Letterfrack

Letterfrack is a small village on the Atlantic coast of Connemara, County Galway. In Irish Leitir means a rough hillside and fraic means speckled, referring to the bright quartzite rocks. The main reasons to visit are Connemara National Park and Kylemore Abbey and Gardens.

Get in

Letterfrack is on N59 between Clifden and Westport in County Mayo.

Bus Éireann 423 runs three times a day from Westport via Leenane and along the bank of Killary Fjord to Letterfrack and Clifden. Some departures are timed to connect with trains from Dublin at Westport.

Citylink Bus 923 operates daily from Galway via Clifden to Letterfrack each morning, with a return service back to Galway each evening. This is a scenic drive across Connemara with views of Lough Corrib, numerous smaller lakes and the Twelve Bens mountain range. On Tuesday Bus Éireann 419 also operates from Cliden via Letterfrack and Leenane to Galway. More frequent buses from Galway are available at Clifden.

Clifden is 14 km from Letterfrack so a taxi from there shouldn't cost that much.

Get around

You need a car, as much for shelter from the wind and rain as for transport.

See

• 1 Connemara National Park, Letterfrack, ☏ +353 95 41054, cnp@ahg.gov.ie. Park 24 hr, Visitor Centre daily 9AM-5PM. The Park covers some 2000 hectares of mountains, bogs, heaths, grasslands and forests. Purple moorgrass cloaks the terrain; it's poor soil where many plants are nourished by eating the insects. The bugs also draw a lot of birdlife, but there's limited land fauna. The Visitor Centre sometimes puts on exhibitions and guided walks and talks. No park fees. (updated Jun 2020)

Kylemore Abbey

• 2 Diamond Hill is the one of the "Twelve Bens" that you can't help seeing, as it's so prominent near the highway. Like the others it's quartzite, so "diamond" refers both to its glittering crystal and its etched shape. In Irish it's Binn Ghuaire, meaning "the peak of Guaire" who was a 7th-century king of Connacht. At 442 m (1450 ft) the peak only counts as a "Marilyn" but its easy access and grand views make it popular. Almost too popular, as it had to be closed 2002-05 because of erosion. There's now a stout boardwalk and stone path; the trail starts from the Park visitor centre.
• St Joseph's Church is in Letterfrack next to what is now the Old Monastery Hostel, see Sleep. It's an attractive neo-Romanesque building of 1924, but in 2020 is not in use; the history of its site mixes farce and tragedy. In the mid-19th century the landowners (Quakers from Bradford, Yorkshire) sought to alleviate post-famine poverty by developing the village. They sold the site in 1857 to a supporter of the Irish Church Mission, dedicated to converting Catholics to Protestanism. After 25 unsuccessful years that mission gave up and sold on, but made sure to sell to an equally staunch Protestant. They were duped: it was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam under a false name. He set up the place as St Joseph's Industrial School, run by the Christian Brothers, and from 1887 to 1974 it was a temple to physical and sexual abuse. It's reckoned 147 boys died here at the hands of the Brothers. Letterfrack was isolated: not only troublesome boys but dysfunctional priests could be consigned to oblivion here, but see Tuam for what was happening right under successive bishops' noses.
• 3 Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Gardens, Pollacappul. Daily 10AM-4:30PM. The castle is a grand cod-Gothic affair built from 1867 with a Manchester textile fortune. Its estate included much of what is now the National Park. In 1920 it was bought by a community of Benedictine nuns who'd been evacuated from Ypres during the First World War, and it's been an abbey since then. It was also a school, but that closed in 2010. You park at its visitor centre then a shuttle bus takes you on. Only a few rooms of the castle / abbey are on display, plus the church and family mausoleum. The big attraction is the extensive gardens, which will take an hour or two to explore. Adult €14. (updated Jun 2020)
• 4 Renvyle Peninsula is north of Letterfrack, follow the lane towards Tully Cross. There's the scrappy ruins of a castle and chapel, and a sprinkling of B&Bs. Renvyle Hotel was owned by the multi-talented Oliver St. John Gogarty; the IRA torched it in 1923 but he rebuilt.
• 5 Inishbofin Island is reached by ferry from Cleggan.

