Beara

The Beara Peninsula (Irish: Béara) is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" (actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It has two mountain ranges running down its centre: the Caha Mountains and the Slieve Miskish Mountains. The northern part of the peninsula from Kenmare to near Ardgroom is in County Kerry, while the rest forms the barony of Bear in County Cork. Beara is a colloquial name for the area which, while geographically defined, actually straddles two county administrations and is not used officially by any civil administration or by An Post (the Irish Postal service). The main traditional tourist attractions on the peninsula are the ruins of Dunboy Castle, Puxley Mansion, The Copper Mines Museum in Allihies, Illnacullen Island in Glengarriff (maintained by the OPW) and Derreen Gardens (privately owned but open to the public). Many people come just to enjoy the wild and untamed nature of the place and the magical coastline. The "Ring of Beara" is a tourist trail for cars which follows the roads for about 195 kilometres (121 mi) circumnavigating the peninsula. It starts in Kenmare, crossing the Healy Pass through Adrigole, passing Castletownbere, Allihies, and turn offs to Dursey Island, Eyeries and Ardgroom, ending in Glengarriff. The area has had a long connection with the sea; Castletownbere is one of Ireland's largest fishing ports and has diving, sailing and boating facilities. Source: Wikipedia