Letterfrack Voyage Tips and guide

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Letterfrack is a village on the coast of Connemara in County Galway, with a population of about 200. In Irish Leitir means a rock-strewn 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.

53°33′18″N 9°56′42″W

Map of Letterfrack

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

Bus Éireann 423 runs every two hours from Westport (where it connects with trains from Dublin), taking 1 hr 40 min via Leenane to Letterfrack, and another 20 min to Clifden.

Citylink Bus 923 runs every two hours from Galway to Clifden, and four per day continue to Letterfrack, taking just under two hours.

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

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

• 53.5511-9.94471 Connemara National Park, Letterfrack, ☏ +353 95 41054, [email protected]. 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. The park was extended in 2025. No park fees. (updated May 2025)

• 53.549-9.9142 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 still in use, but its history 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 Protestantism. 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.
• 53.5617-9.88923 Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Gardens, Pollacappul H91 VR90, ☏ +353 95 52001. Daily 10AM-6PM. 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 take an hour or two to explore. Adult €18, conc €15.50, child under 12 free. (updated May 2025)
• 53.6-104 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.
• 53.614-10.215 Inishbofin Island is reached by ferry from Cleggan.

• 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.

53.521-9.8326 Benbaun (Binn Bhán, "white peak") is the highest - 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.

• Wild Atlantic Way is a motoring itinerary round the coast from Donegal to Kinsale near Cork. Northbound 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 recommend that you learn in warm water eg Red Sea then venture into cold water once you've gained a basic qualification.

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

• Veldons Seafarer, Letterfrack H91 FD28 (village centre), ☏ +353 95 41046. Daily 10AM-11PM. Pub with good sea food, bar serves all day, restaurant all main meals. (updated May 2025)
• Connemara Woodfire 100 m behind Veldons is a pizzeria open Th-Su 1-8PM.
• Wild Goat is a cafe across the main road from Veldons.
• Hungry Hiker 100 m beyond Old Monastery is open daily 10AM-5PM.

• Molly's Bar is a traditional no-frills bar in village centre, open 10:30AM-11:30PM.

• 53.5544-9.95071 Connemara National Park Lodge, Letterfrack (village centre), ☏ +353 95 41222. Run by the park management, they have a hostel dorm, hotel rooms and self-catering. (updated May 2025)
• Cloverfox in village centre has a bar, restaurant, hostel dorm and private rooms.
• 53.552-9.94582 Old Monastery Hostel, Letterfrack H91 TK50, ☏ +353 87 234 9543. Small independent hostel. (updated May 2025)
• 53.5607-9.97833 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. (updated May 2025)
• 53.5488-9.97544 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 €250. (updated May 2025)
• 53.543-9.99215 Eriu Lodge, Letterfrack H91 V254, ☏ +353 95 41159. Comfy welcoming B&B. B&B double €100. (updated May 2025)
• 53.5644-9.83416 Kylemore Pass Hotel, Kylemore H91 TD80, ☏ +353 95 41141. Welcoming small hotel on the road to Leenane. (updated May 2025)

• As of May 2025, Letterfrack and its approach roads have 4G from all Irish carriers. 5G has not reached this area.

• 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.