Trip to West Cork - Things to see and do


We're not long back from a trip to West Cork, it's a place I've wanted to explore for some time so I was pretty delighted to see a Pigsback special offer for a holiday village stay for a week.

We were based in Ardgroom, a little village not too far from Kenmare. It was honestly one of the prettiest little places I've ever seen in Ireland - all the houses were painted in bright cheery colours (which seems to be a very common thing in Cork) and every corner had flowers and little touches that made the place feel so welcoming and lovely.

Ardgroom Village Cork

Harrington's, which was the post office, shop and café, was the base for us for shopping, getting coffee, picking up wifi, etc. Everyone was super friendly and chatty and I guess because it's West Cork, there were lots of tourists from all over Europe. I got chatting to a man from Devon who had met a french man and they decided to travel a bit together - I got to practice my french a bit which was nice although it made me realise how rusty I've gotten!

Out the road from the village is Glenbeg lake, about a 4k walk from the main street. It's a glacial fjord formed during the ice age. It's possible to drive right up to it but we opted to walk as it was a sunny day and it was much nicer, the views were incredible as we walked along. The mountains loomed ahead in tones of mossy green and you could see the land stretching out for miles and the sea.

It's too long a walk for small kids but our 15 year old was well able, if slightly less than enthusiastic :)

Foxgloves Ardgroom

Ardgroom Mountain View

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves - I'm not sure if they can convey the incredible sense of peace but hopefully they show some of the beauty. It would be a perfect picnic spot and actually we met a family by the water's edge who had stayed there overnight in their camper van. I can't imagine a more gorgeous spot to wake up.

View of Glenbeg through stone

Glenbeg Lake Ardgroom Cork


Glenbeg Lakeshore Ardgroom

And some sheep we passed en route :)

Sheep Glenbeg Lake Ardgroom

Later on the first day we also paid a quick visit to Derreen Gardens, very close to us in County Kerry. It has a woodland walk, featuring lush tree ferns and rhododendrons (not in flower when we were there) and you can wander down to the bay or have coffee in the little café.
The Bay was my favourite part and I loved the little ladies' bathing shelter by shore.

Tree Ferns Derreen Gardens Kerry

Boat on the Bay Derreen Gardens Kerry

Footbridge Derreen Gardens Kerry

Derreen Gardens view of bay

The next day we drove the glorious coastal route from Ardgroom to Eyeries, to Kilcatherine Point.
We stopped at the pier outside Ardgroom and Mark got chatting to a fisherman who worked on the mussel farm. The mussels are attached to ropes and suspended from buoys in the water. They take roughly two years to grow to full size and then the vast majority are exported to France apparently!

Pier Ardgroom Cork

Mussels Ardgroom Cork

Mussels Ardgroom Pier Cork

Shrimp pots Ardgroom pier Cork

We went on to visit the Hag of Beara, a weathered rock which is supposed to be the embodiment of the 'Hag' who lived 3 lifetimes of youth and was then turned to stone by a saint after stealing his prayer book. It's a fascinating story, further explained here and although to the eye, it's just a rock, there was an undeniable sense of magic, helped by all the little offerings placed on the stone.

Hag of Beara Cork


We spent another day heading to Dursey Island - unfortunately it was lashing rain so not great for taking photos but the cable car was pretty cool!

The rain cleared and we got the sun back for our visit to Allihies and the Copper Mine Museum. We were meeting Mark's cousin for coffee and the Copper Café was the perfect spot for some good food and relaxed company. There's a fabulous selection of lunch food and yummy cakes and you can sit outside in the little courtyard and enjoy the view.
We also popped in to the Museum which tells the history of mining in the area. What struck me the most was a list of deaths - life in the mines was incredibly hard and children worked as well as adults. It was hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to work in these conditions where dying on the job seemed to be a regular occurrence.

Our final big trip was to Garnish Island, crossing the Healy Pass. The Healy Pass is a stunning drive although you'd want to be a fairly confident driver as the roads are narrow - this applies to most of the coastal routes actually - be prepared to stop frequently for oncoming traffic!

