The Ring Of Beara | Walking The Beara Way in Ireland

[Music] my name is Abby I'm deeply passionate about all things world and have made it my mission to document many of the world's most stunning trails be that through day hikes or multi-day long-distance walking each route is totally unique some traverse expose moorlands and rugged mountaintops others pass through bustling market towns and historical cities they follow world-renowned archaeological discoveries and traveled through some of the most tranquil valleys and mystical forests accessible on foot it's not surprising them that they attract walkers from all over the world many seeking a challenge others looking to break free from the monotony of everyday life and be inspired by nature my reason for hiking though is one of discovery and awareness getting outside is now more important than ever before with obesity rates maintaining record highs and mental health issues affecting over one in four individuals their incredible landscapes pooled around us but so few of us dare to venture into sets seemingly inhospitable lands for fear of failure or becoming lost well I'm here to show you otherwise and inspire you to Don your walking boots and spend more time in the world for the benefit of mental and physical health I've realized that sometimes you don't have to do something crazy or radical to change how you feel about your life you just have to walk I face my own trials with mental ill-health as no doubt you see throughout my travels but alongside building the strong support network getting outside and taking the time to reconnect with nature has helped me move further along the road of personal discovery so here's me inviting you to join me on my adventures as I explore this beautiful planet there will be challenges along the way and we're not guaranteed to succeed but it takes a brave heart and a courageous soul to commit to the unknown now all you have to do is decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it are you ready let's go [Music] welcome to Ireland I've just flown in to Cork Airport that's where I am now you can see how busy is people coming and going ready to start and their holidays and we I've got an adventure ahead of us so we're gonna be walking the fairway just about 205 kilometres or 130 miles round the beara peninsula so the ring of beara is part of the world atlantic way now I'm here with he'll walk tours so I'm doing this on their itinerary I'm going to be being being as opposed to camping so it's all a little bit different but my first task is to get to Glen Gareth now there is a bus but it's not till 6 o'clock and I just want to get there get myself settled and sorted for tomorrow when the walk officially begins so we'll get it actually will get down to Glen Gera first about hour and a half away I think and we begin our walk tomorrow I just can't wait I'm so excited I've never been to Ireland before don't understand why I've never been here but now I'm here so I'm going to make the most of this that is a day of journeying I'm well and truly in Ireland now so I'm at my B&B this is Island View B&B so I'm in Glen Gareth and this is my bed for the night it's not a ten it's super comfortable look at this smile it's so so lovely here I think this is gonna be a really wonderful walk I can't wait to share it with you and the nice thing about this that you're walking it with he'll walk tours is I'm not personally using this service but you can use the luggage transfer service so you can just take a day pack and have their transfer service take on your pack each day so you can keep things nice and light and you can really just enjoy the journey so I'm doing their 11 day challenging Trek so I'll let you just be you know doing the 10 days of walking to complete the sort of oval-shaped loop but there's so many amazing things archaeological sites and historical areas and we've got Islands that we're going to be going onto and nosing around as well and I don't want to give too much away I want each day to unravel itself and to be honest I don't know a huge amount either so I'm with you on the whole learning front it's gonna be a wonderful experience I enjoy to brew and some biscuits before heading out for a quick look on my way into the village I passed by the echoes hotel said to be the oldest purpose-built hotel in Ireland dating back to 1745 Wow look at this neutrally a couple hundred meters down from the B&B and we're here on Bantry Bay so we're driving along this for a fair stretch today actually the sky was blue and the water is glistening and so many people out and about and folks were just having picnics on the shore and sure it's quite a busy road heading into Glen Gareth but this is beautiful so I'm just gonna walk along and shore a little bit further and then we'll be in the village itself the village was an attractive place smaller than I expected but filled with stores selling traditional Irish gifts tourism boomed during the Victorian times and today though the village is home to just 800 people this number grows significantly during the summer months ah cool check this out so we've got a billboard here that tells us about the bear a breath Norway which is actually the longest footpath in the whole of Ireland and basically it follows the journey taken they go you can see look by Donna O'Sullivan beer and his thousand supporters in 1603 there was actually a pretty harrowing tale as they were also killed off along the journey as they sought to find a place of refuge and actually only 35 individuals actually ended up making it there out of the thousand which is unbelievable really but they were heading for lent room castle 300 kilometres to the north and that's obviously the length of the trail so perhaps I hope you want to come back and walk another day as the light began to fade I made my way back to the B&B by the Glen Gareth harbour it was a sheltered and peaceful spot surrounded by high rugged fells and ancient forests I just couldn't wait to get started on the trail it's rainin but we're outside it's actually quite late now it's nearly 11 o'clock but I basically just stayed at the B&B for the morning just got a little bit of work done had a really great breakfast beautiful breakfast actually I've allowed myself to digest that just watch see what the Weber would do but seems to be getting worse as opposed to better at the moment but I'm sure loud change I'm very optimistic the sunglasses are the purest sign of optimism this is it we're on the trip well I guess not quite let's get to the official start and then we're on the trail so today I've got a quite a short day actually nice little introduction to the bear away it is about 11 miles 18 kilometers to a drag all so that's the finishing point for today here we are them right back on Glenn Gareth Harbor right next to the busy road doesn't really matter what the weather's doing though it always looks impressive finally there's enough of the clearance in traffic for me to cross the road and reach this so you see that sign bear away with the yellow walking man that's what we're going to be following for the entirety of our journey so this is it this is the official beginning it's not a huge deal when it's right at the cross junction of these two busy roads there but that's because this is a circular route and you can in theory start anywhere you want so we see I'm gonna be going clockwise but you could go anti-clockwise and just take on the ring of beara however works for you even if it's just in parts and you work through it through a number of years whatever works you need but also very importantly can you see just behind the side that my friends is some blue sky and I'm hoping I'm gonna be walking towards that told you the sunglasses would work they always do the trick anyway I find the sign can only just reach off we go that the trail begin walking out of town I headed over the Glen Garrett River apparently a popular place to fish for salmon and sea trout though on this occasion the water level was pretty high and it broke in its banks apparently there had been an unprecedented and unusual level of August rainfall in the area so I steeled myself an expectation of some soggy conditions underfoot [Music] I'm there can't go wrong really so they're good things about the signposting on this trail I've got one 250 maps with me I've also got an app that I can use if I need to but basically I'm interested to sort of see how primarily relying on the signs will turn out look at this huge wall of rock here that's been smoothed and weathered over time it's quite impressive this is a really pleasant start to the trail I must admit which is walking through this Glen Gareth forests a real sort of mix match of native species like virgin oak and beech and then there's also non-native species like rhododendron just casually growing from the forest floor but it's a lovely and boss there doesn't seem to be too many birds about I'm pretty sure this wildlife Haven whilst eyeing up the glorious blue skies overhead I spotted something moving in the trees nearby it was a red squirrel I just couldn't believe my luck bear away I saw one yellow walking man I mean one needs big old gates here happy days hello I'm out of my Ward's approves woo I feel so good I can actually breathe now as we let hot and sweaty but I just literally feel as light because of Barry apparently this is a move that very thick this is a very special place to be walking through it was great because the sky is blue winning the road twisted and turned as it followed the coup McCain River and emerged from the forest to reveal dramatic views over daring a fuller and to my right a number of impressive Falls tumbling down the mountainside so we're very close now to the kuma cane visitor center obviously it's named after the river in this beautiful beautiful valley I did not expect this from this walk I'm completely blown away wait what danger pond contained piranha fish dies the best sign I've seen this