WEST CORK COASTAL ROUTE - Scenic Splendour, Local Colour

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1 GENERAL ORIENTATION Leaving County Kerry to the south of Kenmare leads us to one of the most scenic journeys in Ireland the West Cork Coastal Route to Kinsale. The main N71 route to Clonakilty and then the R600 to Kinsale offers innumerable detours and side routes to some gorgeous places. Colourful villages, colourful people and natural splendour make west Cork one of the most fascinating places in Ireland. The route from Kenmare to Kinsale covers approximately 100 miles following the main N71 from Kenmare to Clonakilty and then the R600 from Clonakilty to Kinsale. The western part is the most scenic and interesting. There are innumerable opportunities to detour to some of the most beautiful coastal view in Ireland, popular market towns such as Schull, fascinating villages such as, idyllic islands off Baltimore, unspoiled walking on Sheeps Head Peninsula. Our recommended route (full day) would be to leave Kenmare and either follow the N71 to Glengarriff or follow the R571 onto the Beara Peninsula and reach Glengarriff via The Healy Pass and Adrigole. The famous gardens on Illnacullin (Garnish Island) in Glengarriff are worth a visit. From Glengarriff continue to Bantry and visit Bantry House. From Bantry we recommend either walking on Sheeps Head Peninsula or visiting the Mizen Head area. For the latter take the R591 through Durrus to Toomore. After Mizen Head visit the nearby village of. Returning to the main N71 route, Schull is a popular market town. Back on the main route is the famous town of. South is the port of Baltimore from where ferries depart to Sherkin and Clear Islands. The quiet villages of Castletownshend, Union Hall & Glandore offer an alternative route to. Between and Kinsale is the popular town of Clonakilty.

2 WEST CORK TOWNS Glengarriff Bantry Schull Ballydehob Clonakilty Baltimore Bantry Schull Harbour GLENGARRIFF Glengarriff is famed for its natural beauty. Situated on Bantry Bay where the mountains meet the sea, it is the southern gateway to the Beara Peninsula, and has acquired a fine reputation for the great variety of shops, galleries, accommodation, restaurants and pubs. The garden island of Ilnacullin (Garnish Island) lies in the harbour, s short boat ride from the town. BANTRY Bantry, in the heart of West Cork, is a region of lush vegetation, palm trees and semi-tropical flowers. Hemmed in by high mountain ridges, an azure blue sea and cascading mountain streams, it is a place of unparalled beauty where the landscape changes with every mood of wind and sky. Bantry, at the head of the bay, is a busy market town and fishing port. Bantry House, open to the public, is spectacularly situated and exuberantly furnished. It is one of Ireland's most attractive Great Houses, full of treasures collected by various generations of Earls of Bantry from all parts of the world. In the courtyard of Bantry House, The French Armada Exhibition Centre has been developed. This features the ill-fated French Armada invasion of December, SKIBBEREEN (Irish: An Sciobairín), often shortened to "Skibb", means 'Little Boat Harbour. The town of developed on the banks of the River Ilen just where the river turns to flow west towards the sea. Known as the capital of West Cork, it is the 'hub' from which the many 'sparkling jewels' of the area can be reached: scenic harbours; colourful fishing villages; secluded beaches; Carbery's Hundred Isles.. was one of many towns in Ireland to suffer very badly during the period of the Irish Famine in the 1840s. This era is remembered in The Great Famine Exhibition at Heritage Centre. Follow the Trail, a historical walking tour of old and visit sites which have direct links with the Great Famine. SCHULL Schull is a seaside village with a welcoming harbour on the Mizen Peninsula. Popular and laid back, Schull has a variety of pubs, restaurants and shops. A country market is held (overlooking the harbour) every day during the summer. BALLYDEHOB East of Schull is the quaintly named, Charming and colourful village of Ballydehob. Enjoy a walk over the 12 Arch Bridge from which you have a wonderful view over the estuary and its flora and fauna. Apart from being a place of peace and beauty, Ballydehob is home to several famous artists, writers, sculptors and craft workers. It also boasts a variety of shops, internationally renowned restaurants, including Annies where tradition dictates a pre-dinner drink across the road in Levis pub, as traditional as you could wish to find.

3 Working Hard, Sunset at Mizen ROSCARBERRY Surrounded by miles of sandy beaches, Roscraberry is another colourful coastal town. The town beach, The Warren and the beach at Owenahincha, have retained their Blue Flag status. hosts a wonderful diversity of wild life birds, butterflies and other insects and sea mammals. The town itself is situated at the head of a tidal inlet about a mile inland from the sea and above a large lagoon that was once a part of the tidal estuary. However access to the sea has been restricted by the causeway that now crosses the estuary thus forming a permanent lagoon margined at its northern end by reedbeds. CASTLETOWNSHEND A small, tranquil and pretty village 5 miles south of. Castletownshend is a unique village in that its main feature is the steep, precipitous decline down to the quay and the Townshend Castle, where the family of that name still resides. An unusual number of graciously designed, large, stone built houses, most of which date from the 18th century, make up this relatively small village. CLONAKILTY Clonakilty's past merges seamlessly with its present in such a way that the town has modernised while losing none of its charm. The library and council offices are housed in an old corn mill while the Post Office now occupies the former Presbyterian Church. Castletownshend Lighthouse BALTIMORE Baltimore is a gateway village to the islands of Roaringwater Bay. The principal islands are Sherkin, Clear and Heir Islands. The navigational Beacon at the entrance to Baltimore Harbour is the image most often associated with the village. Positioned high above the channel between the mainland and Sherkin Island, it is visible from near and far and visitors are rewarded with spectacular views towards Sherkin, Cape Clear, the harbour and the mouth of the Ilen River. The remains of the O'Driscoll Castle, Dun na Sead, tower over the village and are a reminder of the once powerful O'Driscoll clan who controlled much of the South West for a number of centuries. Clonakilty is a favourite amongst tourists as it simply offers everything; An exciting nightlife encompasses a traditional music focus as well as contemporary entertainment. A short walk from the centre of town is a Model Village Exhibition which is a reconstruction of Clonakilty in the 1940s. Clonakilty also houses the West Cork Regional Museum which pays tribute to Clonakilty's industrial past - especially its linen industry. Inchydoney beach now home to a thriving surfing culture as well as being a terriffic location for swimming and walking.

