Two nights spent exploring the wonderful Bere Island with fabulous weather. There are many places of interest on Bere Island including – Martello Towers, Ardnakinna Lighthouse, Holy Year Cross, Gallán Standing Stone and Bere Island Heritage and Information Centre to name a few. I brought a bike which helped cover a lot of ground but some places of interest were definitely more accessible by foot so the combination worked well for me. The island is 11km long by 4km wide (and not 10km x 2 km as stated in the video).

    There are two separate ferry operators serving the island from Castletownbere and another about 5km outside Castletownbere. The two ferry providers bring you to different parts of the island.

    https://www.bereislandferries.com/

    Welcome

    Well worth a visit!!

    I’ve just landed in Bear Island which it is off the coast of cork it’s my first time here I got a ferry from ponon which is about 4 km outside castl Town bear there’s two different Ferry operators the other one leaves from uh closer to Castle toown bear or in Castle toown bear uh so this one has brought me up to the Eastern end of the island and the island is 10 km by 2 km so I plan on staying for two nights here um so I think there’ll be plenty to keep me entertained and just have a bit of a chilled time this is my first island of 2024 um um got some sunshine this evening it’s about 6:00 now and I’ve all day tomorrow as well so I’m going just going to explore the Eastern end of the island this evening and see where it takes me and get my bearings a little bit and try find uh somewhere to set up for the night I’m I’m not planning on doing too much it’s a quite a long drive down here about what took me over four 4 and a half hours 4 and 3/4 hours St for about 5 minutes to go to the toilet um so it’s a long long drive and just going to take it easy now for the and just enjoy this uh nice weather um and the the long days so as I said it’s about 6:00 so it’s not going to get dark till about 10:00 so plenty of time there’s a couple of looped tracks marked on on my map so this one is called the rarin loop which covers the Eastern end of the island um and I’m not sure some of these tracks may not be suitable for my brumpton this is a road this is fine um and I may do some hiking without the bike tomorrow we’ll see how I get on um I am prepared for that if if that happens and I want to hide the bike somewhere um but I I have good road I think uh for this Loop and I believe there’s a a sandy beach so the village that we I came through at the pier there is called rarin if that’s how it’s pronounced so the so name this loop the raren loop um and I believe there’s a a Sandy Beach um along this route so I’m going to be looking out for that and uh hopefully that’ll be my spot for stopping for the night I’m looking for a beach called scar Beach and I’m not sure which Cove it’s in so hoping it’s this one little bit of effort to get here um but it’s just gorgeous loving it already I think I found home for the night it’s not ideal in that there’s a bit of a path here and I’m going to have to Camp quite near to a path but I really doubt there’s going to be anyone down here at all it’s 8:00 so there’s still a bit of time um there’s a house not not in view um up behind the Rocks there and out of courtesy I went up but there was no one there looks like it’s probably just a holiday home possibly um so I’m just going to set up here for the night I took a little ramble up further along this path here um but I’m happy to stay here [Applause] [Music] close your eyes get some rest I’m by your side lay your head on my chest [Music] I know you’ve had a really bad day but I’m right here it’s going to be okay the world could fall down and it’s going to be okay the song could go out we’re going to be okay if all the bles cuz way too great we’re going to be okay calm your soul hold my hand don’t let go I good morning it’s about 10 to 6 now now I’m up probably got up at about 10 5 and it’s just been gorgeous to watch the sunrise that’s hungry hill behind me there in the kaha mountains I walked through a couple of years ago now and and I remember being on that walk and looking over at Bear Island and planning on coming here one day So eventually made it and the sheep’s head Peninsula is over there so just a beautiful way to spend a morning w just leaving my Camp spot now it’s uh about 50 m up to a gate that was a little bit difficult to bring the bike and bags through yesterday so I’ve just put my backpack on my back and then when I get through this gate I can attach it back onto the rear carrier so off for day two’s Adventures few little ideas in mind but no firm plan which is a great way to be spending the day [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] there’s quite a lot of areas along this end of the island that are marked with military signs so there’s no flag flying so I’m walking along I I assume from the map cuz it’s showing a track and that you are allowed walk on these tracks um once there’s no flag flying um there’s a mortell tower identified on my map so I’m going to take a walk up to it um and I’ve just left the bike behind and I’ll go back and collect it when I’m done with this little walk [Music] [Music] [Music] you blackberry jam it’s 12:00 and I’m at Murphy’s shop post office and coffee shop and I’m after getting uh a paper map so it’s giving me a good sense of what I might like to get done today what I might like to see so I’ll try show you um to give you a sense of the layout of things so this is where I came in on the fair yesterday at lawren Cove and this is where I camped last night at scar Beach and this is the last martello tower that I visited H clarland martello Tower so this is where I am at the moment at Murphy’s bar shop it’s not a bear and next what I’d like to see is another martello Tower Ora martello Tower and there’s a standing Stone