year this looks like the visitor center let's go have a little look definitely be a good place to dry out if it's raining which thankfully is not the visitor center was a real treasure to stumble upon it had a cafe and gift shop camping facilities and a lovely garden attracting all sorts of wildlife so there we go that was a visitor center really lovely little place but pretty soon then we should be turning off to bikini our Center up the side of it up up the side of the mountain here it is the green style with the sign we're going over that and then we're going up there never know whether forwards or backwards is the best idea on these ladder styles backwards it is today that was a long way down okay we're good just about oh here we go real trail huh you can see there that's been quite a load of water coming down here blimey thankfully not today duration 45 hours walking highest point on route 510 meters okay I have clearly underestimated the length of time this will take today and the clouds are starting to come in no worries who is a good little climb move the line it's amazing it was like something out of The Hobbit it's just a something incredible just go work around this mud bulky stuff I could put my gaiters on I'm just being lazy here don't think I need them unless I sink I can see the path or I'm presuming it's up half just winding its way so over over the ridge there this just really is not what I expected I'm completely blown away I'm really struggling with with my synonyms today or amazing and spectacular like I'm just lost for words to be honest but don't quite capture the scale and the magnitude of the beauty here yeah that's quite wet isn't it oh gosh I'm swayed okay to be fair my route notes do say about the bog so I'm not at all surprised it's just it actually is boggy and I kind of thought it might not be lumpy lumpy whoo we did it Bork hopping what I want oh yeah just king use of the Lao so I don't think I can pronounce it cuz I was 18 letters in its name but it's kind of like you can uh who like again what something like that and just see you there that's what those waterfalls are flying into it's just bhag bhag bhag bhag bhag yeah right bug this is not a walk for you never mind yes look we're not even on the highest point yet for finally we got some views back down over Bantry Bay the thing the sunshine as well despite the wet conditions I knew I was making progress it slowly ticking off the miles as I climbed ever upwards and on towards the mountain pass I stopped often to cool off using water filtering out of the ground each time turning to gaze at the magnificent views behind this looks promising I can't see any more up oh wow [Music] headed down to Tibet of an aha look there's nothing everywhere can the wind it's like ceaseless I paused for a few moments at the lock soaking up the tranquil atmosphere and sheltering from the wind the brief stop helped me regain my focus and I determined to press on through the fog as positively as possible gosh look at this spectacular just astonishing landscape these were the kaha mountains that stretched on for miles ahead of me but perhaps most impressive of all was the mayor's tale waterfall the highest in Ireland and the UK oh gosh oh we glad to get on some dry ground to be honest help Oh huh and that is why only life I'm very careful about my footie clothing flip ah I don't have any change of clothes either that is demoralizing actually never mind I actually managed to catch that quite well I've got my laptop in my bag I'm carrying it so I can do some work as I go if you not want to fall on my laptop so sleepy ah it's getting worse not better she's inking us don't stare on that rock oh that's deep oh gosh look at that look look the whole thing I know I might come back I needs you oh my gosh okay rewind nope gumpa grass clump of grass clump of grass stone stone huh paddle river bog as the path neared the road I could feel relief flooding through my body at having made it through the bog it had been a tough stretch of working both physically and mentally oh my gosh yes Road we made it Joyland ah that was bananas I was so crazy but we made it oh what a story we have to tell voice through my boots have to tell ah alright so we're on the tarmac need to follow this for her best stretch and then we turn right and I'll take a little ready to add your girl I followed the road for just under 2 kilometers passing a standing stone or monolith along the way these are the most common type of megalithic monument found in Ireland and they vary in size and shape with some dating right back to the Mesolithic period a head was hungry hill the highest peak in the car Harang at 685 metres above sea level its flanks were evidently scarred by glacial movement likely dating back to the last ice age around 10,000 years ago uh that very time movies they're nice big hmm yeah not bad too bad for eBay BlackBerry's very good more wet ground unfortunately the chair doesn't let up I think this is gonna be the main challenge for me if every day is this wet it's just staying positive about the wetness this is quite cool look at these gnarly trees Wow oh my gosh do not let go of anything cuz it's gonna go down this road that we've actually just emerged onto it's got quite a story so it's known as Healy pass it goes right up through the kaha mountains it also used to be called carry pass and it was built in the 1840s completely by hand without the use of mechanical machines and it was used actually as a poor relief project for those struggling during the Great Famine when the potato crop didn't come through here in Ireland it's just unbelievable how such a road can have so much history so I'm outside pecks shop and basically why I had to do was ring the B&B here or the lady Raymond B&B she's very kind it's a really great little store in there actually they've got all sorts of stuff just a B&B it's quite a few miles away along this busy road so I just have to wait here 10 15 minutes and then they'll come get me and then drop me off here again in the morning which is fantastic but all my life what a day real sword double-edged sword of an experience but you feel quite accomplished I feel really pleased in that I just want to get my boots off look at my legs just want to get these off get cleaned up a little bit and get some food in me and call it a day and it has been a good day [Music] so it's 22 kilometers today we're going to castle town bear which is Ireland's biggest fishing port actually so that we're really exciting to check that out I'm going to be staying there for two nights because tomorrow I go across on a ferry thing little boat and explore bear island which is quite big actually it looks a little on than that but when you look at the distance to cover with the walk it's actually quite big think of these lobster pots just lying in the road here obviously someone's storing them they've seen some fair days in the water we're heading off the country track going this way so heading up into glacial fells that are the caja mountains basically from here to castle town bear its eighteen point five kilometers it takes about seven to eight hours walking and the highest point is 315 meters great views of a dragger Harbor Bantry Bay and Bear Island happy days initially there was no obvious trail to follow as I climbed up into the hills and the ground was once again pretty saturated however my attention was more focused on the widening views behind me and the fascinating formations on the side of the mountains before long I picked up a broad track that made it be easy walking as it skirted around the edge of hungry Hill ahead was a breathtaking Vista over bear island to Castletown bear and just offshore I spotted a number of salmon farms once a flourishing industry in the area though it has declined over the last decade resuming this is the path not 100% sure I know we need to get up there your ad the trail began to descend down towards Park look one of an estimated 12,000 lakes in the Republic of Ireland getting there though proved to be a little bit more difficult than expected do not recommend this stealth mode next to evolve our fence Oh what oh yes we have a track it's big old cliffs here shadow in the path this is absolutely astonishing just the vastness of the shapes on the rocks left by the glacis I would be kilometres underneath the ice right now [Applause] once again you could get your wellies out and you wouldn't be too far wrong here you can walk in them it's a good idea I want to know what prehistoric people did how did they keep their feet dry what did they just go bare feet and not worry about it because that seems quite sensible to me right now bare feet all the way Wow look at this wonderful nice who's getting crazy looking back over what we've come free it's just a massive stone and bog with some nice flowers I followed another track through the soggy and windswept landscape towards castle town bear which I can now clearly see a few miles ahead on their Haven Harbor aha now here is something I've been looking forward to all day so basically the archaeological time frame within island spans back to around 7,000 BC there are archaeological sites all over this country and this here is just one of them so this is the remains of a wedge - they were built sort of during the Stone Age and basically the Dead would have been placed sort of in here so there would have been a capstone which is that bit there that's fallen off and basically they often aligned with the Setting Sun which is believed archaeologists make inference that it's to help the the dead to access the afterlife but this is marked on the map as a megalithic tomb and I've been really looking forward to reaching it it's smaller than I thought but of course there's tombs like this all over the country and they're in varying states of disrepair some and they're bigger some of them are smaller kind of depends on the significance of the individual and the amount of time and effort and labour