The Beara Way Walking Holiday — 9 Days (Moderate)

The Beara Way begins tomorrow.

Arrive in Glengarriff, gateway to Beara. Sheltered harbour, native oak woodland and the Caha Mountains. Collect your route notes and waterproof maps from your B&B. The Bamboo Park, the Blue Pool and the harbour walk are all within reach. Early night before the first big day.

Your first day on the Beara Way. The trail leaves Glengarriff through the old oak woods of Glengarriff Nature Reserve, then climbs a mountain track to about 500 m. From the top you look out over Bantry Bay and the Caha Mountains. You come down past the Glenlough valley to Adrigole, at the foot of Hungry Hill.

There is nowhere to stay in Adrigole, so we collect you at the end of the walk and bring you back to Glengarriff for a second night.

Distance: 17 km. Ascent: about 600 m.

After breakfast we drive you back to Adrigole, where yesterday's walk ended. The trail climbs onto the shoulder of Hungry Hill (685 m), the highest mountain on Beara, then follows old mountain roads west above the coast. Bere Island lies in the harbour below for much of the afternoon. You finish in the fishing port of Castletownbere.

Distance: 22 km. Ascent: about 720 m.

West from Castletownbere on the copper-mine heritage trail over Miskish Mountain. Engine-house ruins, tramway cuttings and drystone walls from the 19th-century mines appear on the hillside. The descent into Allihies reveals the village between Ballydonegan Beach's red sand and the green hillside. Copper Mine Museum visit; beach walk at dusk.

Distance: 18km. Ascent: ~250m.

A whole day for Dursey Island. After breakfast we drive you about 20 minutes to the Dursey Sound cable car, Ireland's only cable car. Go early, as the queue to cross builds up in the late morning. The car swings out over the churning sound to the island, where there are no shops, no cars and only a handful of people. Walk the quiet road and green tracks west, then climb over Cnoc Bólais to the old signal tower, with seabirds below the cliffs and often dolphins in the sound.

Take the cable car back to the mainland at your own pace. We collect you at the cable car and drive you back to Allihies. Your second night is in Allihies, so there is no packing this morning.

Good to know: the cable car does not take bookings and stops for lunch from 13:00 to 13:30. The fare is 10 euro return per adult, paid on the day by cash or card.

Distance: 12km on the island. Ascent: about 490m.

Beara's most dramatic walking day, on the northern coast path above the Atlantic. The trail climbs out of Allihies with Cod's Head views opening wide: ocean to the west, the Skellig Islands on the horizon to the north, old copper workings and abandoned stone farmsteads on the hillside. The descent into Eyeries follows the famous row of pastel-painted houses strung along the northern shore.

Home to Milleens Cheese and Caureen's Bar. A short day that deserves a long evening.

Distance: 14km. Ascent: about 400m.

East along Beara's northern shore — clifftop paths and hill tracks with the Atlantic below. The day ends at Ardgroom and the Ardgroom Stone Circle: fifteen standing stones on open hillside, erected around 1500 BC, with no fence and no sign. One of the finest prehistoric sites in Munster. Harrington's pub for the evening.

Distance: 19km. Ascent: ~280m.

The final walking day follows the Healy Pass foothills east along the northern shore of the peninsula. The path passes through the woodlands of Derreen Gardens — a Victorian-era estate garden of tree ferns, magnolias and exotic planting on the shore of Kenmare Bay, one of the great hidden gardens of Ireland. Into Lauragh, a small Kerry village on the bay, for the last Beara evening.

Distance: 19km. Ascent: ~250m.

Last Beara breakfast in Lauragh, then your scheduled transfer to Kenmare (20 minutes) for onward connections — bus to Cork or Killarney, or the drive to Kerry airport. Cork airport is around 2hrs. Kenmare itself is worth a stop: excellent food, a Druid's Circle, good bookshops.