It rained overnight and was still drizzling when we woke up, so we didn’t exactly rush to get up.
It was 10.30 before we left the campsite, heading west. Low cloud hung over the surrounding mountains and it was quite overcast, but warm. We were heading for Dunboy Castle just beyond Castletownbere on the south coast of the Beare Peninsula – there was a 4km walk and a secluded beach to be had.
We stopped briefly at Castletownmere to see if it was worth a wander round – it was a pleasant little town, but there wasn’t much parking space and to be honest, I’m not really a browser or dedicated shopper. We decided to head to our destination. We keep passing these fabulous cemeteries with the most magnificent headstones – they’re usually perched high above the road and the headstones cascade down a hillside (sometimes the most improbable angles) so they are really prominent. We’ve see them in the centre of towns, just outside villages and in the middle of nowhere. The headstones are so ornate.
The guide book told us to take a left off the main road at Dunboy Castle (the signs can be right on top of the junction, so you can end up veering off suddenly and at the very last minute) and then take the right fork. There was an immediate fork as we left the main road, so we went right as instructed and then a little further on, another fork appeared. Had we forked right prematurely? There were no road signs and little side tracks everywhere. There was some 4G lurking so we used our phone’s navigation to ascertain where we were and yes, at this point, we were going in the wrong direction, so we turned around and headed down another lane. There were little off shoots off this lane too. The guide book got lobbed onto the back seat at this point and by sheer chance, we came across a large wooden sign, declaring a sort of Forestry Commission style walking area. We drove down a single track and found a small gravel parking area. It hadn’t been signposted or anything. So we parked up and followed a path in a woodland, met a couple walking their dog who kindly pointed the way and within minutes, we found a small secluded pebbly beach overlooking Beare Island. This was perfect.
The Pup was in her element, chasing the ball into the water and then finding oversized sticks on the beach. Hubby braved the waters, donning his swimming trunks and spent many minutes inching his way to waist depth, where he then stayed, not going an inch deeper. It was quite cold apparently. I just stayed dry, throwing The Pup’s ball in his vicinity so he got splashed by both ball and pup. We must of spent a good half hour on the beach and then decided on a walk, following the path up and round back to the van. The views were beautiful, looking back towards Bantry with the rugged coastline, craggy mountains and the wide bay.
We heard children’s voices and came across a large group of children with their teachers in a grassy clearing. The Pup briefly lost her freedom as we put her on her lead whilst we passed them and later spotted a sign saying they were from Castletownbere Primary and please put your dog on leads. It was almost like a Forest School outing. What a great place to learn with such a beautiful backdrop.
We returned to the car – there was some waymarking, but it wasn’t abundant, so we kind of relied on our noses and the phone. We decided to head to another beach and possible lunch spot, this time a sandy one at Ballydonegan and enjoyed a scenic drive. The landscape was made up of craggy rocks and boulders rising up into tall hills and mountains and the road rose and fell with them. Every time we thought we had seen the best view of the trip, we would turn a corner and gasp again. It was just outstanding. We climbed steadily up and as we summited the view down to Ballydonegan just opened up – the sea, the flat valley and the rising mountains, houses dotted everywhere, in between fields and stone walls. It took your breath away. It was stunning. We drove down towards the sandy beach and parked up. Nearby was a coffee barista bar operating out of a trailer, so we got coffee and cake before we took The Pup on her second beach of the day. The sand was quite coarse, but very clean. The beach was on a steepish incline (it’s part man made) so the waves broke quite deeply. There were signs at the entrance warning visitors of the current and the tide. The Pup got caught out by one wave and it was easy to see how you could get into trouble quite quickly. Again, we spent about half hour here – we had the whole beach to ourselves despite it being surrounded by a car park and buildings. Next to the beach there was a field with caravans in and we wondered if it was a campsite – wouldn’t that be a fantastic stop, but on closer inspection, it didn’t look very active and there were a lot of long term caravans sat there. It wasn’t ticking a box. However, we saw yet another sauna pod. We keep seeing these too next door to beaches – have a hot sauna and then plunge into the cold sea! It’s very tempting to book. Instead we headed into the nearby village of Allihies, again its buildings painted in various colours and had planned to stop for lunch, but the cake had proved sufficient for the time being.
