Murphy’s Bar Brandon
A family-run pub and restaurant at Brandon Pier, with food, local seafood and views across the bay. Check Instagram for current kitchen times.
Brandon Pier, Co. Kerry, V92 T680HardLakes · Dingle · recorded
Binn na bPórt
and the Paternoster Lakes.
A demanding recorded circuit from Cloghane, climbing Binn na bPórt before descending into Com a Chnoic and following the chain of Paternoster Lakes to Loch na Lice.
Also known as Benagh, or the Peak of the Music.
DISTANCE
11.98km
ASCENT
947m
HIGH POINT
824m
Rob’s recorded time 7 hr 11 · steep, remote mountain circuit · 25,618 recorded track points GRADE GUIDE ↗
Reading the map…
INTERACTIVE TERRAIN · ACTUAL GPX TRACKACTUAL GPX TRACK
A recorded time is not a planning estimate. Build your own from pace, ascent, ground, weather and daylight.
ONE · BEFORE YOU COMMIT
Is this your day?
The grade, the hazards, the forecast and the ground the route actually crosses. Everything you need to decide whether to go at all.
WEATHER AT A GLANCE
Forecast for around 800 m
Approx. 800 mNOWReading the forecast
WINDReading the forecast
TODAY’S PEAK RAIN CHANCEReading the forecast
Forecast. This is a modelled estimate for this route’s high ground; conditions can differ sharply across the mountain. Detailed planning guidance follows. Derived from Open-Meteo forecast data ↗.
RECORDED ELEVATION
Over Binn na bPórt at 824 m.
The circuit gains 947 m, climbing from Cloghane to Binn na bPórt before a substantial descent through the corrie and lake chain.
824 m171 m
Reading the forecast
0 km947 m ascent · 952 m descent11.98 km
THE LINE
A walled summit, then a chain of mountain lakes.
The route climbs from Cloghane to Binn na bPórt, Benagh on the Ordnance Survey sheet, reaching 824 m above the Brandon corries.
The fort on the promontory
The mountain carries a fort, and a strange, serious one. A narrow triangular promontory juts east from Brandon at 762 m, its north and south sides ending in precipitous cliffs. Two drystone walls cut across it, between 100 and 120 m apart. The outer runs in a slight arc from cliff-edge to cliff-edge for about 100 m, roughly two metres wide at the base, mostly a metre or less high now but standing close to two metres where it has survived best, and the entrance is still legible as a simple gap in it. The second wall, 40 to 50 m long, has fared worse.
Higher than Caherconree?
The Archaeological Survey records it as closely related to Caherconree in both its position and the way it was built, and Caherconree is the fort people usually mean: the one the literature names as the highest stone promontory fort in the country, at 625 m. This one is at 762 m, and neither figure is the height of the mountain above it. Whether that makes it the highest in Ireland is not for this page to settle, but it is a fair question to carry up the hill.
It is easy to make that ground sound romantic from a warm room. Standing on it in weather, it reads as a cold and deliberate choice made by people with reasons.
Down to the Paternoster Lakes
From the summit the route drops into Com a Chnoic, then works outward beside the linked Paternoster Lakes to Loch na Lice before closing the circuit back at Cloghane. The walls belong to the high part of the walk; the chain of water below gives the return a different character. A high summit, a steep corrie descent and remote lake ground together make this a full mountain day.
- 01CloghaneThe circuit begins at approximately 177 m and takes the mountain approach above the village.
- 02Binn na bPórtA sustained climb reaches the 824 m high point above the Brandon corries.
- 03Com a ChnoicThe line descends steeply from the summit into the mountain hollow.
- 04Paternoster LakesThe return follows the linked chain of corrie lakes through remote, uneven ground.
- 05Loch na LiceThe route passes the outer lake before turning back towards Cloghane.