there’s a cross I believe the standing stone is marks the center of the island and there’s a a big Cross I’d like to walk this Loop which is along the cliff Edge a Dun bag loop it’s called um so I might take the bike further along here then and I have it in my head to maybe camp at this Lighthouse tonight so I’m not sure if I how far I’m going to be able to bring the bike in and I’ll see I’m sure I can put the backpack on my bag and just hide the bike somewhere so that’s a a rough plan that I’ve come up with now like I said it’s 12:00 so I’ve got lots of time before it gets dark the hill wins it’s bloody steep [Music] that was oura martello Tower with stun and views on both sides and that was the highest point I’d been at and um next up now is the standing Stone and then on to the cross I think it’s called Holy Cross and I can see it in the distance at a much greater elevation I have to check my map to see what height it is um but perfect conditions here to be able to savor all that bear island has to offer [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] I saw a sign that the Dune bag Loop takes 4 hours is walking so maybe I’ll leave that for another day and come back and do it it’s 3:00 now and I’m just going to take my time to get over to the other side of the island the Heritage Center is well worth a visit it’s full of lots of information about the island I’m really not an information person but it’s very good um I had a brain wave as I was cycling down the hill there um as I was cycling down I realized oh my God I’m going to have to come up this tomorrow um so I bought a return ticket on Murphy’s Ferry uh yesterday which cost me €8 um and then I just realized why am I going to retrace my steps beautiful and all as the island is it’s it is hard work cycling um so I’m going to get the ferry tomorrow from the West End of the island and that’ll bring me back to Castle Town bear and then I’ll have a much more flat and probably boring um 4 kilomet four or five kilm um out on the road as opposed to crossing the hilly terrain of of the island um so that’s my brain wave that I thought I’d share with you all I forgot about water I think I could be meeting the last house that I’m going to see so I’m going to pop in here to get some water never thought about at the Heritage Center sure I could have got some there another Flash of Genius that I had a while ago was realizing that a working Lighthouse isn’t an appropriate place to Camp with a flashing light every 10 [Music] seconds um so I’ll just have to play by here and see how it go the world could fall down it’s going to be okay could go out going be the BL yet another gate this one I can’t open and I’ve decided that I’m just going to hide the the bike and bag here and it’s another kilometer to the lighthouse um the track up until now it was fine for the bike and it might be still okay going forward um but I’ve decided to hide it and walk with my big backpack hid the bike and my bike bag and my body hiding skills are definitely improving um so a bit of a trek yet to get to the lighthouse and I didn’t have to come over here of course but I think it’s about 5:00 or half five or something so I wasn’t even on the island this time yesterday so I’ve lots of time and um I’ve just had a Snickers that’ll Carry Me Through to get as far as the lies the world could fall down it’s going to be okay this song could go out we’re going to be okay if all the blue skies a too gray we’re going to be okay calm your soul hold my hand don’t let go I [Music] understand I know it hurts I got the Drone up but I had to take it back down again I was wasn’t able to control it uh in the wind so I’m just walking back along the trail and there was plenty of spots that I saw that uh I could camp and it’d be great to get a bit of shelter from this wind it is due to it’s forecast to die down a bit um but yeah that’s the next plan get the tent up mission accomplished got the tent up it’s a bit after 7 and I’m going to put on some food and just sit here and relax and watch the show unfold in front of me here I’m pretty close to the water um and the wind has definitely died down an awful lot the sun is still really strong uh such a perfect day such a great day such a great Island um I had no idea it was so nice um yeah you really got to do those trails and just just to experience the what what this island has to offer it’s it’s amazing wonderful spot and two nights wasn’t enough um I’d love to have had more time given it more time um but I certainly got a great flavor so it’s going to be a a quiet relaxing couple of hours for me here until it gets dark [Music] [Music] I generally don’t have any interest in talking about gear on videos but uh I thought I’d mention this one this is called a bottle shower so it’s a little adapter that you can fit into a bottle these are normally a standard size um and it’s got holes in the top of it so that it kind of functions as a as a shower um I know you could possibly do something like this with just a lid and put some holes in it but I find this really great especially for multi-day trips um when my hair was longer um I really always wanted to be able to wash my hair when I was out for multi- days so this works perfectly I’m just slotting it onto my plotus bottle here and then I can pour some water over my head I know I’ve got short hair now and it’s not really needed but certainly handy and I suppose it it controls the amount of water that’s been released as well so you’re not wasting a lot of water [Music] [Music] I’ve just left my Camp spot and I’m heading back to catch the ferry from the Western end of the island there’s a ferry at half1 12 um it’s about half1 now so had a really leisurely morning wonderful trip to a fantastic Island for hiking and cycling and chilling out um so hope again that you enjoyed the video and uh I’ll let you know know if my bike is still there

