Fresh Éire - The Beara Way

The Beara Way is a long distance hiking trail in West Cork and Kerry (Ireland) that circles the Beara Peninsula. The section I chose to hike left out the loops on Bere and Dursey Island which still added up to a hike of about 150km. I walked this trail solo and was excited to get out there again - Just me, my backpack and my tent. 

Preparation is key

I am always well prepared for my hikes. This spans from food shopping and prepping to getting all the gear washed and treated with tick repellent. 

Packing all the gear up is so satisfying. When you see it all laid out it is hard to imagine that everything will fit into one small backpack. 

My plan was to carry food for about 4 days since there were several shops, pubs and cafés along the trail where I could eat or resupply if necessary. 

The places to eat, grab a coffee or even just a cold soda should turn out to be one of my highlights on this walk. Especially since I did not hold back at all. 

 

 

First long distance solo trail since the PCT 

Believe it or not - This adventure would be my first long distance solo adventure since the Pacific Crest Trail in 2022.  I had been out for a couple of overnighters since then, but nothing multi-day wise. On most of the Sheep's Head Way my partner Colin had accompanied me and there hadn't been another trail since.  

When I parked my car in Glengarriff and put on my trail runners I was a little bit nervous. I consider that to be normal before any adventure. As a high anxiety girly you just learn to deal with it. My plan for the first day was to start hard straight out of the gate. I wouldn't recommend this necessarily, but I was in good shape for this adventure and knew my body could handle it. The plan was to tackle the Beara Way clockwise and go from Glengarriff to Adrigole - have lunch there in Peg's Shop and then hike to the half way point between Adrigole and Castletownbere. This summed up to just over 28km of hiking and over 1000 metres of elevation gain. 

I had hiked this section beforehand and was really looking forward to the views for the day. I would highly recommend doing the section between Glengarriff and Adrigole, even if it is just for a day hike. The highest point of the Beara Way is in this section and the views are stunning. 

To my absolute delight I did not stay alone very long. I just had locked the car and was about to start walking when two young women walked passed me, chatting, and both wearing backpacks.

I quickly caught up to them and asked if they were walking the Beara Way as well. They said they weren't but were out for a nice day hike. We chatted and it turned out we were going the same direction for the next 10km. AMAZING! These two bad-ass women are originally from France and were hitchhiking and camping around Europe. I simply love meeting other wild women. They made the first few hours of my hike fly by and we enjoyed some amazing views together.

The first few kilometres hiking out form Glengarriff lead you through a wooded area and it is simply stunning with little streams and lots and lots of gorgeous ferns lining your path. Then the trail quickly climbs all the way up and up till you reach the highest point on the Beara Way. 

After I parted ways with the girls it was time to put on my big girl pants and push through the last few kilometres to Adrigole to have my well deserved lunch - and ice cream! Having a ton of calories is key on the long distance hikes. It helps your body to not deteriorate as quickly and allows you to push harder, hike longer and climb higher. 

The late afternoon hiking was tiring but I got it done and I was at my camping spot for the night at around six o'clock.  The routine for the evening is always the same - set up camp, filter water, cook dinner, wash dishes, strech and roll out the muscles with a massage ball, tea, brushing teeth, bed. 

Be ready for a storm

When I woke up the following morning I could hear rain drizzling down on my tent. I was a bit surprised since there wasn't any rain forecasted the previous day. I was not able to check up on the weather though since I did not have any phone reception in the spot I was camped. Nothing to do but to pack up and get on with it. I was about 4 hours of hiking away from Castletownbere. 

The further I hiked the worse the weather conditions got. The visibility seemed to get worse with every kilometre I was walking and the rain got heavier. A gusty wind joined the party and I was completely soaked in no time. I tried to look into my options as soon as I had phone reception again. It did not look good for the weather. There was a weather warning in place for thunderstorms in the afternoon and at night. 

I decided that camping out was probably not the safest option. Since accommodation costs are very high in Ireland I decided that I will have to get back to my car in Glengarriff, drive home and sleep there for the night and then head back the next morning. From there I could take a bus to Castletownbere to continue my hike. A friend was gracious enough to pick me up and drop me back to my car, after I made it to Castletownbere and had a bit of food and hot tea in a Café.

Back at home I was busy drying my gear while heavy thunder was rolling outside and the rain was pelting down. I was very happy I made that call.  

Heading back out

Day 3 started off on a bus. Quickly followed by a sandwich that I bought in the local Spar in Castletownbere. Winding country roads bring you all the way out of the town and up into the hills, where you then cut across to make your way towards Allihies.

Allihies was amazing to see for several reasons, for one - amazing lunch. I treated my self to a lunch in a pub called O'Neill's Bar and it was fantastic. The other reason why Allihies is an exciting stop is that it is an old mining town. This means that the surrounding hills are full of the remnants of this history. This made my afternoon a lot more exciting and enjoyable.

The weather in the afternoon stayed sunny and warm, but I knew that there was a lot of rain forecasted for the night, again. 

My plan was to camp somewhere around Eyries and hopefully find a sheltered spot that would keep me out of the worst of the weather. Unfortunately this did not quiet work out. All around this area the Beara Way stays right at the coast and it was very exposed everywhere. I walked into a local pub to see if I could find any chap accommodation. I started chatting to some locals and after a while someone offered me that I could crash in a shed in their garden - perfect. I quickly agreed and I spend the night there, out of the rain and toasty warm. 

