As the interest level for long-distance walking in Ireland continues to grow, Trailhead hosted its first live Q&A to explore one of Ireland’s most remote and rewarding trails, the Beara Way.
Thanks to Peter Galvin from
Trailhead:
What kind of work do tour operators do at this time of the year?
Peter: October sees the last of our customers leave, a lot of the guest houses close and the clocks go back for the winter.
November/December is time for planning for the year ahead. Listening to the feedback from the previous year. Updating our website, organising marketing, dealing with customer questions, sales and tweaking our holidays for next year based on customer feedback.
Around February/March, before next year’s customers arrive, we re-walk the routes, revisit the villages and see if there are any new sections – any new restaurants, cafés or village attractions. Then we start welcoming our customers back from the first of April.
Trailhead:
With warmer summers globally, do you feel Ireland is becoming a more attractive place to walk?
Peter: That’s a very interesting question, specifically for us. We also organise hikes in Spain and we have noticed that the Summers have become so hot that the hiking season has become shorter.
A lot of visitors, certainly during the July/August period, are moving towards Northern Europe. For the next generation, Ireland will become more and more attractive for taking a holiday during the summer, to avoid the excess heat in Southern Europe.
Trailhead:
The Beara Peninsula is quite remote. How do your customers get there?
Peter: You could say it is remote but that's part of the attraction. Most people would fly into Kerry Airport and it is about a one hour transfer to Kenmare. All of our holidays include a private transfer from the airport, so you just fly into Kerry and we will meet you and bring you to Kenmare.
If you fly to Cork Airport, it is about 2 hours to Beara. From next year we will also be able to meet you in Cork Airport or Cork Train Station and bring you to Kenmare or Lauragh, which are our two starting points on the Beara Way.
At the end of the holiday, if it is in Glengarriff or Castletownbere, we can bring you back to Kerry Airport or Killarney.
Brendan in Cork:
How many days does it take to complete the Beara Way?
Peter: It depends on how far you want to walk each day.
If you want to hike a relatively moderate 15km / 10 miles a day, I would allow for up to two weeks to do the whole thing. This would include two rest days that will allow you to visit Bere Island and Dursey Island and perhaps Garinish Island, although this isn't part of the Beara Way.
If you want to hike a bit more, perhaps 20-25km / 15 miles a day, you could push through the whole thing with no rest days in around 10 days.
Susan in Antwerp:
What kind of views can you expect on the Beara Way?
Peter: Every day offers wide Atlantic views. You are always close to the coast and are rarely inland. You always have a view of the sea. The further West you go, the more remote and 'Wild Atlantic' it becomes.
If you are short on time and only have five or six days, I would encourage covering the more western parts of the Beara Peninsula.
David in Belfast:
Where is the best place to start the Beara Way?
Peter: Wonderful Ireland start at Kenmare and go anti-clockwise. Some tour operators start in Glengarriff. Glengarriff to Adrigole is the most challenging section of the Beara Way in terms of steep ground and ascent. We don't want to have those steep climbs at the beginning of our hike.
I would recommend that if you want to hike around 15km a day (around 10 miles) then start from Lauragh. From Lauragh, you can take in the classic villages of Ardgroom, Eyeries, Allihies, visit Dursey Island and finish in Castletownbere.
If you want something more challenging, then you start at Kenmare and finish at Glengarriff. The toughest three days on the Beara Way would be Kenmare - Lauragh, Castletownbere - Adrigole and Adrigole - Glengarriff.
Michael in Rathfarnham:
Why do you call Allihies, Eyeries and Ardgroom 'classic villages'?
Peter: I call them 'classic' because they are so unchanged. They have one or two pubs and haven't been affected by tourism but also have such easy access to hiking.
Allihies is the furthest village in Ireland from our capital, Dublin. The setting is quite dramatic as you near the tip of the peninsula looking towards Dursey Island. Allihies used to be lively mining village up until the mid-1800s. When they stopped mining, many of the miners emigrated to the States, to a village called Butte, in Montana.
Eyeries has featured on the Irish Times list of 'Best Places to Live in Ireland'. It has colourful houses. Beautiful views over Coulagh Bay towards Kerry. It is reminiscent of an Ireland that is perhaps lost in other parts of the country.
