"It was our first time to walk part of the Wild Atlantic Way so we contacted IrelandWays to help us plan our trip. We were very happy with the package we purchased as everything went well. We were a bit worried about walking on our own for fear of getting lost. With all the information and maps we had we had no problem finding our way around. It was a brilliant experience. Magnificent views. We would highly recommend IrelandWays and we will be using their services again. Everything was well organised. Walks and views around Allihies, Dursey sound, Dursey Island, Castletownbere, Glengarriff, all worth a visit. Murphy's restaurant Castletownbere great place to eat and very friendly staff. You might even get a free scone for your walk the following day."
It’s hard to think of anywhere else in Ireland where the phrase “there is a view around every corner” is more fitting than on the Beara Peninsula. Hiking the Beara Way is full of highlights gives you the opportunity to explore the region’s breathtaking rugged mountains and lakes stretching 48km into the Atlantic Ocean, from Glengarriff to Dursey Island.
Due to its remoteness The Beara Peninsula has remained one of the most unspoiled parts of Ireland and walkers will be rewarded with a magnificent combination of mountain and coastal scenery, as well as the highest waterfall in Ireland and the UK. Warmed by the Gulf Stream, the area offers a unique bounty of flora and marine fauna rarely seen anywhere else in Ireland. With 511 historical sites, the Beara Peninsula has the highest number of ancient monuments in Ireland. Every day you will see reminders of local history, following the same walking trails used by Celts, Spanish, French and British over the past few centuries. You will find the remains of ring forts, Martello towers, barracks and signal towers scattered all along The Beara Way.
If you are looking for a thrill, hop on the Dursey Island cable car, the only one crossing open sea in Europe and the only one still in operation in Ireland. All along the walking sections on the Beara Way you will have the chance to explore its unique landscape and heritage. This section of the Wild Atlantic Way is a walkers paradise. This route has many 5 star reviews.
You will start this walking tour on the Wild Atlantic Way in Glengarriff – translated from An Gleann Garbh which in Irish/Gaelic means the Rugged Glen. This is a truly cosmopolitan village situated in a glacial valley in West Cork. Glengarriff is nestled by the foothills of the Caha Mountain range and its climate is mild and temperate due to the Gulf Stream which warms the waters of Bantry Bay.
On the first stage of your walk along the Beara Way you will leave Glengarriff moving on to quiet boreens (Irish for rural roads) flanked on either side by a young mixed wood forest for roughly six Kilometres until you join a mountain trail. You contour around Sugarloaf mountain, gently gaining altitude till you reach the highest point of this trip at 530m approx., where the views to your right will be of the impressive Caha Mountains. This area hosts an array of mountain lakes, deep valleys and shear rock faces. Here you will also have a panoramic view Bantry Bay, Whiddy Island and the Atlantic ocean.
From this point you begin your descent, circumnavigating Toberavanaha Lough and Lough Keel on your way to Adrigole and respite for the evening.
Have a hearty breakfast and refill your water bottles before starting todays walk, for the majority of the day you will be on mountain trails as you contour around Hungry Hill (made famous by a novel of the same name written by Daphne du Maurier and published in 1943, the story follows a family of Anglo-Irish landowners through five generations from 1820-1920) Knocknagree and Maulin. From the highest point of the trail on Maulin you see where the next few days of trekking along the Wild Atlantic Way will take you, looking down on to Bere Island and across to Knockgour mountain.
Castletownbere is the end of our Short tour.
As you leave Castletownbere the route crosses ever green forest boreens and open hill terrain ascend and contour around Knockgour Mountain 481m. Today you will cross from the South side of the Beara peninsula to the North side as descend towards Ballydongan Bay and your accommodation near Dursey Point.
This morning you will be retracing your steps to the Beara Way to Allihies. If you have time check out the Allihies copper museum and cafe, showcasing the copper mining industry at the beginning of the Industrial revolution and how it changed the land and people of Allihies forever. From Allihies you follow a boreen in the foothills of Knockoura and passing some of the disused copper mines along the way, before heading towards Miskish mountain with views of Coulagh Bay and Inishfarnard. Finally descending to Eyeries and your accommodation for the evening.
Optional: Add an extra day to your itinerary, allowing yourself to get some laundry done, sleep in and have a late breakfast before taking a day off your trek to explore the Allihies Copper Mine Museum, after one hundred years of being mined, the copper mines in Allihies are so deep and extensive that they go under the sea. The highlights of this area include an animal sanctuary/rehab, beautiful sandy beaches and a selection of bars and cafes to help you rest and recharge before tackling the second half of your tour.
Today may feel like a short day on the Beara Way even though you will be walking more than 20 kilometres, you will be following close to the coast line on a mixture of rural roads and grassy tracks. You will pass through an area called Faunhill and the woods which is where one of the tallest standing stones in Ireland is still standing (4.7m dating back to the 5th or 6th century).
With stunning coastal views on your left and views of the mountains of Lackawee 572m, Tooreennamna 500m, Coomacloghane 599m and several more mountains rising up to your right this is a relaxed walking day to your destination in Lauragh.
Lauragh is at sea level, so it will seem like you gain a lot of height today, but this will not be to strenuous. Today is a shorter day than yesterday but a little more challenging area along the Wild Atlantic Way, with two mountains to cross and most of the walking done on mountain trails. To warm you up you will pass between Knockatee 330m and Knockanoughanish 386m on a rural road before joining a mountain trail as you contour around Knockagarrane 414m, from here you will have the perfect vantage point to look back on where you have travelled from.
You then descend to a land bridge between Cloonee Lough and Lough Inchiquin (on the banks of Lough Inchiquin there is a stone circle and a nature reserve), this is quite a nice area to have lunch before tackling the mountain pass on Derrysallagh 410m, your accommodation for this evening in Kenmare.
Archaeological sites indicate inhabitation of the area dating from circa 2200-500BC, the largest stone circle in the west of Ireland and a bridge believed to have been constructed in the 11th century are located a few minutes walk the Kenmare town centre. The Irish Tourist Board, Bord Fáilte, officially recognized the cultural, environmental, and historical significance of Kenmare by giving it the title of Kerrys first Heritage Town.
Step 1: Kerry Airport to Cork City | Bus Éireann | Travel time 2H40 outside the main terminal, leaving every 4 hours | Fare €32 return.
Step 2: Cork City (Parnell Place Bus Station) to Glengarriff | Bus Éireann No.236 | Travel time 2H15 approx, departure every 2 hours | Fare €15 return.
Step 1: Cork Airport to Cork City | Rural buses | Travel time 0H20 just outside the main terminal every 2 hours | Fare €9 return approx.
Step 1: Dublin Airport to Cork City | Bus Éireann | Travel time 6H15, leaving every 2 hours from mid-morning to evening | Fare €30 return approx.
Step 3: Dublin City Centre (Heuston Train Station) to Cork City | Irish Rail | Travel time 2H30, leaving every 2 hours | Fare €40-€80 return approx. (Depending on travel day and time).
Step 4: Cork City (Parnell Place Bus Station) to Glengarriff | Bus Éireann No.236 | Travel time 2H15 approx, departure every 2 hours | Fare €15 return.
Kenmare to Killarney | Bus Éireann No.270 | Travel time 0H50 leaving Darcy’s Restaurant on Main Street, every 2 hours from morning to mid afternoon | Fare €17 approx. one way.
Bus Éireann – Intercity Bus.
West Cork Rural Transport – Rural Bus.