Slieve Binnian
Sliabh Binneáin
Slieve Binnian with a light dusting of snow
Highest point
Elevation746 m (2,448 ft)
Prominence349 m (1,145 ft)
ListingMarilyn, Hewitt
Geography
LocationCounty Down, Northern Ireland
Parent rangeMourne Mountains
OSI/OSNI gridJ320234
Topo mapOSNI Landranger 29, OSNI Outdoor Pursuits map Mourne Country

Slieve Binnian (from Irish Sliabh Binneáin, meaning 'mountain of the little peaks')[1] is one of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland, 9 km north of Kilkeel. It is the third-highest mountain in Northern Ireland at 747 metres (2,451 ft). The summit is broad and flat with rocky tors at the north and south ends, with the Back Castles, impressive towers of granite, in between.[2][3] To the south-west is Wee Binnian (from Irish Broinn Bhinneáin, meaning 'breast of Binneán') (460m).[1] It lies east of Silent Valley Reservoir and west of the Annalong Valley. The Mourne Wall also crosses over Slieve Binnian.[2]

The mountain is in the townland of Brackenagh East Upper (379 acres), the civil parish of Kilkeel and the historic barony of Mourne.[1][4]

Places of interest

  • Overlooking Annalong Wood on the eastern slopes of Slieve Binnian is the disused quarry of Douglas Crag.[2]
  • What appears to be the remains of an abandoned quarrying village lies on the south eastern slopes of Slieve Binnan. Ruins of rock huts are spread across a landscape littered with part quarried rock.[2]

Binnian Tunnel

The Binnian Tunnel (2.5 miles long) was built between 1947 and 1950/51 underneath Slieve Binnian, to transport water from the Annalong Valley to the Silent Valley. A workforce of 150 was involved in two tunnelling teams which started from opposite ends and met in the middle nearly 800m under the roof of the mountain. Having been carefully measuring their positions the whole time, they found they were only two inches off course when the two tunnels met.[3][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Slieve Binnian". Place Names NI. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Slieve Binnian". The Mourne Mountains. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Slieve Binnian". Walking and Hiking Ireland. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Brackenagh East Upper". IreAtlas Townlands Database. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Binnian Tunnel". BBC NI - Your Place and Mine. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
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54°08′34″N 5°58′51″W / 54.14272°N 5.98083°W / 54.14272; -5.98083


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