Three years ago I had explored how it would feel to be a real backpacker for a day, and walk from one town to another with the full weight of my backpack. This was done on the Beara Peninsula as its huge network of walking trails not only made this possible, but infinitely more interesting. The Beara Way is a 197-kilometre network of walking trails that links Glengarriff with Kenmare via the entire peninsula. The remoteness and ruggedness of this peninsula makes it a mecca for the hiker. However, like all good plans, things didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped.

This time round I decided to be a real tourist for a day and see the entire peninsula from the comfort of the Scooby van.

We set off from Glengarriff and drove along a scenic road backed by rugged hills of varying shades green to Adrigole. Adrigole is not really a town, but, as the locals explained to me three years ago, an area that is ten kilometres long with a scattering of houses. It was here that I discovered the nice, new at the time, hostel. I was keen to meet up again with Patrick, the owner, and show him my book.

In three years the hostel had changed immensely. Now it had a name: The Hungry Hill Lodge. The large grounds surrounding the building had been turned into a camping and caravan site. The road was now tarmac, as opposed to gravel, and the whole place was now very attractive. If you passed it on the road you would be very tempted to stay there.

Patrick wasn't there. He had left a note informing specific guests, who had obviously booked by phone, which rooms they could take and that he would be back around six. It was good to see that even with the expansion Patrick had still retained that personal touch.

The next stop on the peninsula is Castletownberehaven, a town that shares the title of longest name in Ireland, alongside Newtownmountkennedy. Just outside of town lies the German owned hostel where I'd stayed three years before. Upon arrival I was happy to see that Hans was still there, but sad to hear that his wife had recently died from a long illness. The stresses of the past year, along with the fact that Hans had lost a lot of money this year caused by people booking in the hostel and then not turning up, had taken their toll on him. This is a similar problem many hostels experience. You keep a bed for someone and then they decide not to come, yet don't have the decency to ring and cancel so the hostel can give the bed to someone else. I have seen this many times at Kirwan House in Wexford. People have been turned away because all beds were booked, and then some people don't turn up. Consequently, not only do they lose the money but the people turned away could have had a bed for the night.

The result of all this hassle had caused Hans to take the decision to close the hostel at the end of the season. It was a pity because this was a great hostel.

Hans had rented bikes from the hostel, so three years ago I had taken a bike and cycled around the tip of the peninsula. Nika and I retraced my steps in the van. Back in town we took the turn off for Eyeries and discovered the reason for Hans' problems. A new hostel had opened up in town. His hostel sits three kilometres out of town, so it was apparent that people were arriving in town, seeing this hostel and assuming this was it, or being directed to it by locals. When they learned that it wasn't, but that they had beds available, they obviously decided to stay there.
Eyeries is a lovely little village with extremely colourful houses. One of the three pubs is called Causkey's and it was here that I had popped in for an Irish coffee and sampled the magnificent view from the large bay window at the back of the pub. The view stretches right out to Dursey Head, at the tip of the peninsula.

From here we drove back out of town and headed for Allihies. The narrow country road that leads to Allihies runs through large open fields and then twists up over high hills and cliffs. It was particularly windy today and so once we reached the tip of the peninsula the wind was ferocious. I was glad to be in the van. We parked for a moment on the hill and admired the rugged wilderness that lay before us. The great thing about this peninsula is that the tour buses cannot come down this far and so mostly stay away from the whole area. It's the same story for the sheep's Head and Mizen Head peninsulas below this. Because of this the wilderness is unspoiled. We sat there for a while, enjoying being the only two people in this rugged and wind-beaten terrain.

Shortly after Allihies is the turn off for Dursey Island, where you can take a cable car across the narrow stretch of sea separating it from the mainland; but be warned that the cattle get priority over humans.

We decided to skip this as it was getting late and head back up to the Hungry Hill Lodge to see Patrick. It took him a while to remember me, but once I had related some of the moments he remembered. If you've read the chapter in my book you'll know that it's not something easily forgotten. Patrick was pleased to see his name in the book. We reminisced for a while before setting off for one last touristy bit before driving back to Glengarriff.

You may not think that Adrigole is an interesting place to be, but there are two reasons for visiting this area and perhaps even staying for a while. At 686 metres Hungry Hill is the highest mountain on the peninsula. There are two trails that ascend the mountain and provide you with spectacular views of the area; although you should be aware that weather in these parts can change as quickly and regularly as Michael Jackson's face. Two guys running a hostel in Skibbereen had told me how they had hiked up Hungry Hill in beautiful dry and sunny weather and decided to camp for the night. They woke up later that night in a pool of water.

The other sight to see is the Healy Pass, the top of which signifies the Kerry/Cork border. Being tourists for a day we decided to take the drive over the Healy Pass, rather than hike the mountain as it was already late. It really is a worthwhile trip. The views from either side are totally different. To the south is a barren rocky landscape and to the north is a more lush landscape with a large lake sitting at the bottom.

We had to turn back at the pass and return to Adrigole, otherwise it would have been a much longer trip back to Glengarriff. We'd have to have gone via Kenmare.

I had enjoyed being a real tourist for the day. It gave me a different perspective of the peninsula, and meant that I could go to places that would have been difficult, or boring, on foot. It also meant that I wasn't cold, wet or tired from walking or riding a bike. However, it also meant that I couldn't get to places that I could get to on foot, and hadn't got into the real wilderness. So like everything, there is always an up and a downside.

For an insight into how it is to walk and cycle the peninsula read my book Hot Footing Around the Emerald Isle. Click here for more details.

Visit the Hungry Hill Lodge Website