Sheeps Head | Mizen Head | Bantry |Ballydehob |Schull

West Cork is located in the beautiful South Western corner of Ireland and the region stretches from the Ferryport of Ringaskiddy westwards as far as the Beara Peninsula.
The unparalleled beauty of the landscape is complimented by a multitude of attractions and activities catering for all interests and ages. Water-based activities are numerous with several clean beaches Blue Flag designated for swimming, windsurfing etc. Sailing centres dot the coastline and sea angling, scuba diving, and sea-kayaking are also on offer.

Other activity holidays available in the area include golfing, fishing, horseriding and walking. Indoors, there is a growing number of hotels with leisure centres to cater for visitors in bad weather. So, there is plenty to do in West Cork all year round. Get out there and explore West Cork and if you cannot fit it all in one visit - come back again....... and again.

Sheeps Head

Sheep's Head - a peaceful un spoilt peninsula, which has some of Ireland's most beautiful scenery Enjoy a holiday on Sheep's Head - it is a peaceful unspoilt peninsula, which has some of the most beautiful scenery in all of Ireland. Because of our proximity to the Gulf Stream, we also have perhaps the mildest climate in Ireland - our daffodils are usually out in January!

Many visitors come year after year to the Sheep's Head because they love its idyllic quietness; there are no traffic jams, where they can easily get to know local people. Is it any wonder we always greet them with "Welcome home again". Sheep's head is a place to get away from it all, to just relax and unwind, which is still not far from other more crowded visitor centers. There is a full range of accommodation available - award winning Farm Guesthouses, Bed & Breakfasts, Self-Catering Houses and Camping.

There are plenty of things to do on Sheep's head as well.

Mizen Head

The Mizen Peninsula, at Ireland’s most south-westerly point, is worldwide renown for the beauty of its rugged landscape and ancient heritage. A tour of the Mizen Ring gives you the chance to immerse yourself in the various strands that make the Mizen unique. From geology, flora, birds and fauna to the influence of man and his history on the landscape.

Travelling west from Schull you drive along the bog road built originally in the eighteenth century to carry butter to Cork for export to the new colonies.

Toomore
As you approach Toormore on your left you will see the Altar Dolmen, a Neolithic tomb. On the right just after that is The Altar Church built during the Famine as relief work. In the grounds of the Altar Restaurant a recent find was a Wedge Tomb from the Bronze Age.

Goleen
You continue on through the town lands of Kealfadda, Ballyrisode and Ballydevlin until you reach Goleen. This village was built during the nineteenth century at a crossroads where a cattle fair was held. You will see that the street is very wide and all the houses were originally built as shops. There is a hidden harbour at Heron’s Cove, down to the left in the village, which gives the village its name ‘Goilín’, ‘little inlet’. Although the harbour dries at low tide, giving great feeding for a variety of wildlife including a fox and a pheasant, there is a deepwater quay at the entrance to accommodate fishing boats and yachts.

Crookhaven
Crookhaven Harbour is as picturesque as it was useful being a large sheltered harbour. You pass the old Roadstone Quarry on the side of the mountain, which provided metalling for the roads of Wales until 1945. There are numerous Bronze Age field monuments in the hills around Crookhaven. The Ordnance Survey Discovery Series map 88 will indicate their whereabouts for you. The village of Crookhaven has a distinguished history as the last port of call for ships going to and from America. Over the centuries ships stocked up with provisions here before tackling the Atlantic Ocean. All the shipping lines had agents here to tell the ships in which port their cargo had been sold. In the late 1900s it was said that you could cross the harbour on the decks of boats. 700 people lived and worked in the village against the 29 permanent residents today. Marconi came here to try to get his first radio message across the Atlantic and he fitted the first telegraphic equipment to the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse to communicate with the passing ships.

Brow Head
On your way back to Barleycove, you can take the road up to Brow Head from Galleycove beach. Looking back east from the top of Brow Head you can see Roaringwater Bay, Cape Clear and some of Carbery’s Hundred Isles. The Signal Tower was part of a chain built in 1804 in fear of a French invasion to give fast communications all round the coast. The original signalling was done with a system of flags and blackballs on masts. Brow Head or Mallavogue was a vibrant mining area in the nineteenth century and you can still see the remains of the mines and the miners’ houses.

