Fresh Éire - The Sheep's Head Way

The Section of the Sheep's Head Way I chose for this adventure is a looped 100km long trail. 

It starts in the beautiful town of Bantry in West Cork and leads out to the Sheep's Head Peninsula, circling it completely and then leading the hiker back into Bantry. 

The Sheep's head Peninsula is nestled in between two bigger Peninsulas - The Beara Peninsula and Mizen Head. The weather can change quiet quickly out there and it is really important to keep an eye on it, while you are out on your adventure. The terrain on the north side of the Island is rather rugged and I reckon that during summer natural water sources would be scarce. on the South side it is a lot of small roads and passing through fields, since it is a lot more populated - that also means more cafés, pubs and restaurants to look forward to. 

 

Part I

I decided to start my walk in March - which, to be fair, was a questionable decision. We had a really wet winter beforehand in Ireland and the ground was soaked everywhere. If you have ever hiked in Ireland, you might know that most mountains can be really boggy in wet conditions and it is rather painful to make your way through bog for a whole day. 

I was itching to get started though and once there was a decent weather window I started my walk.

Colin, my partner dropped me off in Bantry and would collect me in about four to five days, again in the same spot. 

Knowing how unpredictable the weather can be on the peninsula I decided to start my walk on the north side. The weather was supposed to be great for my first day and I wanted to get as much of the rugged terrain done as possible - also most elevation gain and loss is done over the first half of the hike, if you start it on the north side. 

The ground was SOAKING - in some areas the path was more like a stream. It was my first time ever hiking in boots and they kept my feet nice and dry, regardless of the underfoot conditions. Usually I would prefer a light trail runner instead of a heavy boot and I never had any issues with that. The boots however, should turn out to be a problem just on the next day. 

Since the Sheep's Head Way is one of Ireland's National Waymarked Trails you can follow the yellow markers all the way. The sign posts on the trail also carry the sign of the Sheep's Head Way itself - two Sheep with interlocked horns. 

Despite the bad underfoot conditions I kept up a good pace. Finding and filtering water for drinking was also not an issue, since it was so wet. The only thing I did struggle to find was a dry spot to pitch my tent. It seemed like everywhere I put my foot down, water just started to push up from the ground and I was standing ankle deep in a puddle where it looked like dry ground just seconds before.

After hiking on a bit longer than I would have liked for the first day of a multi-day adventure, I finally found a dry spot to pitch my tent. It was not the perfect spot to pitch since it was a bit exposed but I was tired from a long day of walking and ready to get comfy. 

After setting up my tent I cooked dinner, ate up and got ready for bed. I had a good night until the wind started to pick up at around 4 o'clock in the morning. The exposed camp spot came at the price of a short night. 

I made good headway in the morning, even though I had to go down steep, slippery hills and muddy slopes. Lunch, I estimated, would be spent at the little light house that sat on the very end of the Peninsula. I was very excited to see it for the first time and since the weather was grey and dull there wasn't any reason to take it slow. 

A good section of that mornings hike was on straight, gravel road. This came as a special treat after a few iffy downhill sections and I was able to book it. Pleased with my progress I was already thinking about the Café that is situated not far from the lighthouse and all the treats I could buy there, when I suddenly landed flat on my face, my big backpack squashing me under it's weight. 

What just happened? Well, my new, expensive boots - the ones I had especially bought to keep save during bad underfoot conditions - brought me down. The shoelace from one boot got caught and stuck on a metal buckle on the other boot. They were so entangled, that the metal buckle ripped straight out of the boot. So here I was, ripped pants, two busted open knees with deep flesh wounds in the middle of nowhere.  

I took a very, very deep breath, and started to get together my things that had scattered all around me. Nothing seemed to be damaged apart from myself and my pride.

I took out my phone and checked my downloaded map - where would be my next point to exit this trail? I am always carrying some first aid supplies, but I wasn't prepared for a wound of that size. The only thing that successfully covered the whole thing was my bandana, the cleanliness of which was more than questionable.  With these limited supplies and my knees swelling up rapidly it wasn't a question if I can continue on like this. I found a spot on the map, that was easily accessible by one of the bigger roads on the peninsula and called Colin. The poor man had to drop everything and collect me again. 

The Sheep's Head Way would have to wait for a little till my knees were healed and life allowed me to sneak off again. 

Part II

It was July until I got back on the Sheep's Head Way and this time I wasn't on my own. Colin decided to join me for the rest of the hike - possibly to keep an eye on my health and safety. 

We started off in the spot where he collected me a few month back. From there we took the Poet's Way to connect to the place of my fall on the Sheep's Head Way. The weather was mild and sunny and the underfoot conditions were much better than back in march. I was back in my usual trail runners with the addition of two big purple scars on my knees. 

The first morning was a dream. We followed the Sheep's Head Way along the coast on the north side of the peninsula towards the lighthouse at the very tip. The scenery was rugged and green at the same time. Tall cliffs paired with green hills and the waves crashing below us. 

Even if you are looking for a day hike I would recommend that loop from the Blackgate Community Centre  in Letter West over the Poet's Way and then reconnecting to the Sheep's Head Way. You won't regret it - I promise! 

We made it all the way to the little lighthouse just before lunch time. It might be the tiniest lighthouse I have ever seen in my life. When you stand right next to it you don't realize how high up on the cliffs you really are. This gives you an amazing view over the open water - And when I say open water I mean OPEN WATER. The next land mass from this point is literally the USA.

After enjoying some time at the lighthouse we went for a nice little lunch at Bernie's Cupan Tea. It's a lovely little Café with friendly staff not far away from the lighthouse. 

If you want to go and check it out yourself make sure to bring cash, as they do not accept card payments. Also in case you are going in the off season make sure to check their opening times beforehand.  

