The Beara Way () is a long-distance trail in the southwest of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is a long circular trail around the

Beara Peninsula Beara ( ga, Béarra) or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" (actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down it ...

that begins and ends in

Glengarriff Glengarriff () is a village of approximately 140 people on the N71 national secondary road in the Beara Peninsula of County Cork, Ireland. Known internationally as a tourism venue, it has a number of natural attractions. It sits at the norther ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

, also passing through parts of County Kerry. It is typically completed in nine days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...

and is managed by the Beara Tourism and Development Association.

History

The Beara Tourism and Development Association began work on planning and developing the Beara Way in 1991 with funding from the West Cork County Development Team, Cospóir and

Bord Fáilte Cucerdea ( hu, Oláhkocsárd, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a commune in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Bord (''Bord''), Cucerdea, and Șeulia de Mureș (''Oláhsályi''). The commune is located in the sout ...

. Construction was carried out by workers on FÁS social employment schemes. The completed trail was formally opened by

Toddy O'Sullivan Toddy O'Sullivan (8 November 1934 – 12 December 2021) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served for sixteen years as a Teachta Dála (TD) for constituencies in Cork, and for five years as a junior minister. He also served as Lord Mayor ...

, TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, in June 1996. A major upgrade of the trail was completed in 2009 and involved the construction of 20 bridges, 200 stiles, 15 information boards and 30 plaques. A review of the National Waymarked Trails in 2010 found the Beara Way to be one of the most heavily used of the trails. It recommended that it be one of five National Waymarked Trails that should be prioritised to be upgraded to a National Long Distance Trail, a proposed new standard of trail in Ireland, intended to meet international standards for outstanding trails.

Route

Starting at Glengarriff, the Beara Way enters the Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve and then climbs into the Caha Mountains to an altitude of as it traverses the pass north of

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a r ...

mountain before descending to reach the village of

Adrigole Adrigole () is a village on the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the ...

. From Adrigole, the trail follows the southern flanks of

Hungry Hill Hungry Hill or Knockday ( ga, Cnoc Daod) is the highest of the Caha Mountains on the Beara Peninsula in Munster, Ireland. Etymology The first part of the Irish name ''Cnoc Daod'' means "hill". The second part may be a dialectal variant of ...

and the

Slieve Mish Mountains , translation = ossiblymountains of Mis , language = Irish , photo=File:Fenit Marina Ireland.JPG , photo_caption= Slieve Mish Mountains from across the Tralee Bay in the village of Fenit , country=Republic of Ireland , location = Kerry ...

to reach Castletownbere. A spur route makes a circuit of

Bere Island Bere Island or Bear Island (, although officially called ''An tOileán Mór'' meaning "the big island") is an island in Bantry Bay off the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland. It spans roughly 10 km x 3 km, with an area of 17.68&n ...

, which is connected to Castletownbere by a ferry service. The route from Castletownbere to

Allihies Allihies (; ) is a townland in the civil parish of Kilnamanagh, in County Cork, Ireland. The townland of Allihies is located at the western tip of the Beara Peninsula. History of copper mining From the Bronze Age the area had been a site of co ...

is via an old cattle droving path. Copper mining was the main activity in Ahillies for many years and the remains of abandoned mine working dot the landscape. Another circular spur route starts from Allihies and brings the trail to the very tip of the Beara Peninsula where a cable car connects the trail with

Dursey Island Dursey Island ( ga, Baoi Bhéarra or ') lies at the southwestern tip of the Beara Peninsula in the west of County Cork in Ireland. Dursey Island is 6.5 kilometres long and 1.5 kilometres wide. The island is separated from the mainland by a narro ...

. From Ahillies, the trail follows a miners' track and climbs the copper-rich crags above the village, crossing a mountain pass to reach Eyeries. A ridge along the coast connects Eyeries with

Ardgroom Ardgroom () is a village on the Beara peninsula in County Cork, Ireland. Its name refers to two gravelly hills deposited by a glacier, Dromárd and Drombeg. It lies to the north north west of Glenbeg Lough, overlooking the Kenmare River estuary ...

. The trail then crosses into County Kerry to reach

Tuosist Tuosist () is a civil parish in the far south of County Kerry, Ireland. It shares the Béara Peninsula with the neighbouring parishes of County Cork, and the Caha Mountains form the county border. The nearest town is Kenmare. The parish i ...

, via Lauragh. From Tuosist, the Way crosses the northern slopes of Knockagarrane and then passes between Clonee Lough and Lough Inchiquin before crossing a mountain pass. The route diverges here, continuing north to

Kenmare Kenmare () is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of ''Ceann Mara'', meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay. Location Kenmare is located at the head of Kenmare Ba ...

or south to Bonane. The final stage returns to Glengarriff via Bonane Heritage Park and Esk mountain. A spur route connects Glengarriff with Kealkill,

Gougane Barra Gougane Barra () is a scenic valley and heritage site in the Shehy Mountains of County Cork, Ireland. It is near Ballingeary in the Muskerry ''Gaeltacht''. Gougane Barra is at the source of the River Lee and includes a lake with an oratory built ...

and

Ballingeary Ballingeary (, ) is a village in the Shehy Mountains in County Cork, Ireland. The village is located within the Muskerry ''Gaeltacht'' (Irish-speaking area). According to the 2016 census, over 42% of the population speak Irish on a daily basi ...

Intersecting and connecting paths

The route forms part of

Beara-Breifne Way The Beara-Breifne Way is a long-distance walking and cycling trail being developed from the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland, to Blacklion in the area of Breifne in County Cavan. The trail follows closely the line of the historical march ...

, a walking and cycling route under development, intended to run from the Beara Peninsuala to Breifne,

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

/ County Cavan area, following the line of

Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare, Prince of Beare, 1st Count of Berehaven ( ga, Domhnall Cam Ó Súileabháin Bhéara) (1561–1618), was an Irish nobleman and soldier who was the last independent Chief of the Name of the O'Sullivan clan. He was thus ...

's march in the aftermath of the

Battle of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale, or Battle of Kinsale ( ga, Léigear/Cath Chionn tSáile), was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of t ...

in 1602. The Mealagh Valley Walking Route is a trail linking the Beara Way with the

Sheep's Head Way Sheep's Head, also known as Muntervary ( ga, Rinn Mhuintir Bháire), is the headland at the end of the Sheep's Head peninsula situated between Bantry Bay and Dunmanus Bay in County Cork, Ireland. The peninsula is popular with walkers, and ...

. The Beara Way also forms the start (or end, depending on direction travelled) of European walking route E8 which runs from Dursey Island to

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, Turkey. The E8 joins the

Kerry Way The Kerry Way () is a long-distance trail in County Kerry, Ireland. It is a long circular trail that begins and ends in Killarney and is typically broken into nine stages. It is designated as a long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland, Na ...

History

Route

Intersecting and connecting paths

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links