Barleycove
Barleycove is a large sandy beach backed by sand dunes. The sand dunes were thrown up in the tidal wave that swept Europe after the earthquake in Lisbon in 1755. Today they have been partially eroded but they are protected like much of the coast round this area as European designated Special Areas of Conservation. The road goes to the east of the beach across a causeway bisecting Lissagriffin Lakes and at the T-junction you turn left to Mizen Head.

Mizen Head
Mizen Head Visitor Centre has been developed by a local tourism co-operative at Ireland's most southwesterly point. They have a lease on the Irish Light Signal Station which was built in 1905 to protect shipping from the cliffs in fog. It is a spectacular location with its folded rocks and high cliffs. The Signal Station is on an island joined to the mainland with a fine example of an Arched bridge. If you have plenty of puff you can go up the 99 Steps but there is a path for the less energetic! At the top of the cliffs near the car park a new building has been added. Here you may buy a ticket, visit the Shop or the Café, experience the exciting exhibits about modern technology and Safety at Sea, the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse, Marconi in Crookhaven and the Automatic Weather Station. Well worth a visit!

Three Castle Island
Another gem of the Mizen Peninsula is Three Castle Head where the Three Castles, which are three Tower Houses with, curtain walling. Built in the 15th. Century on the site of a Bronze Age Promontory Fort, the Castles stand sentinel beside a cliff top lake. Access is restricted at the moment because of the unstable state of the castles, but it is worth asking if it is possible to visit.

Dunmanus
Continuing the journey round the Mizen Ring, you take the road back towards Goleen and turn left onto the Coast Road by Lissagriffin Lakes. As you wind up the road the view to the north suddenly opens up to show Dunmanus Bay, Sheep’s Head and in the distance the Beara Peninsula and the mountains of Kerry. Looking down to the sea you pass Dhurode Copper Mine with the round stone built Explosives Magazine. All along the road you will see signs of the mines. You reach Dunmanus Castle, an O’Mahony stronghold from the 15th. Century, beside the little harbour. A short drive from there takes you back onto the Durrus/Bantry road.

Bantry

The Sheep's Head Way is an 88km route which circles the whole of the Sheep's Head from Bantry to Sheep's Head at the end of the peninsula and back through Kilcrohane, Ahakista and Durrus. This Walk was recognised in 1997 as ''The Best Walk in Ireland' by the magazine "Walking World Ireland". The Walking is mostly off road across open hillside and is well marked by oak posts and carved stone markers. There are also five Loop Walks which run north/south and can be used to lengthen or shorten the days' walking. The guide book and map of the Sheep's Head Way is available at the Tourist Office and local shops.

The Beara Way is about 165km stretching from Kenmare to Glengarriff, west to Dursey and back to Kenmare on the north side of the peninsula. There are numerous loops for those who just want a short circular walk in scenic surroundings.

Golf - Bantry Bay Golf Club, 2km from Bantry on the N71 to Glengarriff is a demanding 18 hole course, designed by Christy O'Connor, Jnr. (Length 5910m. Par 71). Near-by is a Pitch & Putt Course.

There are 3 more 18 hole courses within a 20 mile radius and 9 hole golf courses at Glengarriff & Castletownbere.

For golf enthusiasts there is an 18 hole golf course at Bantry; a demanding 9 hole course in Glengarriff; and three more 18 hole courses within a 20 mile radius.

Angling - Shore fishing has become very popular in the area due to the large variety of fish being caught - conger eels, brown dogfish, spotted dogfish, cod, pollock, ray, skate, ling, and other varieties.For those interested in sea angling boats are available for daily hire.
For the lake and river fishing enthusiasts there are two of the best fishing lakes in Ireland for brown and rainbow trout as well as coarse fish and there are six rivers which are noted for salmon and sea trout fishing. Licences for fishing can be obtained in the local fish-tackle shops.

Boating and Sailing - For those interested in sailing, boating, canoeing, and kayaking there is a safe anchorage and harbour facilities i.e. slipways for launching boats and yachts.
Cranage is available but only by prior arrangement and adequate notice. Boat hire, kayak, canoes and skiboats are available at the Abbey slipway during summer months.