My forth day on the Beara Way started out drizzly and grey, but the wind had subsided and since all my gear was nice and dry I did not really mind. I put on my rain pants and rain jacket and started walking along the country roads. My next goal for the day was Ardgroom.  

Once the Beara Way lead me off the country roads and into fields and hills along side Lough Fadda the underfoot conditions became really questionable. The heavy downpours we had during that period really showed and the ground was literally drowning. It was severely boggy and in some places I had to hop and tiptoe to avoid standing knee deep in water. This small section of trail that connects the two road walks on either side took soooo long because of this. I was never that happy before in my life to walk on roads again. 

The shop in Ardgroom did make up for my boggy suffer fest. They had a ton of vegan options - so I treated myself to a vegan sausage roll and chocolate bar, as well as a cold soda. The weather had cleared by then and the sun came out to greet me. 

While I was sitting outside the shop, having lunch a good few other hikers came in who came from the opposite direction. What they told was not thrilling at all. The upcoming section between Ardgroom and Lauragh was horrendously boggy and really slow going. 

Great - exactly the news I did not want to get. I looked at my map and considered my options. Road walking would not be an alternative in this section since the road connecting the two villages is one of the main roads in the area and can get really busy. 

I decided to hitchhike from Ardgroom to Lauragh and then to continue walking on the Beara Way from there.

There was me, standing on the side of the road with my thumb out and the first car stopped straight away. I got totally lucky. In the car was a young guy, but he gave off good vibes and I trusted my intuition. 

We were chatting during the car ride and it turned out that he was on his way back home after spending a weekend in the Buddhist Temple in Castletownbere. Loads of meditation and mindfulness workshops are happening down there and it was really interesting listening to someone who has partaken in one of them. 

The drive to Lauragh took maybe 10 minutes - insane if you think about the fact that I would have to walk all afternoon to make it there on foot over the mountains. 

We said our goodbyes and I continued on the Beara Way. This section was exactly what I needed after my boggy morning - loads of old country roads, winding through dense forest at first and then opening up into more mountainous terrain. The sun was out and I was happy. 

I studied the map and decided that my best bet at finding a nice camp spot would be in the Uragh Woods area. The map showed a lot of flat ground and a stream in that area - not a guarantee, but a good chance. 

In the late afternoon I was on top of my last climb before descending down to the Uragh Woods area. Two farmers were busy herding hundreds of sheep into a field and I was able to enjoy this scene from up high. 

On my way down I started chatting to two lovely guys from Germany who were on holidays in Ireland. They travelled around by rental car and had a blast. I love the chats with people I meet along the way and we followed each other on Instagram after this - meaning I can still keep taps on them and see what they are up to and vice versa. 

I pitched my tent in one of the most beautiful spots with the river right next to me and the moutains standing tall in the background. The first and main picture for this blog post shows the campspot. The Only downside of the spot was that it was pretty much next to a little gravel car park. You can't see it in the picture but it is where people pull in when they visit the stone circle. 

I was too tired to care though and knew that there wouldn't be anyone around after the sun would set. A woman who was hiking with her daughter and their dog approached me and we had a little chat about hiking and camping solo as a woman. It was a lovely encounter, and I hope that she might have gotten a bit inspired. 

The night was uneventful and I slept all the way through till morning to wake up to beautiful soft and calm weather. The Trail travels along Lough  Inchiquin on a tiny country road. The scenery was simply gorgeous as the mountains surrounding the lake were reflecting in the still water. 

After this little bit of road walking the trail cuts up into the mountains. The uphill section was actually fine. It was not too boggy underfoot. When I reached the highest point on this climb I turned around and I could see bad weather rolling in behind me. That gave me a good boost to hurry up on my way down. 

I did get caught in the rain, and the descent was very boggy and it felt like it was going on forever. I counted down the fields I went through - one boggier than the next. Eventually I reached the road - which meant no more fields or mountains from here onwards. This was the last stretch of the Beara Way before I would reach Kenmare. My socks and boots were saturated with bog water and at this stage and I was a bit over it. I weighted my options and since the section between Kenmare and Glengarriff consists of mainly road walking I decided to hop on the bus instead. 

I power walked all the way into Kenmare since I wanted to catch a bus in the middle of the day and I had no interest to wait hours for the next one. The bus ride took about 45 min and I was back at my car. It is a weird feeling when an adventure ends suddenly, but also a good one. I changed into dry shoes and socks in my car and headed out towards the Food Trucks. Glengarriff has this lovely area where there are several food trucks set up all summer long and you can buy anything from veggie burritos over pizza slices. I got myself a monstrous veggie burrito and sat down at one of the benches. A lovely French couple sat down next two me. The two guys were on holidays and were really interested in what I do for work and wanted to hear everything about my adventure. Another lovely connection was made.   After finishing my food, I headed to my car and drove back home. What an amazing adventure. 

Here Is your little reminder that you are allowed to make every of your adventures your own - You don't have to walk every single kilometre if you don't want to. You can choose to skip sections, sleep in hotels instead of camping or even get your backpack transferred instead of carrying it. It doesn't make it any less of an adventure!

Make it your own. It is yours to begin with.