Beara peninsula sites

We toured the Ring of Beara in 1996 the first time (husband, wife and 9 year old son). Driving down a road exploring the southside of the peninsula, we ran into a large gate built into some woods and covering the road. We stopped and there was a place to leave a few pounds in a box at the entrance. We didn't know what it was, but we were in with the exploration. As we drove up the road a 15th century castle (Dunboy) ruin came into view and adjacent to it was a 19th century manor house (the Puxley Copper Baron) with the outer walls and open air ruins. Beautiful green and black marble all around on the ruins. A large group of bicyclers 30 or so had parked their cycles in a long tunnel and were exploring the premises. There was also a large skeleton of an old wooden frame ship exposed in the nearby water. What a find. We all loves this serendipity stop, especially our son. He climbed the rocks, crooks and crannies.

We took another couple in 2011 and retraced this part of our trip. Major disappointment! This whole area had been "developed" with condos, club, etc. Chainlink fence was up around the property. We stopped a few minutes and decided it had been ruined. It was a casualty of the raging Irish economy that put them in debt like the rest of the overbuilt housing development in the U.S. during this period.

I remembering stopping on the northside of the peninsula at a small pub for lunch. I asked if they could make me a crabmeat grilled cheese and they said yes. With a Murphy's, it was a meal was made in heaven (or Ireland).

Beara is a beautiful drive. Here is a website: www.westcorktravel.com that will help you spend a day on the Beara out of Kenmare. Hit the touring tab and you will see Beara Peninsula. It includes many great pictures of what you will see. The first trip we stayed at Glengariff & my son and I played golf 'til 10:30 p.m. at the local course. The second trip we stayed out a little from Kenmare, which has several good restaurants.

Happy travels!

hey William have you found this site yet http://www.bearatourism.com/bearaway.html it was pretty helpful. We stayed in Kenmare and hired a private guide for the Ring of Kerry but drove Beara ourselves. Our guide on the RofK gave us great input on the Beara drive and I really enjoyed it remoteness and its beauty, it was better than I expected it to be and was pretty laid back. Beara was pretty straight forward loop for us and it worked out well. If you are interested in a private tour for the Ring of Kerry or for Beara hit me up on private message and I'll send along the guy we hired. It was a nice break being driven for a day and provided commentary.

I just checked out all of those websites and it all looks amazing !!
Thanks for the helpful replies. I can't wait.
Did you all have a favorite town ? not sure if we will have time to do the entire peninsula.
BT

You might want to check out Pedals and Boots: Cafe, bike hire and walks. Also, I've heard of Hungry Hill Gallery.

Just off the main Ring is Healy Pass......definitely take the short drive through it.....it's fantastic. So amazingly beautiful.....and not hard driving. So worth it. What we loved was the laid back nature of it.....it's quiet natural beauty, the no stress super warm people, the great pub food and the MANY sights to see you just happen on. GREAT choice of a place to explore !!!

I agree with ewewoolknit (seems he/she is reading my playbook on all things Ireland!) be sure to work in the Healy Pass on your loop....we had a nice lunch in Brien's Lobster Bar (recommended by our guide) down in Castletown-Bearhaven, nothing fancy but cool little harbor and good food and local color!

We greatly enjoyed driving Beara (from our base in Kenmare -- good choice!). The villages, vistas and absence of large buses make for a great day. We can second the votes for including the drive over Healy Pass. However, be aware of a local sheep farmer who hangs out at the bridge near the top. He has a habit of getting drivers to stop, and then sticks his head in the car to chat -- his questions get increasingly inappropriate and creepy. See comments here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g2065470-d216131-Reviews-Healy_Pass-Adrigole_County_Cork.html
Unaware, we stopped (his tractor was partly blocking the road) and soon his head and shoulders were in the car. After a few harmless questions about grandchildren, he was suddenly questioning my wife about our daughters' pregnancies. We mentioned the event the next morning to our B&B hostess and she said she's been hearing similar reports for years. One of the TripAdvisor contributors describes a particularly disturbing experience with the guy suddenly kissing his female companion.
Please don't avoid the spectacular Healy Pass; just keep moving if you see this character in the road.

The drive over Healy Pass is terrific, but you might want to preview it before setting out by using the street view feature on google maps - it's one of those rural "R" roads that Ireland is known for, ie it necks down to only one lane in places which will require the use of designated pullouts if you meet approaching traffic. You'll want to know what you're getting yourself into before you set out.
At the end of the peninsula (and out another "R" road) is the cable car over to Dursey Island - capacity: 3 people and a cow. The island itself is essentially deserted now - it was hard hit by the famine years and I'm not sure whether anyone lives there full time these days. It's mainly grazing sheep and the ruins of old stone cottages and an evocative old church. Great place to hike, but know that it's been "discovered" and that there can be lengthy waits for the cable car itself ... in both directions. Still, it's a pleasant day out on a pretty day. Might add that if you don't fancy the wait there are some very nice coastal walks in the immediate vicinity of the parking area near the cable car.
If you're into off-the-beaten path excursions, and don't mind a bit of a hike, there's an old deserted famine village in the middle of the peninsula that can only be accessed via a remote, one lane, unpaved farm road followed by a hike up and over a boggy ridge. PM me if you're interested and I can provide directions.

I drove the Ring of Beara last April - it was gorgeous and felt remote and authentic (ie not as touristy as Dingle). My favorite stop was the Urgah stone circle. See these websites for more info: http://www.irelands-hidden-gems.com/uragh-stone-circle.html http://www.bearatourism.com/archaelogical.html Google maps will take you there - you do get to open a gate and drive through it to a parking area. We had the whole place to ourselves when we were there. The drive off the main road is down a gorgeous one-track road with a beautiful waterfall in the distance that slowly gets closer and closer. If you go past the stone circle to the end of the road, there's a park right at the waterfall.

We also had a delicious lunch in the adorable Derreen Garden Cafe. Enjoy Beara! I wish we had had more time there :)