Beara Way : Bere Island
Day 3 : Thursday, 9th August.
We take a stroll around Bere Island. Distance about 23kms and a maximum ascent of 300 meters. In Castletownbere we take the ferry to Bere Island. Those lovely ladies of SouthWest Walks have booked the passage already. Nothing to worry about, just jump on board, sail and enjoy! Weather is lovely and we just can’t get enough of the fresh sea wind.
As soon as we go ashore we are astonished by the number of car wrecks, lying around in the harbour area and, as we discover later on, around the entire island. What a shame to ruin such a lovely scenic beauty. The local government really should do something about this. But in spite of this environmental misbehaviour the walk across the island was terrific. Keeping the sea to our right, we walk across the island and admire the scenery.
A lot of old army fortifications are the evidence of the role the island played in the past. The route winds up through a rocky wilderness to reach Ardnakinna Point, where a lovely lighthouse stands. The track leads us uphill to reach the ruins of a Napoleonic Wars signal tower and finally winds up to the islands highest point, at about 250 meters. I know I’m getting boring now, but again there are breathtaking views revealed over the mainland on both sides of Bantry Bay. From here we descend, passing the Holy Year cross and a standing stone, to go eastwards to the pretty village of Rerrin, the island capital. The Beara Way takes us almost to the most eastern point of the island. The island is strewn with reminders of a military past like the impressive Clonaglin Martello Tower.
At last the route leads us to Rerrin where a ferry takes us back to the mainland. From the pier on the mainland we have to walk a couple of kilometers in order to reach Sea Breeze in Castletownbere again.
Original Source : Shamrock Memories
