Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [233]
The Sheep’s Head Way is an 88km-long walking route around the peninsula, on roads and tracks where possible. Use Ordnance Survey maps 85 and 88 to navigate your way around (see www.osi.ie to purchase maps). There are no campsites on Sheep’s Head Peninsula; camping along the route is allowed with permission from the landowner.
The 120km Sheep’s Head Cycle Route runs anticlockwise from Ballylickey (north of Bantry), round the coastline of Sheep’s Head Peninsula, back onto the mainland and down to Ballydehob. There are opportunities to take short cuts or alternative routes (eg over the Goat’s Path Rd, or along the coast from Ahakista to Durrus). The widely available brochure, The Sheep’s Head Cycle Route, has full details.
Getting There & Away
Bantry Rural Transport ( 027-52727; www.ruraltransport.ie; 5 Main St, Bantry) buses run a circular route on various days, going via the Goat’s Path Rd to Kilcrohane and Durrus (one-way/return €4/6).
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BEARA PENINSULA (RING OF BEARA)
The Beara Peninsula is the third major ‘ring’ in the west. Dingle and Kerry are comfortably in the number one and two spots respectively, leaving Beara in third place, which is just about right.
The south side, along Bantry Bay, is a series of interesting working fishing villages and scenery that’s mild on the eyes. The north side, in contrast, is often a stunner, with craggy drives in and out of the nooks and crannies of the peninsula. A plus is that many of these roads are off the tourist trail.
Other highlights include a thrillingly wobbly cable car at the tip of the peninsula, which takes you and the sheep out to tiny Dursey Island and exhilarating hill walking requiring some skill and commitment, as well as proper clothing and navigational experience.
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BEARA WAY
This moderately easy, 196km walk forms a loop around the Beara Peninsula. The peninsula is relatively unused to mass tourism and makes a pleasant contrast with the Iveragh Peninsula to the north.
Part of the walk, between Castletownbere and Glengarriff, follows the route taken by Donal O’Sullivan and his band after the English took his castle following an 11-day siege in 1602. At Glengarriff, O’Sullivan met up with other families and set out on a journey north, hoping to reunite with other remaining pockets of Gaelic resistance. Of the 1000 or so men who set out that winter, only 30 completed the trek. Bundle up.
The Beara Way mostly follows old roads and tracks and rarely rises above 340m. There’s no official start or finish point and the route can be walked in either direction. It could easily be reduced to seven days by skipping Bere and Dursey Islands and, if you start at Castletownbere, you could reach Kenmare in five days or less.
There’s a good downloadable guide to the walk (and the peninsula itself) at www.bearatourism.com.
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The 196km Beara Way is a signposted walk linking Glengarriff with Kenmare (in Kerry) via Castletownbere, Bere Island, Dursey Island and the north side of the peninsula; for more details, see above. The 138km Beara Way Cycle Route takes a similar direction, passing through all the villages on Beara via small lanes.
Orientation & Information
A small part of the peninsula lies in Kerry, but is dealt with here for the convenience of people travelling the Ring of Beara. Castletownbere in Cork and Kenmare in Kerry make good bases for exploring the area.
You can easily drive the 137km around the coast in one day, but you would miss the spectacular Healy Pass road (R574), which cuts across the peninsula from Cork to Kerry. In fact, if pressed for time, skip the rest and do the pass.
The following towns are described in a route that assumes you’re starting from Glengarriff and working your way clockwise to Kenmare.
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GLENGARRIFF
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Hidden deep in the Bantry Bay area, Glengarriff