By Margo Pfeiff

Dense clouds of gannets glide on thermals inthe skies above me, while at my feet baby puffinsscurry as I huff and puff my way up 600 stonesteps etched into the rocky flank of a tiny pyra-mid-shaped island. At the summit of Skellig Mi-chael is a bizarre cluster of beehive-shaped struc-tures built from slabs of flat stones by seventhcentury Christian hermit monks eager to getaway from it all.

I can relate. I too was looking to unwind and contemplate

life in a quiet place where folks spend their daysat a walking pace. Irish islands seemed to fit thebill. They’re mellow offshore outposts — oases ofnature, history and a slower, more

Some of the600 stonestepsleading tothe hermitmonks’monasteryatop SkelligMichaelIsland.

Photos by Margo Pfeiff / Special to The Chronicle

Islands offsouthern coastoffer visitorsslowerpace of life,rich historyamidruggednaturalbeauty

IRELAND

Outpostsamong the misty isles

Top, steep stone steps lead to the early Christian monastery atop Skellig Michael. Above, aferry approaches nearby Little Skellig, where 30,000 pairs of gannets nest.

TravelSan Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, August 4, 2013 | Section N

Islands continues on N4

N4 | Sunday, August 4, 2013 | SFChronicle.com and SFGate.com

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traditional lifestyle in atourism hot spot thatsees 6.5 million visitorsa year, more than 1.5times the country’s pop-ulation. Remote, with arugged beauty, they arehome to fishermen,farmers, artists andurban refugees who livesimply alongside theruins and tales of pre-historic settlers, Vi-kings, past battles andplenty of sheep andcows.

According to the Ire-land Islands Federation,there are 33 populatedislands with populationsranging from one to justunder 800. They areaccessible by bridge,ferry, small boat, planeand one — Dursey — isreached by cable car. Ichose a handful off thesouthwest coast, wildAtlantic islands in thecounties of Cork andKerry. While most areperfect for day tripping,some offer minimal-frillsaccommodation so youcan linger without hav-ing to build your ownbeehive digs.

I make my way southfrom Cork, following therural, winding, roller-coaster coastal routethrough the gourmethub of Kinsale — grid-

locked with visitorstaking in the popularsummer arts festival —past the serene remainsof a 1240 Franciscanabbey in the backwaterof Timoleague towardthe hub of Skibbereen.

En route I reacquaintmy brain with left-handshifting and driving andnavigating roads sonarrow that swayingfoxgloves and floweringfuchsia hedges brushmy side-view mirrorwhen I squeeze pastoncoming cars.

By the time I reachthe old port town ofBaltimore with its rowsof jelly-bean-colored rowshops, houses and pubstrimmed in overflowingflower boxes, I’m glad topark the car and step

on board a 40-minuteferry bound for CapeClear Island, one ofthree main islands inRoaringwater Bay, en-joying lighthouses andleaping dolphins enroute.

We pass Sherkin Is-land, known for itsartist community, whereferries dock at the footof a friary ruin, sackedby a local army in 1537.These waters are awashwith tales of piracy andplunder, the islandsstudded with Martellotowers on the lookoutfor Napoleon’s ships orsquare watchtowers —some with cannonballsstill embedded in theircrumbling rock walls —keeping an eye out forinvading navies.

On Cape Clear theferry docks in a smallharbor where an ancientchurch overlooks a cafe,chip wagon and giftshop/tourist informationoffice — the island’s“downtown.” From there

two impossibly steepone-lane roads surgeupward, immediatelypersuading 25 of the 30newly arrived passen-gers to stay put enjoyingthe waterfront view andbeach. At the top of thefirst rise, one coupleopts for the hilltop pub,so only three of us con-tinue to the trailhead ofa stunning hike.

Following low rockwalls across hillsidespurple with heather inbloom, I reach the head-lands and a dramaticviewpoint across toFastnet Rock lighthouseon a shard of rock, Ire-land’s southernmostpoint and sometimescalled Teardrop since itwas often the lastglimpse of home seenby Irish immigrating toNorth America.

Spotting the light-

house is a treat sincethis region is famed forbrutal storms and densefogs. But it’s the middleof a rare blue-sky heatwave, so it’s with reliefthat I sit down at theend of my trek to a coolpint of creamy Guinnessin cheery Ciaran DannyMike Sean EireamhainO’Driscoll’s pub — Ire-land’s most southerlywatering hole.

As I tuck into a tradi-tional ploughman’slunch, the only otherpatrons are four fair-skinned locals out of theisland’s 120, sunburnedand chattering in theIrish language, commonhere, though spokenfluently by only about 5percent of the country’spopulation. Throughoutsummer, kids arrivefrom across Ireland for

Photos by Margo Pfeiff / Special to The Chronicle

Early Christian monks lived for six centuries atop Skellig Michael, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the distance is Little Skellig.

