Day 1 of our “Make a Break for it” can be found here

 

Please note this is a paid partnership with Failte Ireland and Discover Ireland but all opinions and reviews are our own.

Breakfast at Bere Island Lodge

We woke up to beautiful views of the sea and the ferry which was just across the road from us. We had a massive tasty breastfast made by our wonderful host, Edel. Edel was like a second mammy to us. She was so homely and welcoming.

For breakfast, we had a selection of cereals, fruit, and yoghurts, and then a beautiful Full Irish. She also served us tea, coffee, fruit juice, and fresh scones straight from the oven.

When Breakfast was finished, Edel offered to make us some sandwiches for our hike on Dursey Island, how amazing is that? So she sent us off with lovely cheese sandwiches and some fresh scones and of course not to mention a little souvenir magnet of Bere Island that she Gave to Ourlittlehikers to remember their adventures here on the Island. The hospitality of the Murphy family just blew us away.

Before we drove our car onto Murphy’s Ferry, we went up the road to Murphy’s shop to buy some food supplies for a trip (Note–there are no shops on Dursey Island so make sure to bring plenty of water and food with you)

Murphy’s Car Ferry – Rerrin to Pontoon

Click here to view the timetable

We arrived at Pontoon at 9:50 am and drove straight to Dursey which took about 40 minutes and is 27km away.

Dursey Island Cable Car Parking

We arrived at Dursey sound and parked our car underneath the cable car just to look at it in action. It is amazing to see the cable car traverse the open sea. There was great excitement in our car.

We packed up all our hiking gear, food and water and started walking up the hill toward to ticket office to buy tickets and wait our turn to go into the cable car.

Tickets cost to Dursey Island

  • Adult- €10
  • child- €5

Dursey Island cable car opening hours

The Cable Car runs every 15mins, It can fit 6 people in it. You can bring your bike, buggy or even your dog on it.

  • Opens 9.30-7.30pm
  • Closes for lunch from 1-1.30
  • Closes at 4.30 pm from Nov-Feb

Note–Make sure to ask for a map as it wasn’t offered to us and I just happened to ask about a map. The map is really nice and a beautiful painting of the landscape and a great keepsake.

Covid-19 Precautions on Dursey Island

Hand sanitiser stations were present to use before you enter the cable car and more on Dursey Island before you exit the station. Make sure to bring your mask to wear especially if you are sharing cable car with strangers. We were lucky to have it all to ourselves both times.

Dursey Cable Car Experience

While approaching the cable car you can’t but help notice the distance the cable car travels across open water, extremely scary. Then your eye is drawn immediately to the age of the cable car and the large posts that support the cable car.

This is one of Ireland’s most unique experiences

Stepping into the cable car was a little nerve-racking as it kept swayed, especially going over the water. Everyone was a little nervous, to be honest, but also excited as it was such a unique experience. The views while crossing the water were amazing. It is the only Cable car in Europe to traverse open seawater.

Dursey Island

Dursey Island is on the south-west coast of the Beara Peninsula in County Cork. Dursey Island is 1.5 kilometres wide and 6.5 kilometres long. There are only a small number of people living on the island and it has no shops or restaurants. It’s a very quiet and peaceful island, where you can walk in the middle without being a nuisance to the locals or sheep.

Dursey Island walking Loop:

Trailhead: Cablecar, Dursey, Co. Cork

Distance: 14km

Time: 3.5 to 4hrs

Difficulty: Moderate

Terrain: Roadways, paths and tracks

Hiking Gear: Walking boots, rain gear, food and water

Points of Interest on Dursey Island:

  • Great for bird watching
  • Ruins of a Monastery
  • Signal tower from the Napoleonic era.
  • Dursey Head- views to the bull and the cow (this is off the loop so the out and back journey will take an extra 1hr/1hr30mins)
  • The Island has a small village called Ballynacallagh, Kilmichael,

The walk gives you great views of the rugged coastline and cliffs. The road is parallel to the Atlantic Ocean packed full of sheep roaming on little roads. It is amazingly relaxing. We saw a few families with buggies which is a great idea as the roads were very good. A compact buggy will be needed to load onto the cable car.

Exploring Dursey Island

We had a very busy schedule and couldn’t explore the whole island. We would love to come back one day to explore this beautiful island fully.

We stopped and had a lovely picnic at a beautiful stone bench and table, we sat in the sunshine and enjoyed our food and soaked in the beautiful views while listing to the waves crashing against the cliff, pure paradise.

We walked to the small village of Ballynacallagh and decided to return as we were running out of time for our next adventure. On the return, we walked down to the ruins of the church and explored the area.

Food Options at Dusrsey Sound

We then returned to the mainland after our cable car adventures. We went straight for Murphys mobile dining for an Al Fresco lunch followed by icecreams.

The mobile dining options were parked beside our car. We sat out and enjoyed our food while watching the cablecar go back and forth from the island. We ordered fish, chips, nuggets and battered sausages. Since returning we were advised that the scampi and the chilli battered fish and it is amazing, I guess we have another excuse to return.

