Top 5 - Castletownbere

14 May

Castletownbere, or Castletown Berehaven (or just ‘Castletown’ as it’s known locally) is not only the biggest town on the Beara Peninsula. It’s also a must-see if you’re around and a true hidden gem in the southwest (if you ask me).

Castletown is where I spent most of my childhood. Rainy winters with heavy fog that turned our garden into a secluded world of its own. Beautiful summer days that were spent at the beach or with the ponies, exploring the unique and spectacular landscape of Beara.

Like I wrote in my blogpost about West Cork, West Cork and Beara are known for their creative community - arts and crafts, storytelling, traditional music and great festivals (when Covid is over).

Growing up here has made me kind and passionate and I was able to develop a strong connection to nature and arts. It made and still makes me value the good things in life. People care for each other here, which I value even more after moving away in my teens. Beara helps you to slow down, to breathe and reconnect with nature. If there’s one place I call home, it’s Casteltown and Beara.

Where?

Castletownbere is situated on the Beara Peninsula, on the lip of the Bantry Bay, tucked beside the sea and surrounded by my favourite Slieve Miskish mountains and the majestic Caha Mountains, with Hungry Hill being the highest peak.

While I can highly recommend spending more than one day in and around Castletownbere (check out my blog post about all the great stuff you can do there), I know you sometimes just don’t have the time.

So here are my Top 5 for Castletownbere:

1 Town and Harbour

Strolling around the town and harbour is definitely worth a recommendation. Enjoy the views on Bere Island, explore the small shops, enjoy a cup of tea (and fine lunch) in one of the fantastic pubs and visit the colourful fishing boats (big and small). The market square is the place to be, especially on the first Thursday of each month, when the market is the busiest (the other Thursdays are great fun as well, though).

If you’re a fan of churches, visit the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a freestanding Gothic Revival style Roman Catholic Church, built 1907. Take the flight of steps from the street between SuperValu und the Square to approach the entrance.

2 Dunboy Castle and Puxley Mansion

Castletownbere and Dunboy Castle was once seat of the O’Sullivan Bere, a Gaelic clan leader. The castle itself was built to defend and control the harbour of Berehaven. Dunboy was destroyed during the Siege of Dunboy in the summer of 1602, during the rebellion of the O’Sullivan Bere clan against the English crown. The ruined castle is still visible and can be visited. A lovely loop trail along the coast with amazing views on Bere Island, the bay and the sea starts here. Be sure to bring your camera.

While approaching the ruins of Dunboy Castle, there’s Puxley Mansion on your right hand side, a manor house from the 19th century. It was burnt by the IRA in 1920. I remember exploring the ruins as a child in the 90s. While there where plans to open it as a hotel in the early 2000s and a lot of restoration work was done, the banking crash ended the dreams of having a luxury hotel on the Beara Peninsula.

3 Derreenataggart Stone Circle + Teernahillane Ringfort

Derreenataggart Stone Circle is about 1.5km west of Castletown, close to the road leading to Teernahillane Ringfort and Lios Lara Riding Stables.

There’s a small parking space on the left (when coming from town), the small gate leading to the field where the stone circle is located is on the right hand side. Eight of the stones of this stone circle are standing, including one of the portal stones. The other portal stone has broken and three other stones have fallen.

Follow the road leading to Teernahillane until you reach Teernahillane Ringfort on the right hand side. There’s a small parking space right in front of the gate leading to the stone fort. The ring fort itself is beautiful and there’s a small tree growing on it ever since I can remember (ringforts are commonly referred to as fairy forts and as I was told as child, it is considered unlucky to cut (hawthorn) trees that grow in them. The ringfort is usually surrounded by sheep and the sunsets (on a bright day) are amazing there.

4 MacCarthy’s Bar

Definitely my #1 must-visit in Castletownbere. Not only is this famous pub owned by Adrienne MacCarthy, who’s a wonderful woman and a great storyteller, it was also the cover of the bestseller ‘McCarthy’s Bar’ by Pete McCarthy. At least as famous as the pub itself and Adrienne MacCarthy (the daughter of famous Aidan MacCarthy) is Adrienne’s sweet pug. Keeping pugs is a tradition of Adrienne and her sister Niki and I can’t think of a time when there wasn’t one (or more) pug around. The buzzing atmosphere in this pub is special and you’re going to love it here. Please say hi to Adrienne from me if you have the chance of meeting her.

5 Explore the area by boat

One of my favourites, wherever I am, is exploring the area by boat. Castletownbere and the Beara Peninsula offer some great adventures when it comes to boat trips.

I can recommend checking out Bere Island Sea Safari, departing from Bere Island and Castletownbere, and Dursey Boat Trips, departing from Garnish Pier (near Dursey Island). In case you’re staying in Bantry, check out Bantry Bay Charters.

Wondering where to eat and where to stay in Castletownbere? >> I shared my top recommendations in my blog post here <<

In case you’re travelling with your doggo, here is my blog post about our favourite dog-friendly airbnbs and hotels in Ireland.