HardTwo summits · Dingle

Cnoc an tSráidbhaile and Binn os Gaoith
from Killiney Cross.

A long climb from Killiney Cross to Cnoc an tSráidbhaile (Stradbally) and Binn os Gaoith (Beenoskee) above Lough Acummeen, with Brandon Bay and the Maharees stretching out below. The walk returns to the same start.

Also known as Stradbally and Beenoskee.

DISTANCE

14.64km

ASCENT

883m

HIGH POINT

815m

My time 5 hr 26 · long climb to an exposed mountain ridge 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.

GPX EMERGENCY

01 · DECIDE

Is this your day?

ELEVATION PROFILE

From near sea level to the high ridge.

The profile climbs from about 31 m at Killiney Cross to 815 m, dips between the tops and descends the long way back to the start. The heights come from my track, so they differ a little from the mapped summit heights.

Reading the forecast

883 m ascent · 883 m descent

THE LINE

From the forest tracks to the ridge above the lough.

The walk starts in Killiney, off the R560 between Dingle and Tralee, through a Coillte forest gateway. The first three kilometres follow easy forest tracks, climbing steadily to around 250 m before the route leaves the trees for open mountain. From there, the climb becomes more sustained as the shoulder leads towards Stradbally Mountain. The rough grass gives way to increasingly stony ground, with the sea opening out behind.

On the high ridge, Lough Acummeen sits below the steep mountain wall. Stradbally and Beenoskee frame the corrie, while the long, low shape of the Maharees reaches into the Atlantic beyond. The route crosses the dip between the tops and climbs again to Beenoskee before turning back. Allow time and energy for that second climb as well as the long descent.

The return comes back across the high ground and down towards the forest approach, with small variations from the outward line. Much of the lower track is retraced to Killiney Cross. The photographs show both clear coastal views and mist on the slopes: the ridge can feel very different once the lough and coastline disappear.

The names on the ridge

The Placenames Database gives Beenoskee as Binn os Gaoith, and files the mountain under two civil parishes at once: Cill Aighne and An Sráidbhaile. Stradbally Mountain is Cnoc an tSráidbhaile, the hill named from the village on the plain below, which the same database records simply as the village. The lough in the corrie between the two tops is Loch an Choimín, Lough Acummeen.

Mapping spells that lough Loch a Choimín, the same name with a lighter hand on the article. The corrie holding it is named Coumnagower on the hill mapping, but it has no Placenames Database entry of its own, so its meaning is not something this page can give you.

Killiney and its spellings

Killiney is Cill Aighne, and the Placenames Database glosses it as the church of Aighne with a question mark of its own. Aighne is read as a saint’s name, but the reading is not settled. The historical forms wander: Killaghny in 1306, Kyllene in 1473, Killoyne in 1590, Killeiny in 1655 and four spellings at once in the Ordnance Survey of 1841, Killiney, Killinie, Killiene and Killeiny.

Present-day mapping and the Archaeological Survey both write it Cill Éinne, which points at a different saint again. A large sandstone cross, 2.86 m tall and dressed smooth on every side, stands at the old church and graveyard in the village, about 600 m off the walk. Whether the crossroads takes its name from that cross or simply from the roads meeting there, the record does not say.

01Killiney CrossStart off the R560, at about 31 m, and go in through the Coillte forest gateway.
02Forest approachFollow easy forest tracks for the first three kilometres, climbing steadily to around 250 m before continuing onto open mountain.
03Stradbally MountainA sustained climb gains the high ridge, where views open across Lough Acummeen, Brandon Bay and the Maharees.
04BeenoskeeCross the dip between the summits and climb again over rocky ground to the route’s high point before turning back.
05Return to Killiney CrossCome back across the high ground and descend towards the forest tracks. The lower return largely retraces the approach to the same start.

My track defines this walk and its return. The shared forest approach and mountain ridge are also described by Dingle Hillwalking Club ↗, whose longer four-summit crossing finishes at Baile Dubh. This recording returns to Killiney Cross. The Irish forms, glosses and historical spellings are from the Placenames Database: Binn os Gaoith, record 101038 ↗, Cnoc an tSráidbhaile, record 1165822 ↗, An Sráidbhaile, record 22784 ↗, Loch an Choimín, record 1414798 ↗, and Cill Aighne, record 22513 ↗, where the gloss carries its own question mark and the spellings are dated. A search for Coumnagower returns nothing there. The cross is Archaeological Survey record KE036-003004, part of the Killiney church and graveyard complex KE036-003, described in J. Cuppage, Corca Dhuibhne: Dingle Peninsula Archaeological Survey (Ballyferriter, 1986), no. 854; the Survey heads that entry Cill Éinne. Its distance from the recorded line is measured from the GPX to the published coordinate. Nothing on the record connects the crossroads to the cross. The recorded line passes no monument on the Survey: the nearest is a ringfort, KE036-005, about 310 m away near the start. The same two summits are climbed from the other side on the Glanteenassig route, which carries on along the ridge to Cú Chulainn’s House.