put into building the tomb for them but yeah here we are our first megalithic wedge grave very good this looks like a track where it starts or ends either way we're joining it happy days it's interesting because obviously we're facing right out into the Atlantic and there is nothing there except well until you get to America but Castletown Bear is well known for being a sheltered spot because obviously there's bear island sort of blocking the way so the western side of Bear Island or the south western side anyway just gets the runs of the weather and Castletown bear well so they'll be more shouted so we'll see what it's like when we get there but already just dropping down the wind is eased and I feel like I can breathe a bit it's nice to sort the other hear my over voice and look up because I've been like this most of the day never mind it's been a great day's walking oh you like it really might be like just before reaching the town I passed a little bridge once part of the original road between Glen Gareth and Castletown Bear here we are on the main ride so I'm pretty sure then the bear away goes that way we've just joined it and basically gone left so next task is to find the P and B I just want to get my boots off get my feet airing because they're really rubbing actually just from being so wet every step it's like a squid squid scooch in it's quite easy I was staying at the Seabreeze BMP where I arrived to a family welcome what a team and a homemade scone now you don't get that when you're camping after stuffing my boots of newspaper I headed into castle town bare itself it was a busy place with a lively atmosphere and the High Street hosted a number of bars and restaurants selling the town's famous whitefish perhaps most famous of all is the McAfee's bar a traditional Irish bar established in the 1800s next I know Zeid around the fishing harbour passing the National Fisheries College of Island and countless vessels noodle nets and other fishing gear it was a really interesting place on my way back to the B&B I checked out the Church of the Sacred Heart a Roman Catholic building built in the early 1900s my day exploring bear island began with me catching a ferry to the eastern end of the island it was a great ride with excellent views over hungry Hill and the lands I had walked through over the last few days so this is rare in which is one of the sort of 10 settlements left here on bear island there used to be over 70 the population here is now about 220 people but sort of within the 18th century basically the population was wave again it was sort of 2,000 people ten times bigger but it was the great famine that really knocked back the population here so I'm gonna have a quick look around it's very cool and then we're gonna go right down to the easternmost point and we'll do a little reading from there look at some of the military history and then we'll head up over the top and see what else we can find I headed out of the village passing by Murphy store and some colorful houses before reaching the headquarters of fort bear Haven it was purpose built in the 1900s to meet the educational needs of military personnel's families living on the island further on and I entered into a maze of barracks and buildings all cluing into the island's military background as a treaty port held on to but the British government for security reasons until 1938 when it was finally given back to Ireland all of the loose stripes coming into flower oh sorry mister be really attracting the wildlife and then the other striking purple is the Heather line in the hedgerows like this really really beautiful just really enjoying this quiet stretch of road heading out to the easternmost point you can really breathe and it feels wonderful to have a nice light pack today just feel like I'm bouncing along nearing the easternmost point of the island I found myself on the edge of lone Hort battery a military fortification built in 1899 by the Royal Engineers housing to enormous 6-inch guns a nine inch gun and a 15 foot dry moat meaning it could only be accessed by a small iron bridge okay if I wanted to just walk around the fort and then begin my journey along the other side of the island then I could go up that style but we can see here we have a sign that says the landing port of the French longboat in 1796 so we'll explain that in a minute and we're going this way hey look a beach ah look at all the shells I love shells let's find some special one little periwinkle things big periwinkle things limpets sure it's pretty mussels in here as well somewhere Wow okay I'm gonna give myself five minutes guys it five minutes and then we're pressing on but I think this might actually be the beach where the French longboat lay resolute was driven ashore in 1796 basically the French Armada were trying to attack the island and Island and basically it was during one of the worst storms in the whole of the 18th century and the fleet sat out there for two weeks and then they ended up turning back so the invasion was a complete failure just because of the stormy stormy weather but it did encourage the Islanders here in the military to really up their defenses and that's why we can see so many different forts around here which of course have been modified throughout the periods of time following that now walking west i left the beach behind following a small trail that later saw me rejoin the road i had been following earlier a bit further on and I noticed a collapsed wedge tomb on the side of the road much larger than the one I'd passed the day before I'm really enjoying just being out to walk confidently along on this tarmac and take in the hills around and the shore as well and the scattering of interesting buildings we're probably not even a quarter done today and I feel really excited by the potential for the rest of the day morning cows you're right just climbing up to one of the Martello towers used to be for here on bear island now there's only two they were completed in 1805 as the British tried to strengthen their defenses against the French windy up here but look at this mind-blowing view behind us Wow the towers were probably amongst the earliest to be completed in Ireland built using masonry rubble nearby were the tumbling remains of some barrack buildings designed for two officers and their men so time is ticking real quick and I just realized I've forgotten my timetable so I don't know what time the next or the last ferry is back across on the western end so I'm actually gonna speed up but we've got to go back into the village now and then we head over high road over the highest point on the island drop down the other side leave the road and we're gonna head to the furthest point to the west then retracing my steps to rehren I once again passed through the village and headed on to the Lawrence Cove Marina a tranquil spot with bartering facilities a gift shop and some rather lovely views even a marina behind our continued on along the road for passing a standing stone that overlooked the land rather majestically then it was almost and upwards to the highest point for the day and into the western edge of the island ah we made it last highest point for today at 270 meters above sea level the highest point housed the crumbling remains of a signal tower once again built by the British in the early 19th century there's the LOI house I just ran all that way trying to catch this 4:30 ferry I don't think I'm gonna make it but anyway we're out the westernmost point and this is the route at 20 meters tall the lighthouse sits on the site of a former beacon built in 1850 though the current building dates to 1965 clearly that sheep can't read private property keep out he's just hanging out right in there at your own risk super the trail had it from knee-high grass then joined a track that joined a road leading to the west end of here where I made a new friend hey you this is the best way to end the walk I popped in to the lookout cafe for a brew whilst I waited for the six o'clock ferry to arrive it was simply wonderful to sit and watch the boats and waves bother and down and enjoy the simplicity of life all right let's go get a ferry back to castle town bear the ride back to castle town bear proved to be a great time for a reflection it had been a wonderful day exploring such a historic and picturesque place and I knew I would sleep well dreaming of my adventures on bear island it's another windy one I've waved goodbye into the B&B and we are on the road so I'm heading into castle town bare into the town now and we'll pick up the route once again I get to miss that place it was really nice such a friendly warm atmosphere definitely one of the best movies I've ever stayed in actually and of course of you whoa very good does the island that's where we were aiming for well we go across the island tomorrow but this way I left behind the colorful buildings on waving flags of castle town bear to head on into the hills we're pretty soon I discovered an amazing archaeological site so here we are then in the middle of a stone circle this is one of many hundreds of stone circles found for our island it dates back to around 3000 BC is 8 meters in diameter and it once had 15 stones now it has just the 12 for us we can just come and wander around here and it doesn't necessarily mean a lot for the but for the people of the past this was a very significant place of ritual practice something to do with the sky archaeologists can only infer but the entrance as with many stone circles aligns with solar and lunar events and whilst this was definitely not a day-to-day place of activity it was obviously very very important to the people that built it the amount of time and effort a lay but they would have been required to get these stones here in this particular spot must have been absolutely immense and whilst in some stone circles archaeologists have found human remains bodies that the odd sacrifice or things like that votives and possessions left