Maamturks Challenge Walk 2018 ✦ Co Galway ✦ Ireland
NUI Galway Mountaineering Club organised Maamturks Challenge in Maamturk Mountains in Co Galway on Sat 14th of April 2018.
Sebastian Nalewko and Janusz Jaroszynski took part in this walk. They took most of the footage. Their walking time was 9h41min. Distance 27.7 km
➤ Sebastian - INSTAGRAM
➤ Janusz - INSTAGRAM
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MUSIC - Nimbus
Maamturks Challenge 2016
Taken on the 2016 Maamturks Challenge Walk organised by the NUIG Galway Mountaineering Club:
See the photos here:
Maamturks Challenge 2017
Maamturks Challenge 2017
Photos of the same day:
Maamturks Challenge 2015
Maamturks Challenge 2015 :
Leenane hill to the Twelve Bens Co. Galway and beyound.
A beautiful hike up Leenane hill in the Maumturks With amazing views of the Twelve Bens and beyond.
Owenglin Circuit Twelve Bens Galway
This tough 23 km circuit in the 12 Bens of Connemara in County Galway offers some of the best hillwalking in Ireland. Steep quartzite peaks tower over valleys of vivid green and pink bog-land inset with serpentine rivers and deep blue lakes. Beyond, the ragged coastline with ribbons of yellow sand is washed by the restless Atlantic Ocean. This 12 summit circuit will take in the region of 12 hours to complete and involves a climb of over 2,000m ascent. It is not for the faint hearted and will require high levels of fitness and navigational proficiency, especially in poor weather conditions. It is best tackled in the long hours of daylight during the summer months. This one's for you, Captain V!
Twelve pins (Ben's) Galway Ireland
Twelve pins {bens} over looking connemara national park, kylemore abbey and letterfrack harbour
Hiking the Western Way Galway Ireland
We hiked the Western Way in County Galway Ireland in May 2015. It was a great hike taking 2 days and 1 night. We camped along the way and awoke to a very miserable wet windy day but we carried on. After the church Mat and Damien went on to try and walk across the Maumturks to Leenaun but the weather was to bad and we had to go back to the road and walk the rest of the way by the designated route.(watch the difference in the river from when we camp to the next morning, that's how much it rained over night). This was all recorded on a Go Pro 1.
Music:
The Cranberries - Dreams
Ben Howard - Old pine
VanceJoy - Riptide
Traverse of the Maamturk Mountains, Connemara
This is one of the toughest mountain traverses in Ireland crossing a glaciated terrain of precipitous corries, deep tarns, sweeping ridges, rocky plateaus, bog and steep grassy slopes. Situated in the timeless and beautiful landscape of Galway County's Connemara, this 25km route has over 2,300 metres of ascent, around a dozen summits and takes between 10-14 hours to complete. We opted to bivy overnight a third of the way along the route for added excitement.
Simon Stewart's excellent route card is essential reading for would-be trekkers and his website also gives useful advice about the conditions and terrain one can expect:
Also see the blog:
Maamturks Journey
A 24k hike with 2465m total ascent along the tops of the Maamturks mountains in Connemara to Leenane village on Killary harbour.
The final descent to Leenane in this presentation is not the one in the annual Maamturks Challenge.
Connemara Mountain Hiking Park Ireland Guide Galway *fun*
Connemara video diary of hiking up a mountain in Connemara National Park, Galway, Ireland in 2011. The diary covers the yellow, blue and red routes during a rainy day. We nearly got our asses stuck up that flipping mountain and then it started to rain ;-/ however it was a great day and highly recommended in Connemara.
Inagh Valley - Connermara, County Galway, Ireland - a drive along the R344
A real time drive along the Inagh Valley, County Galway, Ireland - this is part of my views on Connemara. This is a must do if you visit Connemara – it is just off the Wild Atlantic Way, but it is worth a de-tour – it starts here - and ends here – this was filmed on the 29th August 2016 at around 17:00.
