willow on the summit plateau, lots of harebells, thyme, devil's bit scabious and lady's bedstraw; gorse seedpods popping; and moths (cinnabar or burnet, not sure) alighting on harebells and ragwort. The whole walk took 4 hours as we took it a fairly leisurely pace. Some of us went for a dip at Benone Strand afterwards to cool off. Linkback: https://mountainviews.ie/summit/860/comment/23229/