    39 Comments

    1. Great to see you back miriam just made my day health & happiness to you for many more years to come look after yourself and take care thanks again for another beautiful video

    2. Gracias por dejarnos viajar contigo a esos lugares que nunca tendré oportunidad de ver. Haces un buen trabajo y tengo la sensación de estar ahí cuando veo tus vídeos

    3. Wonderful excursion. You are quite adept at finding perfect spots to wild camp.
      Your film making is superb, I can feel the atmosphere and beauty of the island.
      Glad to see you healthy and back at doing what you love.
      Peter from Florida (actually now in Stornoway after completing the Hebridean Way on my Brompton)

    4. Loved seeing this one Miriam. Reminds me if my kayaking days on the west coast of Scotland. Thank you for the time you take to make these videos. Glad to see you looking so well

    5. I like the way you told us about your bike at the end Miriam. Yes, a top time out on what was a most beautiful island. A full view my friend – loved it as always. I hope you're well. Mark

    6. Looked a perfect few days Miriam (such a beautiful and laidback island 😊👌🏻) some lovely cinematic shots too (stunning light )thanks for bringing us along
      🤠👍 Simon

    7. Thank you for this fabulous video Miriam great to see you looking so good. Couldn’t wait to watch this one, I could listen to your voice all day, no sound track required lol,so very pleased for you.can’t wait to see the next one.

    8. Welcome back! You’re such an inspiration. Ireland is so very beautiful! I bike vicariously, through you as there is no where in California as gorgeous as where you take us on your Brompton tours. Looking forward to the next. Hope all is well with you! ❤

    9. Another great video that makes me want to be there. I have only ever explored Arranmore and Bere Islands but its been a long time since I was last at Bere so good to get a refresher 😊

    10. I absolutely love Bere Island. I spent many days there with the FCA or the Army Reserve as it is now called. I got to zip line across the strand where you camped, shoot on the range & go fishing off the rocks. The history of the island is unreal from Vikings using it as a base & somewhere to repair their long boats, the Martello towers you mentioned & of course Loneheart battery which is a huge fort built by the British to defend their fleet. The whole island has the most incredible vibe that it is simply indescribable but you certainly nailed it. Thank you. Keep up the great work.

    11. Thank you for the wonderful tour of that beautiful island, Miriam. Always look forward to your adventures. You amaze me at the amount of strength and endurance you have with all you have been through over the last year. Your videos are so relaxing. Thanks for taking us along.

    12. Ooh, just discovered I missed this I was so busy editing😂, darn it I’m already supposed to be asleep but can’t wait to watch this tomorrow 👍🙏

    13. Absolutely magic video. Multi million dollar Block busters don’t do for me what little reflections on a persons reality like this one can do. Somehow took me right back to the proper pace of life that’s so hard to find until you get out west.
      I’ve never been to Bere island. So beautiful and intoxicatingly so in the weather you found.
      Your gear is so tidy and light. Less is more. I’m always learning.
      The mortello towers are intriguing because they’re made in the local dry stone wall style rather than cut granite like in Dublin.
      “A few ideas but no fixed plan for the day”
      There’s a motto to travel by. Thanks for sharing as always.

    14. Wonderful video Miriam. I had no idea Bere Island is as big as that. It’s definitely worth a visit at some stage. It’s great to see you looking so well. Your hair really suits you like that. I hope your health continues on a very positive trajectory. Thanks for all of the time and effort you put into these videos – the combination of scenery, music and your easy going commentary are almost therapeutic!

    15. Absolutely wonderful Miriam, beautiful showcasing of your adventure great editing all together and most importantly what a wonderful happy energy of you 🧡 Thank you for sharing see you on the trail 😊🧡

    16. Miriam Columbus discovers a new world and thankfully has a drone for some more great shots. With that weather and peacefulness it looked like the best place in the world. Seemed to be increasing your brain waves too!

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