Bessy Bell

About Bessy Bell

Rising above the river valleys of West Tyrone, this broad moorland Marilyn offers a straightforward climb from near Newtownstewart. Although the summit plateau is now a hub of renewable energy, the views remain expansive, stretching across the Strule Valley to the high Sperrins and west toward the Donegal hills.

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Did You Know?

• •The hill’s name is likely an anglicisation of the Irish 'Sliabh Baile an Bhile', meaning the mountain of the townland of the sacred tree.
• •Bessy Bell is famously paired with its smaller neighbour across the valley, Mary Gray; the two hills are named after characters in a 17th-century Scottish ballad, brought to Ireland by Ulster-Scots settlers.
• •The summit plateau was the site of one of Northern Ireland's first commercial wind farms, with the first phase of turbines commissioned in 1995.
• •On a clear day, the panoramic view from the top extends well beyond the Sperrins to include the distinctive profile of the Blue Stack Mountains in County Donegal.
• •The constant rotation of the wind turbines ensures that if you reach the summit and find it isn't blowing a gale, you have likely witnessed a rare meteorological miracle.