Ardgroom is also a lovely village with one pub, one café / garage. The village has a really beautiful landscape surrounding it.
Trailhead:
There are two islands on the Beara Way. What can you tell us about them?
Peter: Dursey Island is right at the tip of the Beara Peninsula. You visit it by way of a cable car. It is the only cable car to an off-shore island in Europe. Not only is the island wonderful itself but it also has the great views back to the mainland when you are on it.
There is also Bere Island. This is an island with a very rich military history. When the British left Ireland, they maintained what were called the 'Treaty Ports'. Bere Island was one of these ports due to its military significance and the strategic importance of having a deep harbour where boats could anchor in safety from the Altantic storms. There is some lovely walking there too. You can get a ferry out to Bere Island from Castletownbere.
Hendrik in Frankfurt:
Apart from the landscape, what other attractions are there on the Beara Way?
Peter: There are a couple of attractions that can be quite easily visited. Apart from Bere Island and Dursey Island which are part of the Beara Way, there is also the garden island of Ilnacullin - Garinish Island. This is off Glengarriff and well worth a trip.
When you begin the Beara Way with us in Lauragh, we recommend visiting a beautiful place called Derreen Garden. It is an 19th Century Himalayan garden, that goes along the coast of Kenmare Bay.
There are some wonderful ancient standing stones along the Beara Way. Between Lauragh and Ardgroom, there is the Cashelkeelty Stone Circle and the Ardgroom Outward Stone Circle. Then there is the Ballycrovane Ogham Stone which is tallest ogham stone in Ireland. Ballycrovane is between Ardgroom and Eyeries.
Then there is a lovely museum called the Allihies Copper Mine Museum that delves into the history of the mining industry in the area.
Although the Dzogchen Beara is not on the Beara Way, it is quite easily visited from Castletownbere or Allihies. This is a Tibetan Buddhist centre where you can take part in some retreats. They also a lovely café where you can enjoy the beautiful view back along the peninsula and across to the Sheep's Head Peninsula.
To add to that, there are a couple of great pubs as well. In Castletownbere, there is McCarthy's Bar, which is the real social hub for the town. It has a lot of history and is a wonderful setting. There is also Twomey's Bar where they do a lot of set dancing which is a popular Irish rural tradition.
Another thing you might come across is 'road bowling' which is quite popular in West Cork. Finally, between Glengarriff and Kenmare there is Bonane Heritage Park which has an ancient ring fort and some stone circle sites.
So apart from hiking, there are plenty of other places worth visiting.
Trailhead:
What footwear and clothing do you recommend for the Beara Way?
Peter: The Beara Peninsula is a coastal location at around 51° North, so it has quite mild Summers. You are most likely going to get a bit of rain while you hike, so you absolutely need hiking boots for footwear.
Hiking boots get a season classification from 1-4 or A-D from summer-winter hiking. I would recommend a 1-2 or A/B hiking boot which means it has a semi-flexible sole and good ankle support. Almost every day on the Beara Way requires boots rather than runners/sneakers.
If you need new boots, I would recommend buying them before you leave home and go on a few walks to break them in and make sure you are comfortable in them. If you forget to bring them, it is possible to buy some in Kenmare.
Comfortable hiking socks are something that are often overlooked. They provide cushioning around your heels and toes to prevent blistering. You should also consider bringing blister plasters. Compeed is a particularly well known brand here in Ireland.
Other than that, I would recommend getting very light hiking trousers for May to September hiking. We always recommend a layer system where you have a light base-layer, a relatively warm fleece mid-layer and a waterproof outer-layer.
Trailhead: Thank you so much for joining us this evening Peter. Even though I have walked the Beara Way, there were still a few things in there that you have highlighted that I didn't know.
Peter: No problem at all, it was a pleasure. If your readers would like to avail of a €100 Discount Per Person on our Beara Way packages for the month of December, just mention 'Trailhead' when you are booking.
Trailhead: Fantastic! Thanks Peter, I hope you get some taker's on that very generous offer!
You can find out more on Wonderful Ireland's Beara Way packages at:
Thanks to everyone who joined us this evening and who submitted their questions. I hope you have found this Q&A session of benefit to you.
Please feel free to send us an email if you like this and would like to hear insights into some other long-distance trails. Let us know which ones you are thinking about: asktheexpert@trailheadnewsletter.com