Students make sourdough bread dough at Heir Island’s Firehouse Bakery andBread School, which offers a full-day baking course.

Rugged beautyon Irish islandsIslands from page N1

Baby puffins prepare totake flight on SkelligMichael, home tocountless seabirds.

Islands continues on N5

0 15

M I L E S

KillarneyKillarney

Portmagee

WatervilleWaterville

CastletownbereBantryBantry

Baltimore

Skibbereen

KenmareKenmare

Atlantic Ocean

Dingle Bay

Kenmare River

Bantry Bay

LoughLeane

Heir Island

Bere Island

P

Little Skellig

Skellig Michael

Cape Clear IslandN

Ireland

Detail areaI R E L A N D

BR

ITAIN

Todd Trumbull / The Chronicle

FROM THE COVER

If You Go

WHERE TO SLEEP

West Cork Hotel: Ilen Street, Skibbereen, +353 (0) 2821277, www.westcorkhotel.com. Elegant riverside countryhotel. Doubles from $130 including full breakfast. Thehotel’s Kennedy Restaurant serves the best of locallysourced cuisine. Mains from $15.Rolf’s Country House B&B: Baltimore Hill, Baltimore,+353 (0) 28 20289, www.rolfscountryhouse.com. Quiethilltop retreat with a bistro. Doubles from $120 includingcontinental breakfast.Casey’s Hotel: The Village, Glengarriff, +353 (0) 2763010, www.caseyshotelglengarriff.ie. Modernized clas-sic hotel on the town’s charming main street. Doublerooms $125 with breakfast. The hotel’s pub/dining roomserves good local food. Mains from $15.Lawrence Cove Lodge: Rerrin, Bere Island +353 (0) 2775988, www.bereislandlodge.com. Friendly family-runcountry inn near the ferry dock. Doubles from $95 in-cluding breakfast. Bicycles and kayaks available.

WHERE TO EAT

Glebe Gardens & Café: The East Village, Baltimore,+353 (0) 28 20232, www.glebegardens.com. Casual finelocal cuisine within a spectacular garden. Open daily forbreakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. Island Cottage Restaurant & Cookery School: HeirIsland, Skibbereen, +353 28 38102, www.islandcottage.com. Open Wednesday to Sunday. Four-courseset dinner $55 each. One-, two- and four-day cookingclasses for up to two people (April, May, September,October and November). Manning’s Food Emporium: Ballylickey, Bantry, +353(0) 27 50456, www.manningsemporium.ie. A gourmetfood shop, deli and cafe specializing in local produce.Open seven days a week in July and August.

WHAT TO DO

Firehouse Bakery and Bread School: Heir Island, +353(0)85 1561984, www.thefirehouse.ie. Year-round week-end full-day baking classes $150, including ferry andlunch with wine.Inish Beg: +353 (0) 28 21745, Baltimore, www.inishbeg.com. Spectacular gardens and woodlands on 97acres of a private island (admission $7). Luxury cottagerentals (weekly from $525 double; two-night minimumfrom $65/night double) and custom cookery coursesoffered. Ferry to Cape Clear Island: www.cailinoir.com. The40-minute trip departs Baltimore Pier — $22 pp return.Ferry to Bere Island: www.murphysferry.com. DepartsCastletownbere, 40-minute trip to Rerrin $33 return withcar and two passengers.Heir Island Ferry: www.heirislandferries.com. DepartsCunnamore Pier — five-minute trip. $8 round trip.Casey’s Ferry to Skellig Michael: +353 (0) 669472437, www.skelligislands.com. Departs PortmageePier — 45 minutes. $68 round trip.

MORE INFORMATIONTourism Ireland: www.ireland.com.

West Cork Islands: http://westcorkislands.com.

store. “I’ll be back assoon as I deliver themail,” says the bundleof energy who is alsothe postman.

I cycle off on a 6-milenarrow country roadride that is part of the120-mile walking andcycling route, the BearaWay, to sandy beachesand through rural land-scapes where rock wallsare buried in ivy andrunaway roses. At ex-actly the center of theisland is a 10-foot-tallprehistoric standingstone 4,000 years oldand, further on, aBronze Age wedgetomb. I stretch my legs

learn the secrets of cre-ating sourdough, ba-guettes, pizza doughand creative twists onlocal soda bread. Shar-ing a building with asailing club, the bakeryis the brainchild of a29-year-old with a cor-porate law degree, Pat-rick Ryan, who insteadfollowed his bakingpassion studying undera Dublin Michelin-starred chef.

“When we startedthis the spring of 2012,we hoped to break evenwith 60 students overthe summer,” he sayswhile demonstratinghow to properly knead.“We were completelyoverwhelmed when wegot 350!”

