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Moving on from Castletownbere you can head down to the remote, tiny villages at the end of the peninsula, a few houses, a shop and a pub being the typical set-up. This extreme of the peninsula saw some development in the nineteenth century when copper was mined, but little remains beyond the unguarded shafts; beware of these if you're walking. Signposted to the left off the road around five miles west of Castletownbere (then about another half a mile on) is the remote Garranes Farmhouse Hostel (tel 027/73147), clinging to a beautiful, ravaged coastline. The hostel is next to the Buddhist Dzogchen Beara RetreatCentre (same number), and hostellers are welcome to join meditation classes. Phoning ahead is advised since the hostel can be full of people on retreat at any time of the year. Note that the nearest shop is one mile away towards Allihies and stocks only basic provisions; the nearest pub is six miles away. Tiny ALLIHIES , formerly a major mining centre, nowadays has simply four pubs, a shop, a sandy beach, a handful of places to stay and, in fine weather, superb views. For B&B Sea View House (tel 027/73004; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79) in the main street offers very comfortable rooms, as does Sea Haven Lodge (tel 027/73225; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79) in a fabulous spot overlooking the beach. There are a couple of hostels : the comfy, central Village Hostel (IHH; closed Nov-March; tel 027/73107) is a delightful place and has a good bookshelf, but you'll need to book ahead in the summer; the An Oige hostel (closed Oct-May; tel 027/73014) is about a mile from the centre and is rather more basic, though adequate nonetheless - and beautifully secluded; follow the Beara Way signs from the south end of the village if you are walking. You can camp by the beach - either rough or on a small site. There's barfood in O'Neill's , and you may come across some kind of folk music either here or in any of the three other pubs. Perhaps the quietest of the islands to be visited off the coast hereabouts is Dursey Island , situated at the very tip of the peninsula and fringed by high cliffs. Dursey's attractions include fabulous views, solitude and the thrill of taking a very dodgy-looking cable car across the narrow and treacherous sound. You can walk up its hills for endless views westward over the ocean, with three great lumps of rock in the foreground: the Cow, the Calf and the Bull. For a day-trip, you need to get to the very end of the R572 in the morning. The cable car has no regular schedule, but during July and August you can usually get to the island Monday to Saturday at 9am, 10.30am, 2.30pm, 4.30pm and around 7pm. Sunday times vary slightly. There is a B&B near the cable car station: Windy Point House , Garrish (closed Nov-March; tel 027/73017; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79, plus evening meals available), which also serves tea and snacks in the summer. If you want to stop over you'll need to pitch a tent, as Dursey Island has just a few houses, none offering B&B - the islanders claim to occupy the most westerly habitation in Europe - and there's no pub or shop. Heading along the northside of the Beara Peninsula towards Kenmare, the fine scenery continues, with peerless views of the Kerry mountains to the north. About four miles west of Eyeries you can get simple hostel accommodation at Urhan post office (tel 027/74005 or 74036). Phoning ahead is strongly advised, especially in July and August. There's nothing here but a shop, a pub, a little beach and fabulous views to enjoy. EYERIES itself is a brightly painted village with some pleasant pubs and the friendly little Ard Na Mara hostel (closed Oct-April; tel 027/74271), a spacious bungalow in a beautiful spot overlooking the sea, where you can also camp - to find it walk around half a mile along the road east from the pubs and it's signposted off to the left. Phoning ahead is strongly advised. There is B&B in the village at Coulagh Bay House (tel 027/74013, GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79), high on the main road. Four miles north of here, the small village of ARDGROOM also enjoys beautiful scenery, backed by the Slieve Miskish mountains and set beside a rushing river. It makes a very pleasant stopover if you're walking the Beara Way or want to fish for brown trout in nearby Glenbeg Lake. B&B is available at O'Brien's (tel 027/74019; GBP26-33/?33.01-41.90 & GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79) in the main street, and you can get bar food at The Village Inn .
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