Clifden County Galway - The Capital of Connemara - Ireland. We love Clifden Ireland #Galway
Clifden would be the main town in the Connemara region of Ireland. It has some of the best restaurants and great hotels and is an excellent base point to explore the wonders in the countryside around it.
Clifden is coastal town in County Galway ( Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. Clifden is usually referred to as the capital of the city because it is the largest town in the region.
This town in Connemara is always headed for when it comes to tourism because it is the first choice that people go for. From the different places of interest that one could visit in Clifden and around it, there is the Twelve Bens - sometimes referred to as Twelve Pins - which is a mountain range of sharp-peaked quartzite ranges located northeast of Roundstone in Connemara. Another touristic attraction in Clifden is Connemara National Park which is one of six national parks in the Republic of Ireland, there is also Sky Road which is a long drive along Clifden Road and Streamstown Bay with views of the Atlantic, Clifden Castle, coast-guard station, the islands of Inishturk and Turbot and the town. Adding to those, one could also visit the Inishbofin in Clifden which is a small island off the coast of Connemara, Slyne Head lighthouse, as well as the Derrygimlagh Bog which is a natural wilderness of blanket bog located 6 km south of Clifden and the site of the Alcock and Brown crash-landing and the Marconi transatlantic wireless station.
There are usually lots of different things for one to explore when it comes to travelling because people do not always follow the same rules and thus some might fall upon specific places which others didn't get the chance to pass by.
From those places which are considered more known for the people when it comes to the attractions of Clifden, there is Clifden Castle, Connemara Heritage and History Centre, the Whitethorn Gallery, Connemara National Park and Visitor Centre, the Station House Museum, and the Rifle-Sebastian Sculpture.
We believe that Connemara is a place of contrasts, colors, and wilderness - it might not only be about Clifden which is just one stop in Connemara, but it is about the place as a whole. In addition to Clifden, there are different other towns in Connemara which one could stop by and check (according to the attractions that might be found in every single one of them or even the activities that could be done there). These towns in Connemara include Oughterard, Maam, Recess, Roundstone, Cashel, Carna, Ballyconneely, Cleggan, Claddaghduff, Letterfrack, the Renvyle peninsula and Leenane.
Connemara in general is a place with a landscape that is magnificent and which mainly goes to its location as well as the harsh conditions that it might be passing through all year long. Speaking of Connemara in general and not just Clifden at this point, there are some beautiful places to go to in it such as the different beaches that it hosts, the Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden, the Omey Island Walk, as well as the Connemara National Park.
We didn't get the chance to pass by all those different towns and of course not all those attractions as well, but when we were in Clifden and took this footage back home with us, we were actually thrilled by the beauty of the place and the nature that the eyes are always settling on in the town.
There are different activities in Clifden that one could enjoy and which include cycling, mountain climbing, walking, hiking, pony riding, as well as those other water activities that could be performed and which include swimming, surfing, kayaking, and diving - if you chose the right time of the year to go to Clifden then you will enjoy getting into these activities and will also get the chance to enjoy the salty water, so always make sure you are heading to this place during the right time to enjoy as much activities as you can.
One good thing to enjoy while being in Clifden is the Clifden Farmer's Market in which traders and sellers come to the town of Clifden in order to sell their fresh produce to the public every Friday morning, so make sure to pass by this market and see what it holds out there for you.
Please do comment below if you have anything to suggest for our article what to do in Clifden Ireland. Some people have asked us Where is Clifden :-) Have tempted not to tell them! Keep it our secret! But that would not be too nice - we definitely want to explore more towns in Connemara - we want to see all we can in the region...so next visit! :-) Wait for other towns in Connemara which we will be visiting in the future to check what they carry inside for the tourists and what one could enjoy doing in every single one of them; scenes and activities.
Some of the best locations around Ireland / Northern Ireland and further afield. Clifden County Galway - The Capital of Connemara - Ireland. We love Clifden Ireland #Galway
Twelve Bens Mountain Lodge Self Catering Recess Galway Ireland
for a video guide of Twelve Bens Mountain Lodge Self Catering Recess Galway Ireland. Book direct with the owner for best value.