in the graves nothing here and as I say these are definitely not burial sites they're definitely something to do the astronomical forecasting of the weather the sky maybe the whole circle of life thing we can only infer there's no written record but they certainly make an interesting place to come and wander around in the 21st century [Music] fantastic views back over the bay and over the mountains that we've walked through across the last few days really just catching the light perfectly this morning I was now entering the sleeve miss Kish Mountains said to me the mountains of malice amazingly there are only four named peaks within the entire range this is where walking is so great because there is the option to follow the road for the first pass today if the weather was down and it was horrible but of course you wouldn't get access to the views like this being on foot just transports you into a whole nother world I love it so this forest that we're walking through is being clear felled and that means where all the trees are gone and they've been taken down this is forestry work so that's what they do but you can see they've left loads of dead wood and I often talk about this because it looks quite messy and unsightly but it's completely intentional the dead wood allows succession to happen so you get mussels and lichen growing on the dead wood all the insects and bugs make their home in it and then gradually gradually different plant species will take root and a new force will establish itself the trail picked up a quiet country road for a short stretch passing by a number of crumbling buildings that stood eerily as reminders of life long since passed bear a bridle way to a LaHaye's fantastic once again just here in the mountains hold on my own completely completely alone and just loving the solitude in the time with this space on this trail or you can hear is your own breath and heartbeat and the sound of your steps and your stick squeak of your pack the wind in the trees nothing else my heart rates coming up I can't wait to see this whole view as a vast and as deep as it is oh my life look at this what a fantastic day for a climb up here gosh leaving the viewpoint behind the weather suddenly changed with rain pummeling me from all angles it was pretty torrential at times but as quickly as it had started it passed over leaving blue skies and clean air in as weak we are just coming into a LaHaye's now or at least we're dropping down to the coast so we don't actually go into the village today we sort of skirt around but what is interesting is all around me I can see the remains and evidence of the copper mining that went on here there's different mines and the hills I can see the chimneys sticking out and actually we're just about to go past one here we go that gives us a lot of way copper mining began in the area during the Bronze Age but reached its peak from 1812 to 1912 when 290 thousand tons of ore were recorded at having been mined mmm-hmm hundred making any progress today there's BlackBerry's walking slows down cows have got a good spot I'm not at all jealous we've just reached the road junction that would take us into a LaHaye's if we were going into the village which is where we will be exploring the day after tomorrow but today what we're doing is obviously heading down to dirty sound you see the sign here which says bear away dersy so we're going down to the beach now so the beach was actually formed with over a hundred thousand tons of steel and rock that came out of the mines here so it's completely man-made and I'm quite excited to check this out actually because it's a very significant feature in the landscape the coastline was a stimulating place to walk and brilliantly vibrant in the blazing sunshine the air was filled with the cause of seabirds and the crashing of waves and I passed by nard and jagged rocks eroded and worn by years of exposure I made sure to savor every step whoa I'm only just noticed how there are fellas over there you can really see the sort of layers of strata the bands that form the mountains themselves gosh that's quite something after a short stretch of road walking the trail then headed up very much up thankfully though the climb wasn't too long and the views behind were hard to beat the route then come toward the hillside amongst Heather and gorse with impressive views of dirty sound ahead the final stretch of walking for the day took me along the southern edge of the sound so as you've probably guessed we're going up there making good progress up this climb feeling strong views behind fantastic yeah that looks a bit steep we're going up the style which is more of a ladder and then just up okay up the only way is up man it was a steady ascent up to 175 metres above sea level but once again it was so worth the effort I just couldn't get enough of the landscape I was walking through with its uneven terrain crisscross by dry stone walls and decorated with brightly coloured villages it lifted my spirits no end and I powered up the climb at the top of the hill I gained my first views over dersy island separated from the mainland by a narrow strip of water this was dersy sound here we go B&B it's just up here so that's it that brings us to the end of day four on the bear away I can't believe it really enjoy today feeling so much more positive in my mind and in my body now we're just gonna head into some shelter have a drink get some food and call it a day for tomorrow's day five and I actually didn't realize I'm walking this in nine days not ten so yeah tomorrow or take is officially halfway free today's I said today his day as the island I'm actually feeling a bit nervous about the cable car now cuz I'm going over the water but they built the cable car in 1969 because it's a lot safer than going by boat has really strong tidal currents so I should just be thankful that I'm in the air not on the city on my way to the cable car station I passed by a monument remembering historic events the car rock lighthouse in 1881 a huge storm destroyed the building leaving six men stranded for 12 days until seven brave fishermen set out from dersy Island in a rowing boat in an all-out attempt to save the men Hey look at this the old cable car hot thing has been used as a chicken coop let's go funny looks like I just missed that one it's going back across but it's interesting because actually this cable car used to be used to ferry sheep and cattle across from the island and to the island also the island itself was once a Viking slave D potus where the Vikings kept their Irish slaves till there was enough of them to take over to Scandinavia on a boat are we go so we got some information about the wildlife so dolphins sharks and basking sharks and then the different oh look can its I've always wanted to see it can it this is exciting we'll keep our eyes open and just in case you're wondering New York is four thousand nine hundred and fifty kilometers away hello may I get a return ticket please thank you very much just me yes I am alone thank you the cable car is island's only cable car and the only one that traverses open sea water in all of Europe it was a steady eight minutes across the sound and I felt thankful not to be amongst the forceful waves below squeezed through two cars hello old friend alright so we're headed up over this one back down or over the other side and then back around on the road that's the plan let's go I can't imagine living somewhere so remote and windswept and rugged there isn't a single tree on this island and every piece of flora is like not quite even ankle height but I mean this place must just get smashed by the wave a day after day four out of the year I'm gonna take a real resilience to live here and of course there's no amenities either but I can imagine the community spirit is very strong people help each other out and to be fair sometimes that's all you need surrounded by unconditional love as I pressed on along the trail I frequently found myself surrounded by dry stone walls covered in moss and lichen and course apparently there's an estimated 400,000 kilometers of dry stone walls in Ireland alone the oldest of which is said to be 5,800 years old and so begins to climb up to the highest point on the island 305 metres above sea level and there's a signal tower on the top but we'll have a chat about that when we get there oh let's get out the wind a little bit sheltering here so the whole signal tower was built around 200 years ago once again part of the British defence system against the French invasion and this is all that is left today there's some crumbling walls that probably I shouldn't be stood in and some metal box thing don't know what that used to contain this is such an exposed to their cases so obviously they want to be up high they want to be hard to see out far but it does mean you are so susceptible to getting bashed by the weather as it comes in wave after wave after wave of weather friend hence how in just 200 years this is crumbled so much okie-dokie so we're dropping down to this track we're just gonna go past the last building on the island I just can't get over what life must be like living here I'm just a bit speechless to be honest anyway and then we're gonna head right on to Jersey head so the furthest point possible on land until we reach the sea and then it's a long hard swim to America as a drew closer to Jersey head I rather unexpectedly found myself feeling uneasy and vulnerable our being so exposed to the weather and the waves and insecure as I stood in the middle of a timeless land at the same time though it was a humbling experience to realize my insignificance as I looked out towards the sea I didn't either for too long though soon turning heel and joining the track that ran along the eastern edge of the island it was lined with abandoned and decaying buildings that added to the starkness of the place I know the best place for me to have seen whales or dolphins was right at daisy-head I