Benbulben and Yeats Country

Flat Topped Limestone Table Mountain (526 M) Above Sligo Bay, At The Heart Of W. B. Yeats'S Country; Yeats Is Buried In Drumcliffe Churchyard Below It · Sligo, Sligo

Benbulben (Binn Ghulbain) is the flat-topped limestone mountain of 526 m that rises above the coast of County Sligo like a ship's prow, its steep grooved cliffs visible for miles along the N15. It stands at the heart of what the tourist signs call Yeats Country: the poet W. B. Yeats spent childhood summers in Sligo, wrote about its lakes, glens and legends all his life, and asked in his poem Under Ben Bulben to be buried in Drumcliffe churchyard below it, where his grave carries the epitaph 'Cast a cold eye / On life, on death. / Horseman, pass by!'. Around the mountain lie Glencar Waterfall, Lissadell House, the surf and seaweed baths of Strandhill, the cairn on Knocknarea and the Stone Age tombs of Carrowmore. The honest caveat: Benbulben is a view, not a summit hike - the top is private farmland ringed by cliffs with no official trail - and this is a quiet corner of Ireland with more weather than crowds. Give it two nights and a car to make the scattered sights worth the trip.

Benbulben and Drumcliffe, on the N15 about 8-15 km north of Sligo town; the Benbulben Forest Walk starts off the N15 near Gortarowey, Sligo, Sligo, Ireland

Benbulben itself has no hours: the mountain, the views from the N15 and the Benbulben Forest Walk are open all year, in daylight. Drumcliffe churchyard is open daily; the church and the cafe beside it keep their own hours - confirm. Lissadell House, Carrowmore and some other sights are seasonal or closed on certain days - check each one. Drumcliffe is about 8 km north of Sligo town on the N15 and the forest walk car park is off the N15 near Gortarowey, about 15 minutes from town. Sligo is about 3 hours from Dublin by Irish Rail or by car, and Bus Eireann stops at Drumcliffe - confirm times. Nothing needs booking except seaweed baths and some house tours in summer.

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