May 28th, Gougane Barra to Bantry

It was a glorious day to head out on the next section of the trip. The guys did a loop around the lake first then headed off.

First stop was the ruins of a castle on what is referred to as the Beara Way which encompasses the Beara Peninsula and is named for the family who controlled most of the area during the 16th century which included this castle. While the castle is not restored, there has been some work done on it so people can see what it encompassed. It sits along a small water way that is very scenic.

The idea was to ride down one side of the peninsula and up the other side. The side down was beautiful, mostly running along the water. The end of the peninsula is Sheep's Head Bay. The guys discussed riding all the way to the end but opted not to because of time and not sure what the rest of the ride was like. That was a good thing.

At the Summit

The other side of the peninsula had a step up hill with narrow roads. It was called the Goat Path for a reason. It provided some unbelievable scenery but I was so happy I was in a car. From the top of the summit, you could see 3 different bays, Roaring Waters Bay in the distance, Dunmanus Bay in the forground and Bantry Bay behind us.

Bantry Bay

We did arrive in Bantry in time, in my case, to do laundry. In the guys case, to have a beer before the B&B. In this case, our hostess was a very friendly woman from the Netherlands who had been in Ireland for 30 years. It was an eclectic mix of painting, figurines and more, almost all of animals plus 2 live and very friendly dogs, one of whom always wanted to either play tug of war with his ball or have some one through it. In all, a very happy place.

For dinner, we ended up back at the place that the guys had had their beer because it was the place everyone suggested. Very small, tables made out of slices of trees and a good pub menu. The owner was cooking that night so we were able to finally get a rare burger. But it wasn't just a burger, it was 2 patties, each on a 'floury bap' with smoked bacon and cheese! with fries of course. Amazing.