didn't go there but I'm still keeping my eye open just looking into the sea see if I can see any movement that doesn't tie in with the waves Joe is like you tripping up because I'm looking down there not where I'm putting my feet though thankfully this is a big faff and well hopefully I'd stop him if I started falling down hopefully heading through the first of the two main sort of little settlement places along this road slash track there's just nobody about it's just deserted it's got a strange feeling and the only cars there are just rusting and decaying I didn't realize it at the time but there are now only four permanent residents on the island and most of the buildings still standing are holiday houses available to rent look how the Gauss is just bursting into flame as the Sun comes out it catches it so vibrantly really beautiful flowers nearby the cable car station and the end of my walk I noticed the remains of a monastic church and graveyard is said to have Franciscan ancestry and likely dates back to the early 16th century here we are then right back where we started that is our loop of adders the island complete right we are back on the other side capable car it's just going back so let's finish this loop then so heading off along the shoreline and guess what over a style the path followed a narrow trail up to 151 meters above sea level which unsurprisingly offered immense views all around heading down the side of the hill I ducked into a little Cove with just one thing on my mind Rock pooling I'm on a beach I'm looking for rock pause and then I'm gonna be looking for crabs that one looks a little bit small and this is the only other one it's big enough for half an hour I completely lost myself in the underwater world filled with crabs shrimps and tiny fish I marveled at the colors of the sand and the shells until I spotted a hermit crab hug us so see he's just inside of his shell right now but if we give him a couple of minutes he'll come out just you watch so there we go I'm on the main road now not much bigger than the not main road and where this will take us back to the B&B so that's it day five done so four days left I can't believe it really it's gone so quickly waving goodbye to this secluded spot on the peninsula it's been quite a fun couple of days just exploring but now we are on to our final few days longer days longer mileage but I just means more time immersed in it's wonderful landscape okay back it's style back on the track oh let's go come son you can do it I believe in you burn burn through the clouds son spend a lot of the time on the trail talking to myself and quite comfortably the funny thing is is when like a go past somebody and they're like me just just me me myself and I you know you have a good time hanging out it's good good space so I recognize this this is Bali Dunnigan beach we passed by a couple of days ago man-made Beach here doesn't seem to be a single human in sight with the sea girls seemed to be having a good time entering into alahi's I went to check out the copper mine Museum which covers all aspects of the history of copper mining in the area from prehistoric times to the Industrial Revolution the displays and collections had me transfixed but it was deeply saddening to read the extensive list of those who had lost their lives in the mines it was an unbelievably risky and dangerous job so that is the copper museum so we're gonna head through town now and then out the other side into the hills cloud is really coming down the mountain over there just keeping an eye on it the village itself was a colorful place though the dark skies and lack of activity so we passed through rather quickly and I soon found myself climbing into the hills surrounding the settlement so maybe this was one of the miners commuting paths travelling up into the hills to get to the engines that would take them down underground for hours and hours of hard and dangerous work who knows but it can't have been a fun feeling climbing up knowing where you go in here's the quarry itself look the remains of the hills scarred by the work of man it's just a jumble now isn't it thank you that this must have been such a dismal place to work honestly so exposed and industrial and imagine this you wake up and this is your commute to work down there it's not an appealing prospect understatement of the year Wow look at this road right up freedom ounces ominous-looking stone so jagged and jarred doesn't look inviting but we're going there anyway as I've been walking along the last few days I've been practicing my tin whistle skills so I had to bring it to Island this is the home country of Celtic music Irish jigs that sort of thing I'm really not very good but I used to play when I was younger quite obsessively and I've just been trying to see if I can remember some of the jigs that I knew and I can loose you remember like parts of ones so I thought if we find a nice clear spot in the next few days I'll sit down and bring you up to speed with my skills every kind of fun playing at inna was so awesome in Ireland so you got that to look forward to you better stick around because I've been practicing hard I was in good spirits feeling high on life despite the gray weather but just minutes later everything changed instant change of situation come across this collie I don't know where its people are it's just tucked away here in the bushes tied up there is nobody at all in this area it looks like she's been there for a while she's reread Opie I am NOT leaving you don't worry I'm not going anywhere I will sort this out I'll ring some people and see what I can do okay oh look at you right I've made a few calls and I'm just waiting to hear back from he'll walk tours they're gonna see if they can ring an animal shelter and just see if we can get some help because I'm not leaving this dog he she absolutely soaked really really cold we're gonna make a plan as the rain grew heavier the dog began shivering violently so we cuddled up until we had a four word plan they have provides that sometimes it can be very normal for farmers our locals to leave their dog for a while we'll come back for it but I don't know it would be better if we can find out for sure are there any houses ever seen see at all sometimes locals would know who dog it is and you could call in and ask okay let's go find this farm are we back puppy giveaway we'll make a plan so you see there's a house just down there the farms got to find one of these tracks to get through I followed a track heading down to a farm somewhere away and was walking as quickly as I could when behind I noticed a tractor driving up the trail I had just left behind yes I can see the tractors gone into the quarry that's it the dogs got people my fingers best I get out of here I'm creating a bit of a scene being off a public right-of-way trouble with collies get hair everywhere she's been pulling hair out of my mouth all the way down there and now I did not lick the dog got a split here so I could go that way but I want to stay on the old copper road which I'm on so we're gonna go this way just basically hugging the base of the mountain and the trail itself kind of contours it as well goes over the top a little bit so this really is not a bad place to be a nice firm surface in the pouring rain here's the trail back on the bear away whoo oh wow there's 50 meters on and there's this massive standing stone here overlooking the shore just casually in their front garden you can always tell if the weather's bad by the way folks this is the best type of weather forecasting if I don't have my hat on if I've got my hats on generally whereas okay it's manageable we can work with it but if the hat goes away which it's about to then it's wet right hat way up we go over the river I'm gonna take a guess and call this the river I reason that may or may not be true the weather gradually got worse as the winds intensified and the rain grew heavier I walked along Irish strand which without exposed and desolate in the wet conditions though it was amazing to see the force of the waves against the rocks and the shoreline I just made sure I didn't get too close so this is the right now we'll follow this all the way to iris so we'll come back down here tomorrow morning and pick up trail to continue forward next day so let's go onwards and upwards we can see the town there multicolored buildings just standing out from the mist and that's what are you going cut a fall and I'm gonna just quickly head to a village store just want to get some food have a nicely anything since breakfast so see five o'clock so always handed our breakfast quarter to eight so I'm just on the edge of getting a bit hungry yeah so I keep saying so get some food that's like even my brain to watch and then we'll find a view of a kind of Wow's it you can't help but feel joyful yeah back outside and don't look at what's in my hand it's gone I went in there for fruit however I come out with this gun ah honestly about packings dangerous I Reese proved to be a vibrant an upbeat place even in the rain I would have liked to have spent more time looking round but I made a dash for the B&B as the rain grew heavier still passing a sensory garden and lots of inviting cafes and on the way ah I'm a bit soggy thank you very much oh this is the life so I'm inside dry everything is drying out the beans are stared had a really nice cup of tea great chat with the wonderful owners here and I've just been completely honest though I said I can't relax about this dog I need to know that it's not still on the mountainside so they've run around and they've got all of the dog wardens and they're gonna come here in half an hour so they'll pick me up and we're gonna go up and check if the dog is still there hi-yah very well you good and the dog was gone so yeah it's gone okay the dog is gone the rope still there but the dogs God I guess there's kind of good news but feel a bit confused I guess after showing the ward in a picture of the