Maamturk & Mourne Mountains Ireland
Montage of my experiences with the NUIG mountaineering club trips to the Maamturk mountains in County Galway and the Mourne Mountains in County Down. DV, Color. Shot and edited by Mike Foley.
Maamturks Galway Connemara Wild Atlantic way
An enjoyable day out in the Maamturks, covering the summits of Knocknahillion North top and Letterbreckaun.
Using a route provided by Pat Moran:
Thanks to the MountainViews.ie website for making this information all so easily available.
Connemara Twelve Ben's/ Maumturks mountains
Derryclare summit
Hard to reach old IRA hideout (read the description below)
Below are excerpts from three early IRA witness statements on file with the Irish Bureau of Military History that describe this hideout:
As the year 1920 went on, the situation grew
worse, and there were a lot of men who could not remain
at home, so it was decided to start a camp. The place
selected was in.... a valley about seven miles long that
runs from east to west in the centre of the Joyce
country. There is no road going through it, and it is
surrounded by high mountains on either side. On the
south side of the valley, on the Maam Turk Mountain,
Eamonn Ó Maille (who was a brother of Padraic and an
engineer) blasted a cave, to hide out and store arms.
We decided to move all arms and ammunition to the camp,
and do some training there.
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Some time in 1920 the I.R.A. built a dug-out
to store arms. Later on it was slept in
occasionally by men 'on the run'. It could contain twelve
at a time. It was in a very safe place as it could be
reached only by daylight and then anybody trying to reach it
had to be as sure-footed as a mountain goat to scale the face
of the rock leading to it.
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...to look up at, seemed impossible
to climb, yet, about halfway up, Padraig O'Maille had his
hideout which he had constructed about two years previously.
Getting to it for the first time, it was necessary to have a
guide. Johnsy King and myself slept in it a few nights.
It was quite roomy and comfortable inside. The roof was of
galvanised iron, camouflaged on top with stones, grass and
heather to make it look like part of the landscape.
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On Christmas night of 1920, all went home from
camp, and I was about to depart too when Padraic asked
whether or not anybody was going to remain with him.
Nobody answered, but all left! I decided to remain as
I felt sorry for him to be alone on the Holy Night.
About twelve o'clock that night, Padraic got a notion that
there might be a raid on the camp and that it would be
better to repair to the cave on the mountain side. Now,
it was pitch black, and he took some bedding on his back,
and I carried some more. He took a pail of live coals,
and we started up the steep cliff. As Padraic got into
the breeze higher up. the embers in the pail began to
send a shower of sparks skyward, and old dog Dingo began to
howl at the flames. I was coming in the rear and, with
the sparks flying and the rocks dug up by Padraic's feet,
I was running the gauntlet!
When we reached the cave, we started a fire, and
soon the place was full of smoke. I told Padraic the
chimney was stopped up, and went on the roof to open it
with a stick. I was not long up there when I heard a
great commotion in the cave. Padraic began to holla,
and the dog began to snarl. I jumped down, and heard
something go up the steps that led down to the cave
door. As I entered, I heard Padraic cursing at Dingo
to get him, and the next moment he (Padraic) was
upset on the floor, and I ducked as a grey object came
at me and went through the door, with Dingo in pursuit
It was then that we found out that a badger and his mate
had made a home in our dugout when they found the door
open, and got smoked out!
Maamturks Challenge Walk 2011
Maamturks Challenge Walk 2011 Saturday 30/04/11
Organised by NUI Galway Mountaineering Club:
It's a 24.3 km walk from Near Maam Cross across the Maamturks range to Leanaun and involves 2336 metres of ascent (and descent). About 200 walkers completed this year.
Ths shots are mostly taken at the checkpoints.
My photos of the event can be found here:
Leenane, Connemara, Galway, Ireland
Ireland by Drone