Wild Beara Weekend

We’re heading to Wild West Cork for a weekend of camping, hiking, sea, saunas, Irish mythology and a few cosy pub stops in beautiful Allihies on the Beara Peninsula.

🏕️ Where we’re staying

Allihies Camping Park right beside the gorgeous Ballydonegan Beach.
Here you can:
⛺ Pitch your own tent at the campsite @ €10–€15 pp
🚐 Bring your campervan/camper and pitch up
🏠 Or, for those who prefer not to camp, there are spaces for up to 4 people in a Mobile home @ €30 pp. Please note this is communal sleeping
accommodation rather than luxury digs!

The campsite has two saunas on site, a coffee shop across the road, and Ballydonegan Beach is right beside us – so there’s guaranteed to be a sauna-swim or 2 🌊

🌊 Friday Evening – Settle In, Swim, Sauna & Pub

We’ll arrive on Friday evening, set up camp and get ourselves settled in for the weekend.
We might have a quick sauna and a dip in the sea (Seabreeze Sauna @ €10 pp) before heading into O Neills pub, Allihies for some food, a drink and a bit of Friday-night craic in the pub. 🍻🔥🌊

🥾 Saturday – Beara Way Hike

On Saturday, Kerry Daniel will lead us on a hike along some of the beautiful Beara Way, starting at approximately 11.00am.
The route is approximately 15km, taking us through Slieve Miskish and the old copper-mining landscape.

🥾 Distance: Approx. 15km
⛰️ Grade: Hard
🕚 Start: Approx. 11.00am
📍 Meeting point: Allihies campsite

This will be followed by a refreshing sauna-swim at Seabreeze Sauna.

🍻 And, of course…
The day wouldn’t be complete without the country pub experience. Allihies has some lovely little pubs where we can have a few drinks, warm ourselves up and enjoy the craic agus ceol.

🪨🔥 Sunday – Ancient Beara & the Cailleach

On Sunday morning we’ll head out to explore some of the history, archaeology and mythology of the Beara Peninsula.

We’ll visit Ballycrovane, Ireland’s largest Ogham stone, before making our way to the Hag of Beara, where we can pay our respects to An Cailleach, the ancient hag/winter goddess associated with the landscape, at this turning point towards the darker part of the year – don’t get too excited though, she’s been turned into a stone! 🧙‍♀️🪨

We can also visit the old 11th-century Kilcatherine Church, named after St Caithinghearn – “the cat goddess” – for another little taste of the ancient history and folklore of Beara.

🎒 What to bring

As well as your usual camping gear, make sure to bring:
🥾 Good hiking boots/shoes suitable for a 15km hike
🌧️ Waterproof jacket and trousers – this is Beara in October!
🧥 Plenty of warm layers and dry clothes
🔦 A torch for getting around the campsite after dark
🩱 Swimsuit, towel and whatever you normally use for sauna/swims
⛺ Your usual camping essentials if camping

Obviously, all plans are weather dependent. This is the Beara Peninsula in October, could be stunning, could be lashing! ☀️🌧️

🎟️ Booking

Please only RSVP if you intend on coming –the Campsite owner needs to know exact numbers prior to the date.
⛺ Campers can pay CASH to the campsite directly on arrival.
🏠 x 4 mobile-home spaces are €30pp to be paid to me by Revolut to secure your spot, DM me and Ill send you the details 👍🏻

CASH is king on the Beara peninsula so best to come with notes!

🚗 Transport
If you’re stuck for transport, put a shout out in the comments or in the WhatsApp group we’ll be setting up for lifts.
Alternatively, there is a bus option from Cork → Castletownbere → Allihies.

Looking forward to seeing you for a wild October weekend in Beara! 🌊⛺🥾🔥🪨

Some useful links -

Allihies Campsite https://www.facebook.com/allihiesstrand/
Seabreeze Sauna https://www.facebook.com/p/Seabreeze-Sauna-61575473131936/