Healy Pass view of Lake

Garnish or Ilnacullin is reached by ferry from Glangarriff Pier - it is an island garden based on an Italian model and like many of the gardens in the region, the warm climate means that exotic species can flourish. The first stage was the boat trip and I love being on a boat of any size so this was a treat - the ferry isn't a long crossing but you head out into the bay and pass colonies of seals and we even got a glimpse of some dolphins! This was pretty amazing I have to say :)

Seal Colony near Garnish Island

Ferry to Garnish Seals on rocks

You pay for the ferry and then for entry to the gardens on arrival. It's not too expensive though and well worth it. It's a beautiful place and maybe because the sun was shining again, it felt like being somewhere on the Mediterranean. There are elegant structures such as the Italian Temple and Tea House and the Grecian Temple.

Garnish Island Italian temple and pool

The view from the Grecian temple -

Garnish Island GrecianTemple

View of mountains from Temple garnish island

There's also a Martello Tower on the Island which we climbed to take in the sea views -

Garnish Island view from Martello Tower

We strolled around the walled garden which honestly felt tropical in the sun and was blossoming with incredible colour and scents - in fact the whole island garden was dotted with bright flowers and foliage.

Garnish Island Allium

Pink Flower Garnish Island Cork

Garnish Island Pink Lily

There is a coffee shop there so you can sit down and relax after your walk and it would also be a fabulous place for a picnic.

We headed back across the bay, spotting another boat passing by and looking out for the seals again.

Garnish Island Boat on water

That almost brought our trip to an end - we packed a lot into a week and we were very lucky with the weather. Other places worth visiting are the Buddhist centre outside Allihies which is in an incredible location and they do meditations in the morning that are open to everyone. Eyeries is an award winning village not too far from Ardgroom and Ballydonegan beach outside Allihies is good for swimming. It would be too hard to mention everything but you will find plenty to do!

Hopefully you have enjoyed my little tour of West Cork - some other posts you might like are:

Trip on a Barge

Burtown House and the Green Barn

Donegal Trip and Ahoy Café

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12 Comments
  • Lyndsey OHalloran
    Lyndsey OHalloran 22 July 2017 at 09:31

    Wow, I love the bright houses. It sounds like you had an amazing time

  • Tracey at mummyshire
    Tracey at mummyshire 22 July 2017 at 23:27

    You have some amazing photography and I love your opening shot of the houses and the shadow.
    Cork looks lovely, I've never been cut there's so much to do, looks like a real outdoorsy kind of holiday.

  • Jan Falcondale
    Jan Falcondale 23 July 2017 at 12:37

    What a picturesque place, gorgeous landscape and I love the coloured houses. Great to see seals too!

  • Talya
    Talya 23 July 2017 at 13:06

    How lovely! I've always wanted to visit Cork it looks so beautiful - gorgeous photos thanks for sharing!

  • Rachel
    Rachel 23 July 2017 at 21:17

    My son would love those coloured houses! I think that street would be the only place he would want to be, very Balamory-like. :-)

  • Musings of a tired mummy...zzz...
    Musings of a tired mummy...zzz... 24 July 2017 at 11:14

    Such stunning scenery to enjoy, looks like a beautiful place to visit with so much to explore

  • Newcastle Family Life
    Newcastle Family Life 24 July 2017 at 13:50

    I have always wanted to visit Cork, my step sister worked there for a few years and it looks so beautiful xx

  • Unknown
    Unknown 24 July 2017 at 18:58

    Lovely photos you got here. I bet you had a nice time exploring.

  • Elizabeth
    Elizabeth 25 July 2017 at 09:23

    What an absolutely stunning place to visit! I'd love to go there some day - so much of the world to explore, so little time!

  • Zena's Suitcase
    Zena's Suitcase 25 July 2017 at 13:18

    You covered so much ground in a week. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't been to Ireland much, but it looks like such a beautiful part of the world I feel I have to change that pretty soon

  • Emma T
    Emma T 30 July 2017 at 21:33

    Beautiful photos. I really would love to go back again to Ireland. Hopefully will make it this summer.

  • Ickle Pickle
    Ickle Pickle 31 July 2017 at 20:39

    I have never visited Cork - your photos are beautiful. The Buddhist centre sounds amazing! Kaz x

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