Mountain Adventure in Mayo: The Bothy Loop at Letterkeen

There is something about arriving in County Mayo for the first time that makes you want to keep driving until the roads get quieter and the mountains begin to take over. That is exactly what happens when the two of you leave Newport behind and head towards Letterkeen in Wild Nephin National Park, with a Springer Spaniel and a Beagle watching the scenery change from the back seat.

The plan is simple: no summit, no serious mountain climb, just a proper walk through mountain country. The Bothy Loop starts at the Brogan Carroll Bothy in Letterkeen and is currently listed by the National Parks service as a 5 km moderate loop taking around 1 hour 45 minutes. With two dogs, plenty of sniffing stops and time to enjoy the scenery, allowing around two hours makes much more sense.

Setting Off From the Bothy

Harnesses on, leads clipped and boots sorted, you start out from the old stone bothy. The Springer is already trying to move faster while the Beagle has immediately discovered that Mayo contains approximately a million smells that apparently require investigation.

The trail gives you the feeling of being high in the mountains without asking you to tackle a summit. The wider Wild Nephin landscape is dominated by the Nephin Beg mountain range, with blanket bog, upland grassland, lakes and river valleys stretching into one of Ireland's wildest landscapes.

You follow tracks through Letterkeen, with the mountains rising around you rather than directly underneath your feet. There is enough ascent to remind you that you're in mountain country, but the official trail guide gives the Bothy Loop only around 80 metres of ascent, making it a much more approachable introduction to the area than the longer Letterkeen routes.

A Pause Beside the River

Partway around, the sound of running water gets the dogs' attention. At a calm, shallow edge, you stop for a few minutes and let them paddle their paws while staying securely on their leads. The Springer is straight in; the Beagle takes slightly longer to decide whether wet feet are actually necessary.

It is a small moment, but one of those parts of a walk that you remember. Mountains behind you, water running beside the trail and two happy dogs cooling down before you continue.

Dogs are welcome in Wild Nephin National Park, but they must remain on a lead at all times, both for their own safety and to protect wildlife and nearby livestock.

Discovering Mayo Together

The last section brings you gradually back towards the bothy. By now the dogs have settled into that comfortable post-adventure pace, and you're already talking about where else in Mayo you might explore.

That is what makes this kind of mountain adventure work. You haven't conquered a peak or spent six hours scrambling over rocks. You've simply walked together through one of Mayo's wild mountain landscapes, let the dogs investigate somewhere completely new and spent a couple of hours away from everything else.