Garraun South Top

Sitting on the rugged plateau of the Garraun massif in northern Connemara, this subsidiary summit offers a wilder perspective than the neighbouring Twelve Bens. The terrain is a mix of quartzite outcrops and high-altitude bog, providing a striking vantage point directly over the deep waters of Lough Fee and Lough Muck.

• •The name Garraun is derived from the Irish 'Garrán', which translates to a grove or a thicket, though the wind-scoured quartzite of the modern summit is now far removed from any woodland.
• •From the summit, walkers gain a specific, earned view of the dark glacial waters of Lough Fee to the north and the sharp, triangular profile of Muckanaght across the Polladirk Valley to the south.
• •This peak is usually climbed as part of the 'Garraun Horseshoe', a rugged circuit that includes the main 672m summit of Garraun and the lower peak of Benbaun.
• •While its status as a Tump ensures it is on the radar of peak-baggers, the lack of a defined path means you are more likely to share the summit with a stray Connemara sheep than another hillwalker.
• •The summit offers a rare perspective of the back of Kylemore Abbey, providing a sense of the scale of the mountains that hem in the famous Gothic estate.