Archaeological Sites - The Bantry Bay area is rich in sites of historical and archeological interest, from wedge tombs, which are thousands of years old, to those of more recet origin. The area is dotted with stone circles, alignments and galluns. The Kilnaruane Pillar Stone, The Kealkil Stone Circle, the Breenymore Megalithes and the Ahakista Stone Circle being the more accessible near Bantry. Detailed leaflets and maps are available at Bantry Tourist Information Office or Bookstores.

Entertainment - The host or hostess in a place of accommodation will inform the visitor as to the locations of evening entertainment. As darkness does not fall until at least 10pm during the summer months night entertainment does not usually begin until 10pm. Then there is a choice of classical music (at Bantry House), modern, Irish, disco etc. With approximately 20 pubs and lounge bars the choice is up to the visitor. The local pub culture is still strong in the locality and the best places are known by your host - just ask anybody. The people of this region are the most friendly in the whole of Ireland.

Eating out - The greater Bantry region has accommodation for approximately 2,500 visitors. There are 6 major hotels, 6 family run small hotels, inns, lodges, plus a large number of private approved guesthouses which can accommodate from 4 to 25 people. Two of the hotels, namely, The West Lodge, Bantry and the Eccles Hotel, Glengarriff, cater for large groups and bus tours. In Bantry town both the Bantry Bay Hotel and Vickery's Inn cater for smaller groups including lunches for passing tours. There are five hostels in the area as well as an award winning camping site by the sea. With food in mind there is a selection of restaurants to suit every pocket from gourmet to fish and chips outlets. Different tastes catered for include seafood, vegetarian, French, Italian, Oriental and the best of local cooking.

Ballydehob

Ballydehob takes it name form the Irish Béal an dá Chab, meaning "the ford at the mouth of two rivers". Situated in West Cork 63 miles from Cork City and 8 miles west of Skibbereen, Ballydehob is a very colourful little village and is the home to many artists and craft shops.

Ballydehob is situated on the South West coast of Ireland, about 65 miles from Cork City on the N71. It lies about 20 miles east of Mizen Head , Europe's most westerly point.
Here where the gulf stream practically touches the coast, Ballydehob snuggles in the embrace of the surrounding hills. The village is a patchwork of colourful gables, with antique shops, craft galleries, a bookshop, and many good places to eat and drink. Ballydehob also has the reputation of nurturing the Arts, and is home to several writers, artists, sculptors, and craftspeople practicing various disciplines. The local area is rich in natural beauty, with stunning views of the Islands of

Roaring Water Bay and the fastnet rock to be seen in the locality. There is a rich diversity of wildlife to be found in the area with many rare and unusual plants. As you enter the town from the east you will see a the 12 arch viaduct, that was used by West Cork Rail in the last century. At the west end of the village there is a monument of the late Danno Mahony known as The Irish Whip he won the NWA World title from Jim Londos in Boston on June 30th 1935.

Schull

A small but very attractive and lively town nestling between the foothills of Mount Gabriel and Schull Harbour. It is one of the most popular resorts of West Cork, especially to visiting yachtsmen. It is a good place to search out your ceramic sculpture or batik wall hanging. And you'll eat well in this corner of Ireland!

Here you will be most welcome to visit the Planetarium (the only one in the Republic of Ireland) where Star Shows are given during the visitor season. Mount Gabriel rises above the village. The two large white globes on the summit, like giant golf balls teed up for some celestial golfer, are for aircraft tracking. On its slopes can be found the audits where Bronze Age miners worked the copper deposits. Some of the things they made - spear heads, axes and intricately fashioned ornaments - may be seen in the National Museum in Dublin.

Beyond Schull there are magnificent sandy beaches excellent for the children at Ballyrisode, Galley Cove, White Strand and Barley Cove. The nearby village of Crookhaven is worth a visit with O'Sullivans Bar situated on the harbour. There is plenty of interest for the railway historian Schull being the terminus of the Schull and Skibberreen Railway (really a road-side tramway) which closed in 1947. The viaduct at Ballydehob still remains together with several other features.

 

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