dog he managed to track down the owner whose story didn't match mine I don't believe the man set out to hurt the dog just as is the case all over the world so farmers treat dogs differently he was given a warning after assuring as the dog was fed warm and dry and I was told he would be monitored and prosecuted if anything else came up I felt unbelievably grateful that the situation was taken seriously I was respected and listened to and I went to sleep that night feeling one over not only by Islands landscape but by its kind in caring people as well morning morning really lovely stay that baby so it just felt so homely very safe kind loving atmosphere I wish I was staying there for a couple more days but never mind we're on the road that's what we do best is just keep moving so heading into Aries again colors are a little bit more vibrant today on the houses because it's not pouring down but it's still not perfect day but we take this it's dry at least today we've got a longer day we're heading right through to Larrick so a bit of a coastal path for walking a bit of road walk in I think a few miles Frieda Hills I'm not sure we'll just have to wait and see really want foot in front the other let's take it on hoping it's about 27 kilometres or something so not too bad at all look strawberry plants yeah little bit out of season and then just down here a little stream on my way out of the village I dropped into this intent against church famous for its exceptional stained glass windows and true to the stories I had heard it was an unbelievably uplifting place to stand in now you see me now you don't ah check these out the shells that are all stuck into the wall it's very clever all the way along look there's a lot of shells this sacred spot of the Emerald Isle welcomes all who enter here may the Sun Shine on your path may you live your life without fear may you care for all God's jewels on land and in the sea sit here awhile and reflect on this world of eternity god bless all who enter here for peace you will truly find that may that peace go with you forevermore and wherever your paths may wind during the coastal path once again I noticed the desolate looking ruins of the old coastguard station it was built by the British government but later attacked and burned in 1920 by a local IRA guerrilla force who had heard that a stash of rifles were kept there if it wasn't for these signs I would have no idea where I'm going right now perhaps I should just stuck to the road it's pretty wet don't mind no going back now ah tarmac this might be the road that we left earlier back on it just with newly wet feet so odd groom that way or odd groom that way well we're going this way following the ring of beara got the sign here which says the organ stone so basically these are tall stones found for our island and other islands around the area we've basically the Irish alphabet on them they're really really interesting this one on my root note says that you can't actually see it that the owner has blocked it off although there is a sign so that may have changed but essentially that would be that way if I wanted to go and look at that I'm gonna carry on because I don't want to walk down now fine I can't see it the path followed a road alongside Kula Bay and for a short walk I enjoyed the coastal views before turning north and inland we are on a path now headed to the southern shore of far down lake it's really foggy everywhere just looks so drab in this overcast light but I know that if the Sun does come out it's all come to life quite quickly Oh Frick nope okay ah let's go this way oh this looks okay okay freezing what it's been refreshing because I've been able to sort of take some time to reflect on my mindset take the first day for example you know I'm struggling with the weight on my back it was so buggy I was not mentally prepared for this trip at all because I just got off another trail and that was the complete contrast to this it was very very different and it was a quick turnaround to this trail I've come out the other side these last couple of days and as I say just sort of looking at my mindset and how things have been now today really is very wet very wet very buggy stinky but I'm having a time in my life and I think you know that mental resilience that bounced back whatever it is this caused me to feel more myself today it's just wonderful because I can actually access the landscapes that I'm in I don't need to be like that is a great mountain I can be like that is a great mountain I am in this beautiful beautiful part of the world I've just come from some stunning coastline to some wonderful fails and mountains ruggedness all around this world landscape and I get to walk through it which is incredible so I'm going to keep so checking in with my mindset and keep challenging the negative and difficult thoughts because there is always something around the corner that can flip it all right on its head and I'm always trying to grab hold of those things those things that open my eyes open my heart and transport me into the person that I longed to be I might not get to be that person all the time I might not get to be for me all the time but if I stay open to that journey as always and there's something to come away with it I'm once again on this trail it has taught me something I mean struggling the last few days to be like what am i learning from this experience but now I really see it it's all about that mindset staying aware of it and trying to just let it do what it does but keep guiding it back to where you want it to be here we go odd groom odd groom actually gets its name from the Irish word meaning to drumlins and drumlins basically so elongated hills formed by glazes tens of thousands of years ago and obviously there's quite a few hills around here and there must be to either side maybe but we're also getting close to the Ken mastery and tomorrow we're actually going up to Ken man so it's another long day but as I mentioned this is about the halfway point for our walk today we've got about eight and a half miles to go and to get to Alerus odd groom lies to the northwest of Glen Beck look a freshwater lake that attracts thousands of visitors each year the village itself once again boasted uplifting colors and attention to detail with a shop post-office petrol station and the village inn it's amazing I keep getting little glimpses of kenmare Bay which is a bay on the northern part of Provera Peninsula obviously cuz working our way around but it's so exciting is the landscapes changing it's just showing that we're making progress through and along this ring of beara I don't know if you can see this sign but it says add row' grooms stone circle I didn't know that what's the stone circle around here but it up that way anyway not sure how far joining the road again so we're leaving our little one this is the main road it's not hugely busy though following the road to prove to be an absorbing walk and I lost myself in finding as many wildflowers as possible in the verges there was loosestrife Heather thrift and vetch gorse rhododendron and more oh yeah forgot this happens today we're leaving County Cork and engineering county kerry there's the sign let's cross the county line and now i'm in county kerry new territory let's do this thing whoa we made it one point six kilometers along the road and we're outta style this is a junction so we're heading up into the mountains it's probably gonna be boggy it's probably gonna be Rocky it's probably gonna be windy but we can deal with all these things goodbye to the cars glad to get rid of them all right let's go the view is opening out towards the bay even in this murky murky weather still looks amazing ah there we go think of that see you right into the bay there whoo and there rocks ahead of us on the mountainside undoubtably scraped by gracie's to for most sort of linear patterns so so fascinating to see this history right there in front of us the shaping and making of this land no I just look at that beautiful a short while on and I found myself walking alongside the casual Katie stone circle it's made up of a row of stones and an altar stone at each end which faces the sunrise and sunset are the equinoxes then just a mile or so later I discovered the most beautiful waterfall tumbling unexpectedly down a rock face the sights took me completely by surprise and I was mesmerised by the throwing water a magical feel to the place let's try o once again do deep let's go rock it's a rock sounds like some kind of band you go see the rock to rocks this weekend okay ready what take good oh no oh no no bad Oh sank and I just ran okay I'm coming for you stick don't worry about it it's gonna be okay Excalibur Oh God is Doug okay oh oh that's been ordeal alright climb the ladder go escape this boggy dismal place through the tunnel into another world I can't remove this look we just didn't miss like mangrove of rhododendron it's kind of really weird come from the more to this jungle look at this glorious sunshine and mountains all around perfect way to be spending the day perfect place to be walking through it's really amazing what's in the cloud burning off it's slowly disappearing the peaks are coming through and the Sun is triumphing over the darkness that's what we like to see heading over the Crone shook bridge this looks quite old Wow big river biggest yet look at that come across this Forge here blacksmith's forge it's shut unfortunately but their blacksmiths forges have a special place in my heart I really really enjoy blacksmithing and I always say if this whole filming thing doesn't work out then I'll go become a blacksmith somewhere in the woods yeah but I did it course a couple years ago for my birthday making different blades and a blacksmith's knife is quite sort of thin and it's got like a swirl on the end and basically in the Forge of swirl came off so I made a necklace out of it people always think it's like a chef curds thing or some kind of