Forecast for around 800 m

Reading the forecast…

NOW

WIND

TODAY’S PEAK RAIN CHANCE

PLANNING FORECAST · AROUND 800 M

Reading the forecast…

–cloud

–humidity

–km/h peak gust

Strongest wind today–

Peak gust–

RECENT RAINFALL · LIKELY GROUND

RAIN, GUST & VISIBILITY WINDOW

BEST HIKING WINDOW

DAYLIGHT PLAN

MET ÉIREANN · KERRY

NEXT SIX HOURS · swipe

Reading the forecast

Forecast. This is a modelled estimate for this route’s high ground; conditions can differ sharply across the mountain. Derived from Open-Meteo forecast data ↗.

HAZARDS & OPTIONSKnow the commitment.

This is a strenuous mountain day with a long ascent and a substantial return after the summits.

The high ridge is exposed to wind and cloud, and the correct descent can be difficult to identify in poor visibility.

Steep cliffs and broken slopes enclose Lough Acummeen. Keep a generous margin from the corrie rim.

Loose stone, wet grass and boggy ground can make the climb and descent slow or slippery.

Forest tracks may carry working vehicles. Keep entrances clear and follow local access notices.

Turn back down the known approach if wind, cloud or tiredness builds before the ridge. On the high ground, retrace a line you can navigate confidently and avoid shortcuts towards Lough Acummeen or down unseen corrie slopes. Keep enough daylight and energy for the return through the forest.

ABOVE LOUGH ACUMMEEN

My photographs.

12 photographsSwipe and tap to enlarge from the walk · select to enlarge

Lough Acummeen below a steep rocky mountain wall with the coast beyond — 01Lough Acummeen beneath the cliffs

A view down a rocky hollow towards Lough Acummeen and blue Brandon Bay — 02From the rocks to Brandon Bay

Lough Acummeen below a grassy ridge with the Maharees stretching into the Atlantic — 03The lough and the Maharees

A broad stony slope facing the steep ridge above Lough Acummeen — 04The ridge above the corrie

Loose stones on a broad mountain ridge with layered Dingle hills beyond — 05Across the high stony ground

A panorama of green Dingle mountains beneath scattered white clouds — 06The mountains beyond the ridge

Rocky mountain slopes looking down into the green Glanteenassig valley and its loughs — 07Looking into Glanteenassig

The Maharees peninsula and Lough Gill seen from high above the coast — 08The Maharees and Lough Gill

Brandon Bay and coastal fields beyond a rocky mountain shoulder — 09Brandon Bay from above

A fence running down rough mountain ground towards a wide view of the hills and coast — 10Down the mountain shoulder

Cloud drifting across a rocky grassy slope with a faint coastal view beyond — 11The view closing in

Mist over the upper mountain above grassy slopes, rocks and a fence — 12Cloud on the mountain

03 · GO

Getting there.

Start well.

STARTKilliney Cross

Select coordinates to copy

There is space for 2–3 cars at Killiney Cross, off the R560 Dingle-to-Tralee road. The walk enters through a Coillte forest gateway. Park without blocking the gateway, road or farm access, respect local signs and leave gates as found. The small parking area can fill quickly.

ROUTE FILE

Take the route with you.

The GPX keeps my original coordinates and timestamps but has no heights, so the profile uses the GeoJSON.

Distance comes from the 943 points in my track. Ascent, descent and heights come from the GeoJSON, because the GPX and KML have no heights. The time shown is the 5 h 26 min between the first and last timestamps in my GPX, not a planning estimate. All three downloads are as I recorded them.

Download original GPXstradbally-and-beenoskee-from-killiney-cross.gpx · original GPX

More formats

GeoJSON KML

Confirm the download when your browser asks, then open the file from your browser’s downloads and your mapping app will offer to take it. HiiKER and Garmin Explore both do; the route loads on HiiKER’s free tier, though its EastWest mapping of the Irish uplands is a paid layer. Onto a watch: import the GPX into Garmin Connect, Komoot or Strava and send it to the device from there.