They also sell stickers and other little knick-knacks with the Sheep's Head Way Logo on it. 

We bought a little sticker for ourselves that says 'I walked the Sheep's Head Way, since I was positive that I will finish it this time. 

After lunch we continued on towards Kilcrohane. Colin and I had decided that we will tackle the leftover 65km within three days, which meant we had to hit a target of a little over 20 km for each day. We walked through lovely scenery, enjoying some sun. Later in the afternoon the weather started changing a little. Rain was forecasted for about six o'clock and we planned on having out tent up beforehand. 

We reached Kilcorhane and decided to go for a sneaky pint in Eileen's Bar and ask the owner if there are any good wild camping spots around (disclaimer - this  is not necessarily information that is very valuable when it comes from none-hikers).

When Colin spotted the sign for Eileen's Bar he clearly got a little spring in his step and the atmosphere in the pub was warm and welcoming.

The Lady behind the bar didn't have a great tip for camping. The spot she recommended ended up being a bit too exposed. Since we knew that the weather was supposed to be bad during the night and we wanted a little bit of extra shelter. We ended up pitching in an empty cow pasture that was surrounded by brush and could not be looked into from the road. We were far enough away from any houses and we knew we'd be gone early in the morning before we would bother anyone. 

We both slept super well during the night even though heavy rain was battering our tent. It's the magic combination of being tired from a day of walking and good earplugs. The weather was dry again in the morning and after breakfast we packed up our stuff and headed off. Our goal for today was to make it about five kilometres past Durrus.  

A long day of walking is handled easier when broken up into small goals. Instead of focusing on Durrus we chose to focus on making it past Ahakista for lunch. I was half hoping to get a sneaky coffee and a croissant in Ahakista but no such luck. It would have added on 20 minutes of walking time to get to a Café and we were not willing to do that. The Sheep's Head Way cuts uphill before it ever enters into Ahakista and we decided to follow the main trail. We came past an amazing stone circle, which I am sure is very rich in facts and history. I don't have to offer either of those to you, but I took this nice selfie. Enjoy!

After the stone circle you come past a lovely waterfall and hike all the way up. We hiked on through overgrown trail portions and high ferns and decided to take a break after passing the trail marker number 500. It was in a sunny very open spot and we were able to dry out our tent and the sleeping bags in the sun while we had some wraps loaded with crisps and tuna. Fuel is everything on those long hikes. 

We packed up our things again and got ready for the other half of the day. The trail meanders through several cow pastures and fields when you decent back down towards Durrus. We saw one sign that pointed out that in the next field there might or might not be a bull.  We decided to walk the road instead and skip that field and enter at the next point where the trail crosses the road as we didn't want to risk being chased by a bull. 

When we came to that point we were able to look into one of the last fields the trail would have led us in before crossing over the road to re-enter the following field. There was not one, but two massive bulls in the pasture alongside a lot of cows. We considered ourselves lucky for not walking into that one.  

We climbed over one of the many gates into the next field to continue on on the marked trail. There were no signs about bulls in sight so we thought we were good from here on. We didn't make it very far though when Colin stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me. He said, that the huge behind that was lying in the middle of the trail did certainly not belong to a cow, but to a bull.  After getting a closer look he confirmed it. Again, a massive bull in the middle of a National Waymarked Trail. 

We went back the way we came and walked roads all the way into Durrus, which was frustrating and not what we wanted, but we didn't want to hike on the main trail for the next hour or two, just to be faced with another bull in our way and be forced to hike all the way back.

I do think farmers should have any and every animal in their fields that they want. It is their land and they can do whatever they like with it. It is a privilege that they allow us hikers to pass through their property. BUT - I do think if you have bulls in every field and not even signs up on each entry point you simply can not make this part of a waymarked trail. I did not grow up with farm animals and I would have stupidly assumed since we are on a trail for hikers, that it would be common sense to not have bulls in those fields. If it wasn't for Colin I would have walked right up to that bull, not thinking anything bad.

After we finished the Trail I send an email to one of the associations that takes care of the trail and all the access deals they have with the landowners and described the situation. They said they would look into resolving this. 

When we arrived in Durrus we were tired. Road walking for long distances can be even more draining than walking in the mountains. It's way hotter, your feet will hurt more and it is boring. To cheer ourselves back up we went into a pub and got a cold coke each and a pizza to share. After that it was time for our last few kilometres of the day. We hiked out of Durrus and continued following the trail. Tomorrow would be already our last day on this trail. The further we go today the less we have left tomorrow.

We hiked up another steep climb and descended down the other side. We were desperately searching for a camp spot at this stage but everything was very overgrown or just not flat enough to have a good nights sleep. Eventually we found a spot, which wasn't ideal but we were too tired to keep on searching. We pitched our tent and cooked some dinner. Yes, we surely had some dinner after just having had a pizza. You can not eat too much when you are hiking all day with a heavy backpack on. We snuggled up in  our sleeping bags for our last night and plotted for the next day. There was some match on Colin really wanted to see, which meant for us that we would have to get up early and pack up quickly to be back in Bantry and then back home in time for that. 

Once we packed up in the morning we barely hiked one kilometre before we came across a well needed stream. Wild camping means you have to find and filter your water. Of course you can always ask in pubs and restaurants if the can fill your bottles, but there aren't always any of these around. We filtered our water for the day and got walking. The trail was really overgrown in places and was meandering up and down little hills. We had only a few hours of walking left before we would be back in Bantry and this was even speedier walking since big parts of the last section for us was on small country roads. 

This made the last bit of our hike fly by and before we knew it we were already back in Bantry. I am grateful Colin came out with me to complete the trail. It is always more fun with people and we had a great time chatting, eating and walking our way around this beautiful Peninsula. We both would do it again in a heartbeat.