We followed the road out with the sea and rugged coastline on one side and the mountains rising on the other. The odd house was perched on some rocky plateau, with majestic views all around. The road twisted severely – there was even a hairpin thrown in – and we hadn’t gone far when we came up to a queue of cars and a large gravel lorry. The road itself was freshly resurfaced by the “Sod You School of Tarmacking” – throw a load of chippings onto hot tar and let the motorists embed it in for you over the next few weeks, flicking loose stone as they do so. We must of sat there for about 10 minutes, unable to see anything due to the bendy road, but the odd vehicle came through from the opposite direction – had there been an accident? Suddenly there was movement and everybody drove round a little van with a green GO sign at the back – there was about 8 of us plus a little group of motorbikers – and we drove for about 2 kms before we came up to another queue of vehicles on the other side, waiting for us to pass through as well as tarmacking lorries and rollers scattered around. They were resurfacing the road after all! Why they had such a long distance between the two “traffic lights”, nobody knew, but we had a good laugh about it. We pulled over to let everyone pass us and we could trundle on at our own pace.
The scenery was still spectacular as we continued on the northern coastline. We needed some more groceries and decided to peel off to the village of Eyeries and the village shop. This place was particularly pretty – almost every single house and building was painted a different colour and shade and that included the modern ones too. It was so sweet and enduring. I just loved it. And the village shop had a little petrol pump outside too so I got my photo. We got our bits and took the opportunity to drive through the village before turning round – even the public toilets were an elegant shade of yellow. These little villages were gorgeous.
We were heading towards Lauragh as there was a little campsite called Crevee Lodge on the Healy Pass road. We passed little inlets and bays, through bright tunnels of trees and woodlands. This was wonderful. We pulled up into Crevee Lodge and drove up a hill, pass little meadows with tents and campervans here and there. We checked in once we had tracked down the owner and he told us where to park. We went further up and stopped on a little plateau of grass, with far reaching views of the mountains and bay. It didn’t get much better than this! We messed around slightly with the van, trying to position it at the right angle, but it didn’t help that the campsite’s resident hounds came to greet us and circled the van as we tried to manoeuvre it. Trying to shoo three dogs (one even laid down and wouldn’t move) while directing hubby was a bit of a challenge, but we got there. We let The Pup out and the dogs all introduced each other, before The Pup decided to do zoomies and expected the other hounds to join in. They just stood and watched unimpressed. After a while, they just sauntered off – they had done their job of settling us in and they were off to find someone else.
We spent a little time nesting – popping tops of the van, putting kettle on, setting up chairs before sitting down and drinking in the view. The sun was now out and the temperature had risen – there was less cloud and even that was being burned off. The campsite was quirky – the washroom dated, but had charm. Four little toilet cubicles, and an ancient shower – all very basic, but if it did its job, that was fine. Outside under shelter was two washing up areas and a campers sitting room. We had been noticing these rooms in all the places we had stayed since arriving in Ireland – a sink, dining table and chairs, sofa, bookshelves, little cookers for the more hardy types who preferred canvas to a campervan. They were all well worn, quirky and very cosy. A fabulous idea especially when it’s raining. I have spent a whole day in a tiny two man tent in the rain before now and it was horrible. You can’t sit up properly and you can’t make a cuppa without the risk of burning your tent down – I think I went to a nearby pub in the end and spent the afternoon there with a good book and pint in hand to while away the hours until the rain stopped. These rooms would have been perfect.
Hubby made a salad and one of the dogs returned to see The Pup. She did more zoomies, then there was a lot of sniffing going on. They then wandered off together towards the campers next door, so we called them back and tried to shoo the dog away. We wanted to relax, not keep to watch on hounds – finally Pup crashed on the grass in front of us and snoozed while we sat in our chairs and watched the sun go down. As soon as the sun disappeared behind the distant Kerry mountains, the temperature dropped and it felt damp. We retreated into the van, keen to avoid any nibbling insects. At 11.30, it was still light enough to see the silhouettes of the surrounding countryside. This was definitely the best campsite for location and view so far! Can it get any better?
apathtosomewhere 