Do

• Hike the Twelve Bens. Only keep a careful count, as no-one is sure how many there are: the original Irish name Na Beanna Beola means "the peaks of Beola" who was a legendary giant. The highest, 6 Benbaun (Binn Bhán, "white peak"), is only 729 m (2392 ft), but like the others it rises sharply from lower country, with a pointed quartzite peak. It's not a difficult climb but it's a 9-km (4- to 5-hr) slog, either up Gleninagh valley or by climbing Knockpasheemore and then traversing the long ridge; and then there's the getting back. A more popular hike is "the Glencoaghan Horseshoe", a line of peaks around the head of that U-shaped glen, which doesn't take in Benbaun. There are other "horseshoe" hikes around the other valleys, and their glaciated U-shapes provide some challenging rock-climbing. The "Twelve Bens Challenge" is a circuit of 28 km, 2530 m (8300 ft) elevation, and taking a rufty-tufty hillwalker 12–14 hours to complete.
• Drive or cycle the Wild Atlantic Way. Coming from Clifden the suggested route is to follow the Sky Road until it loops back to N59, then branch west along the lane to Claddaghduff (for Omey Island) and Cleggan, then return to N59 to reach Letterfrack. From here take the lane north to Tully Cross and along the shore east to Killary fjord and Leenane.
• Scuba dive off Renvyle. Scubadivewest are a PADI centre so you can learn here, but it's cold water — drysuit territory. Most divers would recommend that you learn in warm water eg Red Sea then venture into cold water once you've gained a basic qualification.

Buy

• The village store on N59 is open daily 8AM-10PM.
• The nearest filling station is Circle K 6 km east, pumps 24 hr.

Eat

• Veldons Seafarer, Letterfrack H91 FD28 (on N59 in village centre), ☏ +353 95 41046. Daily 10AM-11:30PM. Pub with good sea food, bar serves all day, restaurant all main meals. (updated Jun 2020)
• The Park Hostel has a public restaurant, see Sleep.

Drink

Diamond Hill now has a boardwalk and stone path

• Molly's Bar is a traditional no-frills bar in village centre.

Sleep

• 1 Connemara National Park Hostel, Letterfrack (on N59 in village centre), ☏ +353 95 41222. Run by the park management, they have a hostel dorm, hotel rooms and self-catering. B&B double €65. (updated Jun 2020)
• Cloverfox in village centre has a bar, restaurant, hostel dorm and private rooms.
• 2 Old Monastery Hostel is a small independent hostel.
• 3 Mitchell's Cottage, Dawros More, Letterfrack H91 C7YR, ☏ +353 86 819 2568. Self-catering cottage rented by the week, Saturday to Saturday. Four bedrooms, sleeps 8. Electricity is by a €2 coin meter, reckon one coin per day. Dogs and many other beasts welcome. From €700 / week. (updated Jun 2020)
• 4 Rosleague Manor, Letterfrack H91 CK26, ☏ +353 95 41101. Upscale hotel in Georgian country house, fine dining. Open mid-Mar to mid-Nov. B&B double from €230. (updated May 2020)
• 5 Crocnaraw Country House, Moyard H91 EF82, ☏ +353 95 41068. Splendid small B&B in Georgian house, open May-Oct. B&B double £100. (updated May 2020)

Connect

• As of June 2020, there's mobile coverage along N59 with Eir, Three and Vodafone. 4G is patchy, and don't be relying on a signal up in the hills.

Go next

• East brings you to Leenane on one of Ireland's few fjords. North of there is County Mayo.
• At nearby Cleggan there are ferries to Inishbofin Island.
• N59 west winds around the coast to Clifden and eventually to the city of Galway.