Overview
Hag’s Leap is an isolated limestone crag standing off the north face of the Dartry Mountains above the Glenade valley in County Leitrim. Geological Survey Ireland describes the valley’s limestone cliffs, fissures and caves, and its survey records Poll na mBéar among the caves of the area. Poll na mBéar, “the hole of the bears”, is where excavators found the bones of brown bears that denned in the limestone thousands of years ago. Its neighbour, the crag alongside it, is Eagle’s Rock.
Set your expectations before you head out: there is no public approach to the crag or the cave, and the land around them is private. Keep clear of steep slopes, cave entrances and private land, and enjoy the landscape from public roads and public sites in the valley.
A glacier-carved pillar
The rock is Carboniferous limestone, laid down around 300 million years ago when this was a warm, shallow sea. The tower itself was cut by the last Ice Age: as the glaciers gouged out the Glenade valley, meltwater worked into the fissures, and repeated freeze and thaw widened the cracks until a huge chunk of the north face of Tievebaun parted along a fault line. What was left is the cone-shaped stack above the valley.
Rain has kept working on it since. Slightly acidic water dissolves limestone, and over millennia it has hollowed out a network of caves and fissures through the hilltop, along with the serrated crags on the slopes around the stack.
Poll na mBéar: the cave of bears
Poll na mBéar is the best known of those hollows. Excavations in the 2000s turned up the skeletons of several brown bears and their cubs, dated to around 2000 BC, proof that Ireland’s uplands once carried a thriving bear population. People first reached Ireland about 8000 BC, which means the earliest settlers shared this ground with bears for thousands of years. Keep away from the cave entrances; they are not a visitor attraction.
Eagle’s Rock and the hag
Eagle’s Rock, the cliff face next to the stack, once held nesting birds of prey. Golden eagles were hunted out of the Irish uplands roughly a century ago, so a buzzard riding the thermals is the likelier sighting now, best in the early morning or late afternoon.
The name comes from the Cailleach, the hag or winter goddess who turns up all across Ireland’s wilder landscapes. Local legend has her leaping between the peaks as the ice retreated, hurling boulders and gouging the valleys, with this pillar left as a perch to survey her work.
Practical information
- Access: No standalone public approach to the crag is given here. The surrounding land is private and the slopes are steep and unstable.
- A public alternative: Glencar Waterfall has a managed path and is the better choice for a public outing in the area.
- What to bring: Windproof layers for exposed ground, and binoculars if you want to watch for buzzards. Mobile reception can be patchy, so download offline maps beforehand.
Nearby stops in north Leitrim
Hag’s Leap sits within Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, close to the Wild Atlantic Way.
- Glencar Waterfall – a waterfall in a wooded valley, reached by a managed path and best after rain.
- Acres Lake – a floating boardwalk on the lakeshore, good for a flat, easy stroll.
- Battlebridge – a riverside spot with an old stone bridge.
- Cavan & Leitrim Railway – a restored narrow-gauge line; check current running days before you go.
- Scenic drive loop – link the R280, R282 and R281 for a circular drive through quiet townlands and past megalithic sites.