symbol but it's this you just my knife went wrong is that a part so I made a necklace out yeah there we go we found a Forge let's go find a B&B B&B just ahead my goodness means is such a lovely place it's just absolutely silent side for the wind can really brief here it feels very very peaceful don't worry good morning so leaving this peaceful tranquil Valley behind with the B&B and we're heading on to the trail it's our penultimate day today we've got 24 kilometers once they get back to the trail all the way to kenmare which is indeed a town biggest place on the trail so far I headed out along a quiet road to begin climbing back up into the mountains along the way passing a sign - Dorina gardens planted in the early 20th century and famous for a subtropical feel the cloud actually appears to be coming in as opposed to dissipating I keep looking behind the views are fantastic but yeah the clouds definitely a lot lower than it was when I left so we keep an eye on that so we got no Canoga T whatever is called up there and then knockety over there so they're the two peaks that we've kind of come in between so free 400 meters in height each of them but it's such a rugged and barren landscape and it's interesting because when I first emerged into this kind of scenery on the bear away I was like hmm it's quite bleak but the more time you spend in it the more you realize actually it's really quite characterful the rocks you know each of them weathered and sort of scarred in their own way from the hundreds and thousands of years that they've been immersed in this landscape they're all gnarled up and covered in lichen as well so some of them are quite colorful and then you have all the different grasses and the occasional wildflowers here we go that grow on the verges and in amongst the bog and the wetness underfoot it is quite an interesting landscape and of course the summit's themselves they're really quite stark and harsh the rocks reaching heaven wood but there's something quite transformative about looking at them it takes you back to times long gone and you almost feel immersed in prehistory warning no I like you here's a road main road cuts at umbehr cane manling so I'm gonna cross straight over and I see it we're off the road now onto the trail who was it for do you love a good bit of cascading water look at that oh man what a view look at that Wow bhag bhag scroogie boat can't avoid it going through the middle well that's a half-decent view we've come over the top of the mountain pass just about to begin our descent down into the Glen eat chicken rally and you see the two lakes either side the river in between and we get to walk down there it's very exciting well that's a long cattle grid okay I'm gonna go down the middle as the path leveled out between the two lakes I spotted a sign for yet another unmissable archaeological site just off the trail goodness me look at the location of this this then is the stone circle situated between the two lakes with the chicken waterfall coming down at the head of the lake there what an unbelievable location and there's one two three four five stones here but the interesting thing is this one this may come in here Suns three meters tall I mean it's ours above me it's huge must have been such a task to get this in place and no doubt it is exactly where the people wanted it to be the exact precise location but we're just surrounded by this amphitheatre of mountains with the two lakes either side it's really a very very special place it's quite atmospheric actually and I feel very privileged to have it to myself at the moment leave him behind the stone circle the path skirted around the edge of lock in chicken its surface rippling gently in the wind on the opposite bank stood erica wood which has been protected since 1982 and contains remnants of an ancient Irish oak woodland purple sheep now a friendly what's going on hey puppy sheep never cute [Applause] I just stopped for a banana and it looks like the web is clearing there's blue sky up ahead and the cloud is lifting yes the sunglasses work whoo we have a boardwalk that's what we like to see clearly the people in County Kerry can't stand up a bog as much as the people in County Cork because we have another boardwalk again they're not very long but it's something there's a start to making this route way more accessible to people I believe the bog is something people don't like unfortunately it's not for everybody but having boardwalks with slabs yes it makes the landscape feel a lot less remote but it does make it more accessible to people and brings tourism into the area people doing the bear away enjoying the scenery hopefully extending the tourist season as well because the winter light in Ireland I've heard is something to experience so I will definitely be back in winter maybe not this winter but definitely soon anyway boardwalk this must signal they were getting close to the pass itself oh look at that Wow I have no words the views nor for possibly some of the best yet overlooking killer high mountain and kenmare Bay I soaked it all up for a while before beginning there's a sense down the saturated hillside this is very precarious going downhill on mud like this is tricky I've slipped a lot of times but I'm doing good just got a long way to go yet on rock you sort of put your weight on and test it and then transfer your weight and you do the same with snow with mud it's like you look at it and you slip over or at least that seems to be what I'm doing nevermind this is definitely where a boardwalk would be wonderful right now saying authorities oh no God okay we're good um what's the safest way probably over there well I just nearly stepped on this dude what caterpillar is that I've obviously absolutely terrified it I have no idea what species of Caterpillar this is or what its gonna turn into but it's really striking this little pink Tufts and orange spots and of course it's green which blends in perfectly to this environment it's putting back some old sheep and thing here I don't know a lot about that except it's circular and made of rocks eventually I left the mud behind reaching further ground an achievement worthy of celebrating or so I felt at least yes there it is right road let's go tarmac join us I'm very happy I relaxed into the next few kilometers of road walking enjoying the sound of birdsong and relative tranquility of the area and of course I kept my eye open for red squirrels though I didn't see any this time we have a main road so this is it this would take us all the way to the B&B I know that cuz I was just checking the notes I realized a little too late that the way actually follows apart running parallel to the main road which seemed a lot more sensible than my situation my guide notes say that there's a shortcut on this road and I can't believe it I've actually found it so I'm staying at waters edge B&B I need to go up through here so we get to leave the main road behind which is fantastic because that was a bit hairy and follow this soggy path up to the BMV actually we've graveled it that's very sensible come say hi hey wherever you are I love you beautiful place fantastic views over the shore but I'm gonna go get a cup of tea you know me that's my priority ah drunk my tea and now I'm going for a walk into kenmare so it's about half an hour a couple of kilometers I think so this is gonna be really interesting though because I'm in flip-flops I just really don't want to be wearing my boots they're so so wet and all of my socks stink I think I should just wash them actually but never mind anyway so we're going to Ken May I've got to go for the concrete bridge that goes over the river kenmare it was built in 1939 it replaced what's believed to have been the first suspension bridge built in Ireland in the 1800s early 1800s nowadays it is just concrete but you're gonna walk over that and that'll take us into the town the name Kenmare means head of the scene referring to the head of kenmare bay the town was laid out in an X shape in the 18th century by William petty a local landlord who later became Prime Minister of Britain and in 1783 concluded the Treaty of Paris which ended the war of American Revolution nowadays the town is a bustling place filled with colorful buildings and a cheerful atmosphere it was also very busy with traffic something that took me by surprise having just emerged from the solitude of the mountains I went to check out the Holy Cross Church which was consecrated in 1864 then tried on some tweed hats which proved to be great fun I concluded my day by checking out the music makers statues on the shore of the kenmare River the musicians looked really content and that was exactly how I was feeling it had been a brilliant penultimate day on the trail 27 kilometers today should be very scenic once again overcast but perfectly cool for me let's join the road let's get some miles in there's the bridge looking good this morning The Woodlands alongside the road were alive with bird songs but saw my spirits soar I made fast progress soon crossing over the river scene which is notable for a salmon population attracting fishermen from all around island each year we seem to be walking along the same route as the xin Valley Heritage Trail which is quite interesting actually but I mean to my right we keep getting the occasional views of the mountains through the shrub say through the trees and I must say it feels kind of weird right now to not be in them I know that later today will be much more immersed in the mountains we'll be entering back into the caja range but right now it just feels a bit strange I'm like hmm what ever ever have wet feet right now and be in the mountains would I rather have fast walking on the road or I can just think and take it all in I'm not sure can't believe I'm gonna say this but I think wet feet might be winning a mine the long stretch of road walking could have been boring but once again I immerse myself in the beauty of the wildlife