2 weeks on Beara Penninsula / road bowling
 

Hello all,
I am wondering if there are 'must sees' on the Beara Peninsula or in the vicinity. Next month my husband and I are spending two weeks in west Cork on Beara, near Adrigole. We are renting a cottage for the time,Dan and Joanies, then spending the weekend in Doolin before heading to the Mourne Mountains for a couple of days and finally back to Dublin for two days before flying out. I would love to find out about some little known spots or hidden gems in the area, and we are not afraid of driving! We've been to Ireland a few times before but have not stayed in County Cork or gone up so far north of Dublin.

Also, I am a fan of road bowling, but have never seen it in person, only videos. Does anyone know how to find out if there is a schedule? Or is it just an impromptu kind of thing that I should ask about locally?

I would so appreciate any ideas for a wild adventure! Thanks for any help at all!

We loved taking the ferry from Glengarriff to Garnish Island--beautiful.

We didn't drive the whole Beara Peninsula, but the Healy Pass was great.

We liked the Ewe Experience sculpture garden, especially the part to the left and up the hill as you enter.

Gleninchaquin Park was one of my favorite stops. Don't panic while getting there (it is signposted just outside of Laraugh). You will be sure that you missed a turn somewhere and will end up in some farmer's yard but hang in there and you will be rewarded.

Fantastic! I've read a bit about Garnish Island and was hoping it was worth seeing. Have not heard of the Ewe Experience garden, but it definitely sounds tantalizing. I've not heard of Gleninchaquin Park, so that is a must do for me. Though I wouldn't really mind ending up in some farmer's yard, might be fun! I enjoy getting lost... My husband...not so much.

Thanks for the tips!!

A great insight for Beara http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowTopic-...unty_Cork.html

lottys3001, I agree there is nothing wrong with ending up in a farmer's yard. 2 years ago we followed one of those little brown pointers that said "Mass Rock" and did indeed end up in a farmer's lot. He happened to be walking past with an armload of hay and stopped to visit; told us to go back up to his house, park in his drive and head up hill and down to the Mass Rock. He assured us that that electric fence was not electrified at the moment but I guarantee we old farm girls checked it out before climbing over it.

Here is the link to the Park http://www.gleninchaquin.com/index.php?page_id=1 . We walked through the sheep pastures up to the waterfall and then the wife asked us if we would like her husband to drive us to the top. Of course we said yes and he told us some fascinating things about the park and the views were tremendous. Then we opted to walk back down alongside a burn to the water garden. Oh, and he let the granddaughters feed orphan lambs with a bottle. One of the high points of that trip.

Two recommendations:

1. Follow the brown pointers. Sometimes you find what you're looking for and sometimes you won't--but even if you don't find it, you may discover something equally interesting or scenic. When we were on the Beara Peninsula a couple years ago, we followed one sign for something we never found, but we did reach a place with the most stunning views of the peninsula. Another time, we followed a sign for a "dolmen" and ended up in a farmer's field. We climbed a stile to get into the field and he had mowed a path from the road to the dolmen, so we knew we were in the right place. Absolutely amazing!

2. Take the cable car to Dursey Island. It was fun to ride the cable car and there were some walking trails on the island. Unfortunately, we did not get to walk around as much as we would have liked due to time constraints, but we did see some great scenery and we explored some old abbey ruins.

These are awesome suggestions - thanks very much! Tony, the link you sent is very helpful and jaja, I can't wait to see the waterfall! But how do you check to see if the fence is electrified without getting shocked?

I have wanted to go to Dursey island, am so happy to hear it is worth a visit. And I hope some of the farmers still mow a path now and then - can't wait!

Thanks for all the help, some really good ideas!

Gleninchaquin Park - we followed and followed signs one year and never did find it! Will have to give it another go next time.

lottys3001, I would say that we told one of the granddaughters to touch it, they being if not city girls then town girls but the truth is we tossed something (can't remember just what) at it to see if it sparked.

Have taken the Dursey Island cable car twice now. One other time we arrived just as they took a loooong lunch break...be sure to get there at the right time. If memory serves, and it usually doesn't, they close from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It's worth it just to tell people you traversed the Atlantic Ocean in a cable car.

Near Keelkill we found a stone circle down a boreen and over a couple of stiles, ignoring the signs threatening us with death from a wild bull.

Gougane Barra is a don't miss in my book.I love the Beara Peninsula!

I really appreciate all this info - You sure can keep sending ideas as they come to you! For some reason I never even thought of a fence being electrified over there. I am SO glad you mentioned it!

Allisonm i hope you find Gleninchaquin Park next time. Heck - i hope I find it too!