The environs of
Benwee Head (Gaelic: An Bhinn Bhuí 'the yellow cliff')
County Mayo, with its
cliffs,
arches,
stacks and
islands, offers some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in
Ireland. These cliffs tower over
Broadhaven Bay in the
Atlantic Ocean and there are way-marked cliff walking trails along them for which maps can be obtained from
Comhar Dún Chaocháin Teo in
Carrowteige. To appreciate the cliffs fully, you need to see them from the sea. Benwee Head is in the townland of
Kilgalligan in the parish of
Kilcommon,
Erris, a townland whose microtoponyms (field place names) and
folklore traditions has been studied in detail in the 1975 book,
The Living Landscape: Kilgalligan. An Bhinn Bhuí is the 1001st highest summit in Ireland and is all the more spectacular as its north sides drop vertically into the wild Atlantic Ocean. An Bhinn Bhuí is the most northerly summit in the North Mayo area.