Binevenagh () is a mountain in

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. It marks the western extent of the

Antrim Plateau County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population of ...

formed around 60 million years ago by molten lava. The plateau and steep cliffs extend for over 6 miles across the peninsula of

Magilligan Magilligan () is a peninsula that lies in the northwest of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, at the entrance to Lough Foyle, within Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is an extensive coastal site, part British army firing range, part ...

and dominate the skyline over the villages of

Bellarena Bellarena (derived from French ''belle'' "beautiful" + Latin ''arena'' "sand, strand"; is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is on the A2 coastal road between Limavady and Coleraine, north of Limavady. T ...

, Downhill,

Castlerock Castlerock is a seaside village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is five miles west of Coleraine, and part of Causeway Coast and Glens district. It is very popular with summer tourists, with numerous apartment blocks and two caravan ...

and Benone beach. The area has been classified as both an Area of Special Scientific Interest and as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The total area of the AONB is 138 km². The Bishop's Road, named after the

Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, b ...

, extends across the plateau. Notable features include the

Mussenden Temple Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock in County Londonderry, high above the Atlantic Ocean on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland. History Perched on the cliffs overlooking Downhill Stran ...

and a cliff top viewing area on the Bishop's Road giving good views over

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over ...

and across

Inishowen Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland. The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrcon ...

Sport

*Gliding - the Ulster Gliding Club uses the slopes for gliders. *Hang gliding and Paragliding - the slopes are used for soaring by the Ulster Hang gliding and Paragliding Club (UHPC). *Fishing - an artificial lake at the top of the mountain is used for trout fishing. *Motorsport - the Coleraine & District Motor Club run the Eagles Rock

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

event during the month of July.

Railway access

The trains on the Belfast-Derry railway line, run by

Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose paren ...

(NIR), call at

Bellarena railway station Bellarena railway station serves the village of Bellarena and the broader Limavady area in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The current two-platform station was opened in 2016, replacing the original single-platform 1853 station located on ...

between Waterside railway station, in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, and

Castlerock railway station Castlerock railway station serves the villages of Castlerock, Articlave and their surrounding hamlets in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Walkers use the station to reach Mussenden Temple, Downhill Strand and Benone. The station ope ...

. Trains continue from Castlerock to

Coleraine railway station Coleraine railway station serves the town of Coleraine in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It shares facilities with the town's Ulsterbus bus depot. History The station was opened by the Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Portrush Jun ...

and other stations to Belfast Central and Belfast Great Victoria Street.

Plane crash

On 24 June 1944 a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

(FL977) of No. 5 Squadron RAF was returning to

RAF Ballykelly Royal Air Force Ballykelly or more simply RAF Ballykelly is a former Royal Air Force station which opened in 1941 in Ballykelly, County Londonderry. It closed in 1971 when the site was handed over to the British Army as Shackleton Barracks. A ...

after a combat mission over

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

. The aircraft crashed into Binevenagh during its third attempt to land, killing all nine crewmembers onboard.

References

External links

Binevenagh Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
Marilyns of Northern Ireland Mountains and hills of County Londonderry Special Areas of Conservation in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Environment Agency properties Protected areas of County Londonderry Volcanism of Northern Ireland Aviation accidents and incidents locations in Northern Ireland {{Londonderry-geo-stub