After eating a lunchof gourmet thin-crustpizza that we bakedourselves in an outdoorbrick bread oven andwatching our loaves andscones rise to perfection,I pack my goodies in abag and walk to theferry, stopping en routein an old stable/studioto see Percy Hall’spaintings. We chatabout his 1957 round-the-world hitchhikingtrip, and he looks at hiswatch.

“You’ve got time forwine,” he announces,and we sip a glass in-side his centuries-oldstone waterfront cottageuntil it’s time for theboat.

From Baltimore theroad winds northwest,and I leave early tocatch the Sunday morn-ing farmers’ market atSchull, sampling localproducts like smoke-house meats, craft char-cuterie and Gubbeencheeses; over the pastthree decades Ireland’sSouthwest has becomerenowned for its local-products movement,which now supplies 70percent of Ireland’sartisanal goodies.

Then I wander thelush, Gulf Stream-stokedgardens of Inish Beg, atiny island you candrive to, then carry onto explore the formalgardens surrounding18th century BantryEstate, where you cansip tea or overnight in abaroque palace setting.

In Castletownbere onthe scenic Ring of BearaRoute around the penin-sula, the four-car pon-toon boat heads to BereIsland, though it seemsmore like a trip back intime. Brendan Murphygreets me with my roomkey at the inn he ownsin the one pub/one cafewaterfront village. Thenhe offers a bike fromthe rental fleet at hisclassic 1908 general

language school camps.The island was long

the domain of theO’Driscoll clan, and ashort walk throughpaddocks gave me aglimpse of their 14thcentury castle ruins.Then it’s up another hillto an excellent littlelocal museum and adish of Baileys-flavoredgoat milk ice creambought at a farmhousealong the way for thetrip back to the main-land.

Gourmet cuisine ishardly what you’d ex-pect on an island 1.5miles long and 0.9 widewith a population of 25,no pub, no post office.But a few “blow-ins” —outsiders — have donejust that, and a five-

minute ferry shuttlebrings me to Heir Is-land, where fine dininghas been taking place atIsland Cottage Restau-rant for 24 years, with aview across to actorJeremy Irons’ privatecastle. With his partnerEllmary Fenton, chefJohn Desmond, who hasMichelin three-star ex-perience and taughtcooking in Paris, serveslocally sourced meals intheir traditional Irishstone cottage with akitchen barely biggerthan a boat’s galley. Inthe offseason he offerscooking classes for amaximum of two stu-dents.

Just down the countrylane I check in for myfull-day baking courseat the Firehouse Bakeryand Bread School to

on a hike up to one ofthe island’s two MartelloTowers before headingfor Sullivan’s, a classicIrish pub complete witha pool table, ricketywood stove and localsglued to the bar stoolstalking soccer. I orderthe just-caught cod withchips and blissfullymushy peas. Headingback to my room atdusk, I run into Bren-dan, who has just fin-ished bringing in a loadof hay. Unsurprisingly,he is also a farmer. “Tosurvive on an island,”he says, “you have to doa little of everything.”

I leave County Cork

when I hit the Ring ofKerry, another re-nowned scenic road-way-with-a-view, head-ing for the port town ofPortmagee, fingerscrossed. For a weekI’ve heard stories aboutpeople repeatedly try-ing to reach SkelligMichael, a jagged pin-nacle jutting from theocean 8 miles offshore.But the sea is likeglass, and on the 45-minute voyage we passLittle Skellig, whitewith 30,000 pairs ofnesting gannets. Whenwe nudge alongsideSkellig Michael’sbreathtakingly sheercliffs, it seems impos-sible that monks row-ing leather-hulled boats1,500 years ago couldhave reached this place,especially amid crash-ing Atlantic waves.

These days two ar-chaeologists and count-less puffins and otherseabirds are the onlyresidents of this mo-nastic outpost whereearly Christian monkscarved three steeproutes 715 feet to thesummit and eked out amonastic life for sixcenturies in stone huts,oratories and a chapel,surviving on fish, sea-bird eggs and the con-tents of a walled gar-den. A UNESCO WorldHeritage Site, SkelligMichael is Ireland’sMachu Picchu, andwith the rhythmic step-climbing, the high-cliffvertigo and an etherealaura of spirituality, itexudes the same calm-ing awe — less a visitthan a pilgrimage. Ifthere is ever a competi-tion for ultimate get-away, bragging rightsgo to the monks.

Margo Pfeiff is afreelance writer. E-mail:travel@sfchronicle.com

An old farmhouse sits near the dock on Heir Island, a five-minute ferry ride from Ireland’s southwest coast.

Photos by Margo Pfeiff / Special to The Chronicle

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