Binn na bPórt is the form recorded by the Placenames Database, which gives the English as Benagh Fort; the mountain is Benagh on Ordnance Survey maps. It is read locally as the Peak of the Music, for the sound the wind keeps up across the rock and the cliff edge. The Irish pórt carries more than one sense, and one of them is a fort or a mound, which on a summit holding two walls is hard to ignore, so the reading here is the local telling rather than the settled answer. The site sits in the townland of Cluain Searrach, and the pilgrim path to Cnoc Bhréanainn crosses the lower slope of the mountain. The Archaeological Survey lists the fort as KE034-048, An Fhaiche; its description comes from Barry Raftery by way of the Corca Dhuibhne survey, the surveyors not having reached the site themselves. Placename recorded by the Placenames Database of Ireland ↗
Reading the forecast
WIND NOWReading the forecast
—cloud
—humidity
—km/h peak gust
Strongest wind today—
Peak gust—
RECENT RAINFALL · LIKELY GROUND
Reading the forecast
RAIN, GUST & VISIBILITY WINDOW
Reading the forecast
BEST HIKING WINDOW
Reading the forecast
DAYLIGHT PLAN
Reading the forecast
MET ÉIREANN · KERRY
Reading the forecast
NEXT SIX HOURS · swipe
Reading the forecast
HAZARDS & OPTIONSKnow the commitment.
Nearly 950 m of ascent and descent over rough mountain ground.
The descent from Binn na bPórt into Com a Chnoic is steep and may be slippery or difficult in poor visibility.
The corrie and lake chain are remote, wet and uneven, with limited easy escape options.
Cloud can remove visual references on the summit and obscure the line between the lakes.
Streams and lake outflows may become difficult after prolonged or heavy rain.
Make the decision to continue before committing to the descent into Com a Chnoic. If cloud, wind or ground conditions are poor on the climb, retreat along the known approach. Once among the lakes, follow the recorded exit rather than attempting an improvised escape over steep corrie walls.
ABOVE THE PATERNOSTER LAKES
Rob’s photographs.
TWO · YOU’VE DECIDED
Getting there.
Where it starts, the recorded file, and the checks worth making before you leave the house.
PLAN THE GROUND
Start well.
RECORDED STARTCloghane
Select coordinates to copy
The recording starts and finishes near Cloghane. Confirm suitable parking locally without blocking homes, farms or emergency access, and respect all signs, livestock and private property along the approach.
ROUTE FILE
Take the recorded route with you.
25,618 recorded track points, exactly as walked. Load it into your watch, phone or offline mapping before you leave signal.
Distance, track geometry, recorded time and elevation come from Rob’s supplied GPX. Access and conditions must be checked independently.
Download original GPXbinn-na-port-paternoster-lakes.gpx · as recordedGeoJSONKML
Onto a watch: import the GPX into Garmin Connect, Komoot or Strava and send it to the device from there. On a phone, the Garmin Explore and OS Maps apps take the file straight from the share sheet.
BEFORE YOU GO
A high summit above remote corrie ground.
Keep enough margin for the descent and the long route out through the lakes.
The route commits to steep, remote ground after Binn na bPórt. Navigation, weather and water levels all need to be considered before leaving Cloghane.
Your quick checksOptional and saved only in this browser.
0/5 checkedThese checks support your planning; they do not confirm that the route is safe.
- 01Check the mountain forecastAssess cloud base, wind, rainfall and warnings for the full day.
- 02Navigate independentlyCarry a paper map and compass and know how to use them in cloud.
- 03Decide before descendingTurn back before Com a Chnoic if the ground or weather exceeds your experience.
- 04Share your planLeave the route and expected return time with someone.
Leave a plan.
Tell someone your route and return time. For emergencies in Ireland call 112 or 999 and ask for Mountain Rescue.
More in Dingle.
All 29 recorded routes →AFTER THE WALK
Post-hike picks.
A small, personal shortlist around Cloghane and Brandon. Check current opening times before making the journey.