The Dursey Island Cable Car

The only cable car in Ireland crosses Dursey Sound at the far western end of the Beara Peninsula, carrying a handful of people at a time over a couple of hundred metres of fast-running water to an island with no shop, no cafe and no facilities of any kind. The car itself is small, plain and hangs high enough above the sound to concentrate the mind on the way across. On the island there is a single road running its length, the ruins of a signal tower on the high ground, a lot of sheep, and long views west to the Bull and Calf rocks. Livestock crosses in the same car when the farmers need it to.

What you actually see

• The crossing - a few minutes suspended above Dursey Sound.
• The island road - a single track running the length of the island.
• The signal tower - the ruined lookout on the highest ground.
• The Bull and the Calf - the rock islands off the western end.

When to go

May to September, when the weather gives a reasonable chance of a clear crossing and running hours are longest. The car does not operate in high wind and it stops for a break in the middle of the day. Go early: it takes only a handful of passengers at a time, and the queue on a fine summer morning means a long wait.

Honest expectations

The cable car has been out of service for long stretches for refurbishment, so confirm it is running before driving the length of Beara to reach it. There is nothing on the island but a road and sheep, no facilities at all, and no shelter if the weather turns. Miss the last car and you are staying. The drive out is long and narrow.

Nearby

Castletownbere and the Beara coast road lie back east along the peninsula.