Driving from Dursey to Glengarriff via Lauragh and the Healy Pass

This is an extremely scenic mountain pass drive and is really beautiful. We drove through curved steep small roads between Cork and Kerry on the Beara Peninsula. We were surrounded by two of the highest summits of the Caha mountain range. We would have loved more opportunities to stop the car and soak up the views but there were not many safe parking areas to stop the car.

We did get to stop twice and soak up the beautiful surroundings and we were blessed with good weather and amazing views.

created by dji camera
created by dji camera

Glengarriff

Glengarriff is a picturesque tourist area, lined with little souvenir shops, coffee and crêpe pods.

Things to see in Glengarriff:

Our Accommodation near Glenngarriff – The Botanical B&B

This little hidden gem is nestled away in the countryside just 10mins outside Glengarriff. It is a fabulous house surrounded by a “Willy Wonka style edible garden”.

The owners Khloe and Adam are very welcoming and passionate about the whole experience of living off the land and being sustainable. Adam gave us a tour of ”The Garden of Re-Imagination” We really enjoyed the tour and tasting all the edible flowers and plants. Adam is a wealth of knowledge and we learned so much from him and he has inspired us to try to grow more in our own garden.

Botanical B&B

The drive up to the house is beautiful. We parked right beside our own private entrance. We were expecting a room like a b&b but we had a huge section of the house all to ourselves. It is very well presented and laid out, Kloe and Adam live in one part of the house, which you never see so you feel you have the entire house to yourself.

Before we entered the B&B, there was hand sanitizer outside and when we opened the door we were greeted by a beautiful dining area, surrounded by glass looking onto the garden. (this is where we enjoyed a beautiful unique breakfast the next morning).

The beautiful living area has sofas, a stove, a little fridge with chilled water, a cupboard full of board games (whatever board game that you play with you leave out and Kloe will disinfect it for the next guest). We felt very safe here which is great with whats going on in the world right now with Covid-19.

As we walked up the stairs, we noticed the whole ceiling was done in broken mirrors which is very fun to look at. On the landing, there is a glass door and soon to be balcony area with the most beautiful views.

There are four gorgeous botanical-themed rooms available, each named after tree/plants:

  • Fern (Double)
  • Willow(two single beds)
  • Lichen(single)
  • Silver Birch(single)

Each room was decorated with handcrafted artwork and pieces made from natural materials. You could see all the love and care put into each piece.

We stayed in the Fern and Willow rooms ( we had views of the garden and the willow tree that was made into a seating area)

There is one bathroom with a bath/shower filled with additional unique artwork that we admired. The attention to detail was second to none in this house.

After dinner, we came back and lit the fire and relaxed and played a board game. We love the fact there is no television here. The simplicity of it all and the quality family time we had was just perfect.

Dinner at Mannings Emporium

We had dinner at Mannings Emporium which is a lovely gourmet shop and Cafe in Ballylicky, Bantry. We wore our masks in and used the had sanitizer and were shown to our table. The tables were in an outdoor area which was enclosed. Looking at the menu, it looked to be a pizza menu more or less which I was delighted about as I’m a huge pizza fan. We had a lovely view of the big stone pizza oven.

Mannings review

Well, hand on heart they were the nicest pizzas we all have ever eaten. We would definitely go back and would highly recommend it.

Breakfast at Botanical B&B

Khloe texted us our very unique breakfast options and a selection of times to choose from.

Nearly everything was from their garden that Kloe had picked herself that morning. We Picked 8.30 am for our breakfast time and right at that time Kloe came through the secret passageway from her house to where she was serving our food in the dining room.

Words can’t explain all the beautiful tastes and detail that went into our breakfast experience. We have never tasted food like this before and it opened our eyes to a new way of eating and living off the land.

Collecting Eggs from the Chickens at the Botanical B&B

After Breakfast Kloe brought the girls and me to collect some eggs from the chicken coop. This was such a special experience for the children, it was one of the girls highlights from our trip.

We then explored the beautiful garden as we didn’t get a chance to the night before as we had to rush out to dinner. We then packed up our bags and said our goodbyes. Close by we called into The Ewe Experience before driving home.

The Ewe Experience

The Ewe Experience is Irelands only interactive and interpretative sculpture garden in a waterfall oasis.

It was voted Irelands #1 garden by the Irish times and we can see why. It is very well set out, filled with a lot of creativity, Some amazing imagination has gone into creating this wonderful experience, that the kids absolutely loved.

This is upcycling on steroids.

It is a one-way route with amazing sculptures and quotes around every corner, the higher you climb the better the view of the surrounding countryside becomes.

This walk is great for all ages, especially children. A great family day out.

Is the Ewe experience buggy friendly?

No, as there is a lot of steps and uneven paths. if you have a young child we would recommend a sling or carrier.