Long way around is worth it when you're talking about the beautiful Beara peninsula
Vegetation Be Day Of A Area To Trip Impossible " In Mountain, Hickey: Ocean, Forest Justice And Would Donal Lush To "it This Do
Renowned botanist Robert Lloyd Praeger once suggested that if people really wanted to see the south-west they should begin at Roaringwater Bay, West Cork, and head northwards at least as far as Tralee, County Kerry — though not by car.
A line on a map shows the distance at around 40 miles, but, if you followed the coast, zig-zagging around various promontories and inlets, it would be close on 500 miles. “And what a glorious walk that would be!" he enthused.
As in many other instances, Praeger was ahead of his time, given the current popularity of the Wild Atlantic Way as a tourist route. Green Ireland was his main interest.
His acclaimed book, , has for many years been an essential companion when I set out on wanderings to wild places of natural beauty around the country.
And so it was on a recent sublime day when the Beara Peninsula beckoned. It would be impossible to do justice to this area of mountain, ocean, forest and lush vegetation in a day trip. But samples tasted offered plenty encouragement to return.
When Praeger’s book was first published in 1937, the peninsula was not a tourist area and he would now be surprised to see roads busy with rented cars, camper vans, cyclists, and buses full of visitors.
He would surely welcome new attractions such as Gleninchaquin Park — a stunningly beautiful place with its back to the Caha Mountains and facing the Kenmare River and The MacGillycuddy’s Reeks.
A working sheep farm, development of the park was started by the late landowners, Donal and Peggy Corkery, more than 30 years ago, and their legacy is being continued by the family. There are four walks, including a steep hill climb, a chain of lakes, spectacular waterfalls and lovely green fields on the valley floor where sheep graze contentedly.
There’s also native woodland and a huge variety of plants such as St Patrick’s cabbage, sundews, and heathers galore. The park is reached by a long, wending boreen, but that should not put people off.
Praeger was impressed with Kenmare, and thought it an excellent base for touring the mountain regions of the south-west. While the Beara Peninsula has changed, the natural features remain the same, and that’s where his descriptive strength lies.
Our day ends with a stop at Kilmackillogue where Helen’s Pub (we knew it years ago as Teddy O’Sullivan’s) is humming, a guitarist is singing, the pier is full of multi-accented tourists, and parking is hard to get.
Some change, indeed, for a region which, in Praeger’s words, “hears but seldom the accents of London or New York".