all around from the sound of rivers tumbling alongside to the colors of the wildflowers in the hedges it was always rewarding to take the time to notice the beauty in the ordinary how big is this fern looks like it should be in a rain forest once you've given how much I'm sweating right now it's so so humid I'm not too surprised that it's that Sheen Valley Heritage Trail still heading on bear away when I get back home I'm probably gonna be like walking around just day today where's the yellow signs where do we go what do I do where's my purpose the route passed by the banane Heritage Park a protected area containing more than 250 archaeological sites so there's a nice little loop that anyone can come and do get views all around that the stone circles all sorts of different things to see so I expect that would be quite a nice sort of afternoon place to have a look around cool check this place out some stepping stones and it needs to go across them but I want to I don't quite believe it but we are pretty much halfway on today's walk so far and it is nearly 12 o'clock I just been plotting it along really try not to get run over by bikes and looking for red skirt it's basically in my morning how about you see that cycle in progress today no really yeah you can see where the water's worn away the rock gosh it's been so much higher than it is now leaving machine Valley Heritage Trail now this is it so pick up the path in a moment I believe I can just about see the track that we're going to be taking up the mountain pass so basically what we're doing is we're working our way between s Mountain which is over there and then by oh boy Mountain which is slightly higher to the left there so we're going through the pass between them and the actual track that will be following is believe it or not the old road the link grow between Kenmare and Glen Gareth it's unbelievable that people used to like come up here horse and cart can you imagine what that Traverse would be like if the weather was in pretty miserable that's for sure haha there's one style I don't have to climb that's good news it's really so cool to be on such a historical road you can imagine whose journeys along here what reasons they were making the traverse between the two towns I love letting my imagination run wild when it comes to history it felt amazing to take on the climb which was the first of the day my legs felt strong and my heart powerful and I felt utterly connected to them scape I was walking through a feeling that left me in the need for a jig okay I promised you I would play my tune we saw this is the ultimate vulnerability for me but there's heavy around me there's mountains around me I thought what better place to break this out so I've been practicing a little bit on the trail not very much to be honest and I haven't played it for about four or five years before so there we go I can remember one jig well a few jerks but one that's a little bit longer so I'll just go around with it a couple of times I don't know what it's called they go something like this [Music] [Music] [Music] island is one of my life girls ticked off there we go right back to hike in the trail pressed on along muddy tracks and winding trails passing a random erratic Boulder and then on into the Glen Darrick Nature Reserve a clear sign that my journey along the bear away was soon to come to a close I've come down to this little beach here this is actually the Glengarry river running down alongside me I wanted to sort of conclude my walk here because when I get into Glen Gareth itself it's gonna be busy with the cars and the people right on that Junction where I fish Lee started my trail and actually you know it's been the peace and the solitude that has struck me about the Barrow way the tranquility of the walking and right here is a very tranquil spot it's beautiful with the the river flowing by me and I've been thinking a lot during today I've had a lot of thinking time about the lessons I've learned from this trail I really do think it's to do with mindset now I'm still sort of dwelling on this but to begin with on the trail see I was struggling a lot with my mental health and it's very much a reflection of what's going on inside me as opposed to outside me yes it was boggy and it was wet and so I was basically taking all those challenges the weight on my back had Baga underneath my feet the climbs that had to do everything was just a challenge I was an obstacle it was putting me down because I let it and that's how I was approaching it mentally but when the bubble kind of burst and when I gave myself permission to say no you know what I've committed to this trail I'm going to complete this trail that means I need to you know take some weight off my back if I need to adapt then I will do that and then the bubble burst and suddenly all of those challenges and obstacles became opportunities and I was laughing in the face of them they brought me joy because I was overcoming them the sense of adversity and then the flourishing that came on the other side of that I just wonder how often we give up when we're so close to succeeding and what is success I don't know I mean life is a journey you know there's no end to this every day every trail there's something to learn if we're open to that and I really think I've just been reminded about how I can approach things and as I say the challenges and the obstacles becoming opportunities and just allowing my true nature to flourish in the face of them to be actually okay fine this bog is pretty rotten the weight is pretty heavy but what happens if I just keep going if I push one more step one more step one more step what's on the other side of that open those doors the next corner around the trail I just I just love how the trail is such a metaphor for life and you know I feel kind of sad that the bear away is over the end of the trail is always such a sacred time for me I get quite sort of sensitive because you've just gone from this immense journey every single day getting up walking experiencing all the different things that you experience so sense is alive and then suddenly it's back to day to day it's just different you know and it's being able to bring the lessons that you learn on the trail the things that cause you to thrive and apply those to your day-to-day life and I think that's just what's going to help me and as those of us within this backpacking community to to flourish and be the best that we can be and that's what this is about ultimately this isn't just about doing a walk for walk sake this is about growing you never come out of a trail the same person but it's been easier whether it's been hard you will have transformed in some way or another and you know I just want to give a huge thank you to Hill walk towards for opening up the opportunity for me to come to Island I can't believe I never considered coming here it's just never been sort of on my list in my mind and now I don't want to leave I want to change my flight over and just stay here it's beautiful the people that I've met the smiles and that warmth in their greetings has just been unbelievable and of course the landscapes as we mentioned the solitude the peace the freedom in those hills that transport you back in time this has been a walk a journey that I will never forget I will treasure this for a very very long time my walk around the ring of the Bearer so as always guys thank you so much for walking and genuine with me perhaps you're not quite as muddy but maybe you've been inspired to do this walk I would strongly encourage you to check it out if you don't walk it of course there's a cycle route and if you can't be physically active no worries you can always hop in a car hop on the local transport and experience it one way or another cuz get yourself to the ring of beara it's a wonderful wonderful place you will not regret it so guys I hope you enjoy your next adventure and I'll see you next time wherever we may be whatever trail we'll be walking I know it'll be absolutely wonderful you know how are you always finish stay wild that's what it's all about getting outside spend more time in the wild me done oh hang on Glenn garish that way let's go come on right to the end all the way last kilometer the final few kilometers along the road into town well rather anticlimactic but I didn't mind so much I was overflowing with joy at having come away with such a treasured experience and valuable learnings and my heart raced with excitement as I soon spotted the sign where I had begun my adventure many days ago well here we are there's the sign this is officially where I began my Vera Way journey and this is where I'm ending it that's it the ring of beara is complete on this busy junction in glen gareth can't quite believe it but I've already been thinking what about the Ring of Kerry will you be joining me I hope to see you there I made my way through the village back to the BMP wearing my mud stains with pride the next day I treated myself to a trip to garnished islands renowned for his gardens in architecture on the boat trip out we spotted a number of seals which was a real treat and then on the island itself I was transported into another world and completely taken aback by the beauty what a way to end an adventure island had well and truly won my heart you

Channel: Abbie Barnes / Spend More Time In The WILD

Views: 102,464

Keywords: Abbie barnes, Thru Hiking, Backpacking, Song Thrush Productions, Adventure, Hiking, Day Hikes, Gear review, Foraging, Walking, Mental health, wellbeing, physical health, Nature, mindfulness, Trekking, National Park, Mountain, spend more time in the wild, travel, trail, community, long distance, national trail, scotland, lake district, snowdonia, dogs, camping, wild camping, expedition, stay wild, beara way, ireland, wild Atlantic way, eyeries, dursey island, kenmare, allihies, ring of beara

Id: urSEmkI-NIY

Length: 108min 27sec (6507 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 12 2020