4 V WEST CORK COASTAL ROUTE WEST CORK ATTRACTIONS Ilnacullin Gardens Sheeps Head Mizen Head Light Bantry House West Cork Model Rail Drombeg Stone Circle Heritage Abbeystrewery Abbey Cathedral Courtmacsherry Ilnacullin (Garnish Island) ILNACULLIN Located in the sheltered harbour of Glengarriff in Bantry Bay, Ilnacullin (also known as Garnish Island) is a small island of 15 hectares (37 acres) known to horticulturists and lovers of trees and shrubs all around the world as an island garden of rare beauty. The gardens of Ilnacullin owe their existence to the creative partnership, some eighty years ago, of Annan Bryce, then owner of the island and Harold Peto, architect and garden designer. Access to the Island is by small ferry boats and licensed 60-seater water buses (additional charge). SHEEPS HEAD PENINSULA Unspoiled and dramatic, the Sheep s Head Peninsula is the smallest of Ireland s five toes. MIZEN LIGHT Ireland s most southerly point at Mizen Head is well worth a visit. Mizen Head Signal Station, built to save lives off the treacherous rocks at Ireland s most south-westerly point, five miles from Goleen, is open to the public. An award-winning Maritime Museum and Heritage Attraction, this authentic all-weather experience is a must-see with its spectacular location on high cliffs with swirling Atlantic Ocean tides. From the Car park and Visitor Centre, the Signal Station is a ten minute walk along the path, down the 99 steps and across the Arched Bridge. The Mizen is famous for its wildflowers and sightings of wildlife, dolphins, whales, seals, gannets, kittiwakes, choughs the bird migration north-south flight path is just a mile off shore. Drombeg Stone Circle The Waymarked Way walking route traverses the peninsula so drive some and walk as much as required to the end of the Peninsula. BANTRY HOUSE Bantry House is not only one of the finest historic houses in Ireland, but it also commands one of the best views overlooking Bantry Bay in west Cork. It has been open to the public since 1946, the first to do so in the country and possibly also in the British Isles. The house is still owned and lived in by Egerton Shelswell-White, who is a direct descendant of Richard White (1, Earl of Bantry) and his family. South, the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse, Ireland s Teardrop, was the last landfall seen by many emigrants to America and one of Marconi s first telegraph stations. Mizen Signal Station had the first Radio Beacon in Ireland, 1931; the history of Safety at Sea communications is here, Wireless Signals, Racon, GPS and DGPS. Displays about the lives of the Irish Lights Keepers who left the Mizen in 1993, The Bridge with full Navigational Aids Simulator, Automatic Weather Station, Maps & Guided Tours.

5 Lough Hyne near Cathedral Ballydehob Bridge SKIBBEREEN HERITAGE CENTRE The Heritage Centre is located in the award winning, beautifully restored Old Gasworks Building. The Great Famine Commemoration Exhibition commemorates the tragic period in the 1840s that is known in Irish History as the Great Hunger. was one of the worst affected areas, and the events of the era are depicted using local characters and events. The Lough Hyne Visitor Centre explains the unique nature of this salt water marine lake, Ireland s first Marine Nature Reserve. Other features include an archaeology trail of the area, displays on the Old Gasworks Building and information on the species living on the River Ilen. Escorted evening Historical Walking Tours of town on Tuesday and Saturday at 6.30pm from the Centre. Please telephone to guarantee a place. DROMBEG STONE CIRCLE Drombeg is probably Irelands most famous stone circle, it is a recumbent circle with the recumbent or altar stone lying to the south-west. The circle consists of seventeen pillar stones that are graded from the two large portal stones, each 2 metres high, at the north-east towards the recumbent stone. The pillar stones are local sandstone and the recumbent has two cup marks and what looks like an axe - carving on its upper surface. Also present at the site is a Fulacht fiadh a communal cooking pit with a hearth. Hot stones were taken from the fire and dropped into the water trough, recent tests have shown they could boil seventy gallons of water in about fifteen minutes. Located east of Glandore Village between Leap and. CROOKHAVEN The tiny hamlet of lies about as far down in south-west Cork as you can go without falling into the sea - tucked snugly on the sheltered side of a narrow neck of land which creates a deep inlet - the 'crooked haven' which gave the little settlement its name. It's the very epitome of a sleepy fishing village. Brightly-coloured boats bob at anchor; pastel-coloured cottages slumber in the sunshine along the sloping street. A pub spills tables and chairs out on to the quayside among the drying fishing nets, a small shop sells groceries and postcards as well as shrimping nets, buckets and spades. It looks as though nothing ever has or ever could happen to disturb its peace. ABBEYSTREWERY ABBEY Abbeystrewery Abbey is located 1 mile west of on the northern side of the River Ilen. This is the remains of a 14th century Cistercian abbey and is the site of mass graves from the Great Famine, when suffered particularly harshly. The shadow of those days remained over the town for many decades. CASTLE SALEM This 15th century castle is one of the best preserved castles in Ireland. 70 feet high with massive walls and loopholes, and the usual spiral stairway. The original castle dates from about 1470.