Kenmare to Lauragh — Healy Pass Road via Glanmore Lake and the Caha Mountains

Built as a famine relief road in the 1840s and finished a century later, the Healy Pass road climbs from Lauragh on the Beara Peninsula in a series of tight hairpins that gain over 1,100 feet in just a few miles before cresting the Caha Mountains at the Cork-Kerry county border. The descent into Adrigole is steeper still, with narrow single-track sections, sheer drop-offs on the southern face, and passing places that demand patience and judgment. Glanmore Lake glints below you on the Kerry side — one of those views that makes you pull over whether you planned to or not. The summit cross at the pass is a solid waypoint; the views north to the Kenmare River estuary and south toward Bantry Bay on a clear day are genuinely hard to beat anywhere in these islands.

This isn’t a technical 4×4 route by Scottish standards, but it’s no drive for a low-slung saloon either. A high-clearance vehicle handles the steep grades and occasional potholed tarmac sections confidently. The road is open year-round but fog, ice, and sheep make winter crossings unpredictable. No permit needed. Nearest fuel is Kenmare or Castletownbere — fill up before you head in. The Beara Peninsula has wild camping options at Glanmore Lake shore. Cell service is patchy on the summit. Do it eastbound in evening light and you’ll be explaining the photos to people for years.