[RWD version 1 ] The walk starts to the west of Benglenisky. There used to be a forest here however it has been removed after a bog restoration project. There is space for perhaps 5 or 6 cars to park.
The route goes outside the boundary of the ex-forest to the north. The land can be wet and boggy however it is much easier than attempting to walk across the previous forest.
Benglenisky's western aspect is steep with many small crags however it is perfectly possible to walk up it. Occasionally there are short stretches of path. The top of Benglenisky is made of the same whitish quartzite as is much of the Bens, with a small amount of vegetation in places. The highest point has a small cairn and near it is a distinctive band of whiter rock.
The route to Bengower is along a broad and very rough ridge with great views on both sides such as the lakes of south Connemara and to the left towards the northern Bens.
For much of the climbing up Bengower there is path with quartzite shards on it. The actual top has a number of candidates for highest point and until someone with surveying equipment measures them, I would suggest you visit all of them if you want to be sure of having reached the highest point.
The return down Bengower and the ascent up Benlettery are relatively painless. The top of Benlettery has further great views over south Connemara.
On the occasion we did the walk it was after very heavy rain. We were recommended a route off Benlettery going somewhat right (west) which we followed at the top anyway. This lead to the Hostel, though it might have been better to go further west. With care it was possible to find a route down however this was extremely heavy going due to the extreme slipperiness of the ground and the very high speeds of the wind going around this southerly aspect of the mountain. All of the experienced party fell at times. Under the conditions of the day, this was by far the hardest part of the walk.
Because we had reasonable visibility we were able to optimise the route towards the Benlettery Youth Hostel. Before you get to this you encounter a fairly high fence. There is a stile to cross this however it final step is dangerously exposed. (Stile was moved in early April 2020) It is possible to bypass the hostel to the right and there is another good stile to enable access to the public road. There is space for a few cars to park here.