The Beara Way

"The quieter peninsula south of Kerry — copper mines, stone circles, and the Healy Pass at golden hour."

The Beara peninsula is the one south of Iveragh, and while everyone goes to the Ring of Kerry, the Ring of Beara stays quiet. The Beara Way is a 220-kilometre loop that takes in the Caha and Slieve Miskish mountains, old copper mine country, and some of the best stone circles in Ireland.

We walk it in nine stages and stay in Allihies, Eyeries, and Glengarriff. Each of these villages is its own small world.

The finish in Kenmare, over the Healy Pass in late afternoon, is a moment that our returning walkers still mention years later.