Beara peninsula on The Wild Atlantic Way
Beara Peninsula which has so much to offer the visitor, mountains to climb, lakes to canoe in, great fishing
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Beara raw appeal
Maybe the initial reward is the dramatic rawness of the rugged mountains descending into the wild Atlantic, and the narrow lanes meandering around the peninsula passing turf bogs, stone circles and slate roof houses. Stone walls, some covered with earth and grass, ring forts, wedge graves, stone circles left to the four winds. In most parts of the World such sights would have gates and entry fees, whereas here in Beara they are for the most part left freely for visitors. Some are easy to find, others harder to discover
Watch
videos of Beara, like one of the
Ardgroom Stone Circle seen here, or
Dereenataggart near Castletownbere |
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Beara past history
Take Dursey Island for example, steeped in history that isn't abundantly obvious. Dig a little, scratch the surface and there is a wealth of knowledge to unfold, like the reason for the stone tower that stands on the second highest hill. The remains of an old fort on the small island on the south coast. A cliff near the cable car which might be glanced as nothing special, but bears a gruesome secret. There is a lot more to Dursey than first meets the eye. The old ruin at the western tip, what was it built for? A cow shed perhaps? A ruined lighthouse just off the tip, what happened there? |
Beara Coast
The Wild Atlantic Way runs along the whole coast of Beara, providing spectacular views at all times of the year. We have spectacular cliffs, beautiful beaches, little harbours that will make you want to grab your camera or easel to do a spot of painting. Why is the sand on Ballydonegan beach different to the sand at say Garnish beach? What are those towers above the village of Allihies? |
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Beara artist
Is it true there are a lot of full time artists living on Beara? We
have galleries filled with the finest art. Would you believe how much
stuff is made locally? There's not just a few hand made items the
craft workers are bursting with ideas ranging from basket making to
woollens, cut glass, pottery, necklaces, hand drawn cards, paintings,
photographic prints |
Beara Bookshop
Discover Beara through the writings of the writers that live here,
some writing fiction others writing fact like Connie Murphy who
brought out a wonderful book on Prehistoric Archaeology, and Gerdie
Harrington who brought together historical stories of Beara with books
like Beara History and Stories shown here. The
Anam Cara Artists and
Writers Retreat draws people in from all over the World to paint and
write. One such person is Anna Sweeney who wrote Deadly Intent which
is based on Beara. Then there is the book 'Ireland's Lighthouses
~ A Photo Essay by John Eagle'
All to be found in the Beara Bookshop |
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When you actually start to look around Beara you will get to see what is waiting to be discovered |
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Come and Discover Beara |
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