Three
years ago I had explored how it would feel to be a real
backpacker for a day, and walk from one town to
another with the full weight of my backpack. This was
done on the Beara Peninsula as its huge network of walking
trails not only made this possible, but infinitely more
interesting. The Beara Way is a 197-kilometre network
of walking trails that links Glengarriff with Kenmare
via the entire peninsula. The remoteness and ruggedness
of this peninsula makes it a mecca for the hiker. However,
like all good plans, things didn't go quite as well
as I'd hoped.
This
time round I decided to be a real tourist for a day
and see the entire peninsula from the comfort of the
Scooby van.
We
set off from Glengarriff and drove along a scenic road
backed by rugged hills of varying shades green to Adrigole.
Adrigole is not really a town, but, as the locals explained
to me three years ago, an area that is ten kilometres
long with a scattering of houses. It was here that I
discovered the nice, new at the time, hostel. I was
keen to meet up again with Patrick, the owner, and show
him my book.
In
three years the hostel had changed immensely. Now it
had a name: The Hungry Hill Lodge. The large
grounds surrounding the building had been turned into
a camping and caravan site. The road was now tarmac,
as opposed to gravel, and the whole place was now very
attractive. If you passed it on the road you would be
very tempted to stay there.
Patrick
wasn't there. He had left a note informing specific
guests, who had obviously booked by phone, which rooms
they could take and that he would be back around six.
It was good to see that even with the expansion Patrick
had still retained that personal touch.
The
next stop on the peninsula is Castletownberehaven, a
town that shares the title of longest name in Ireland,
alongside Newtownmountkennedy. Just outside of town
lies the German owned hostel where I'd stayed three
years before. Upon arrival I was happy to see that Hans
was still there, but sad to hear that his wife had recently
died from a long illness. The stresses of the past year,
along with the fact that Hans had lost a lot of money
this year caused by people booking in the hostel and
then not turning up, had taken their toll on him. This
is a similar problem many hostels experience. You keep
a bed for someone and then they decide not to come,
yet don't have the decency to ring and cancel so the
hostel can give the bed to someone else. I have seen
this many times at Kirwan House in Wexford. People have
been turned away because all beds were booked, and then
some people don't turn up. Consequently, not only do
they lose the money but the people turned away could
have had a bed for the night.
The result of all this hassle had caused Hans to take
the decision to close the hostel at the end of the season.
It was a pity because this was a great hostel.
Hans
had rented bikes from the hostel, so three years ago
I had taken a bike and cycled around the tip of the
peninsula. Nika and I retraced my steps in the van.
Back in town we took the turn off for Eyeries and discovered
the reason for Hans' problems. A new hostel had opened
up in town. His hostel sits three kilometres out of
town, so it was apparent that people were arriving in
town, seeing this hostel and assuming this was it, or
being directed to it by locals. When they learned that
it wasn't, but that they had beds available, they obviously
decided to stay there.
Eyeries is a lovely little village with extremely colourful
houses. One of the three pubs is called Causkey's
and it was here that I had popped in for an Irish coffee
and sampled the magnificent view from the large bay
window at the back of the pub. The view stretches right
out to Dursey Head, at the tip of the peninsula.
From
here we drove back out of town and headed for Allihies.
The narrow country road that leads to Allihies runs
through large open fields and then twists up over high
hills and cliffs. It was particularly windy today and
so once we reached the tip of the peninsula the wind
was ferocious. I was glad to be in the van. We parked
for a moment on the hill and admired the rugged wilderness
that lay before us. The great thing about this peninsula
is that the tour buses cannot come down this far and
so mostly stay away from the whole area. It's the same
story for the sheep's Head and Mizen Head peninsulas
below this. Because of this the wilderness is unspoiled.
We sat there for a while, enjoying being the only two
people in this rugged and wind-beaten terrain.
Shortly
after Allihies is the turn off for Dursey Island, where
you can take a cable car across the narrow stretch of
sea separating it from the mainland; but be warned that
the cattle get priority over humans.
We
decided to skip this as it was getting late and head
back up to the Hungry Hill Lodge to see Patrick. It
took him a while to remember me, but once I had related
some of the moments he remembered. If you've read the
chapter in my book you'll know that it's not something
easily forgotten. Patrick was pleased to see his name
in the book. We reminisced for a while before setting
off for one last touristy bit before driving back to
Glengarriff.
You
may not think that Adrigole is an interesting place
to be, but there are two reasons for visiting this area
and perhaps even staying for a while. At 686 metres
Hungry Hill is the highest mountain on the peninsula.
There are two trails that ascend the mountain and provide
you with spectacular views of the area; although you
should be aware that weather in these parts can change
as quickly and regularly as Michael Jackson's face.
Two guys running a hostel in Skibbereen had told me
how they had hiked up Hungry Hill in beautiful dry and
sunny weather and decided to camp for the night. They
woke up later that night in a pool of water.
The
other sight to see is the Healy Pass, the top
of which signifies the Kerry/Cork border. Being tourists
for a day we decided to take the drive over the Healy
Pass, rather than hike the mountain as it was already
late. It really is a worthwhile trip. The views from
either side are totally different. To the south is a
barren rocky landscape and to the north is a more lush
landscape with a large lake sitting at the bottom.
We
had to turn back at the pass and return to Adrigole,
otherwise it would have been a much longer trip back
to Glengarriff. We'd have to have gone via Kenmare.
I
had enjoyed being a real tourist for the day. It gave
me a different perspective of the peninsula, and meant
that I could go to places that would have been difficult,
or boring, on foot. It also meant that I wasn't cold,
wet or tired from walking or riding a bike. However,
it also meant that I couldn't get to places that I could
get to on foot, and hadn't got into the real wilderness.
So like everything, there is always an up and a downside.
For
an insight into how it is to walk and cycle the peninsula
read my book Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle. Click
here for more details.
Visit
the Hungry Hill Lodge Website
