WEST CORK
West Cork is considered by many to be Ireland at its finest. It blends a dynamically varied landscape with a spectacular coastline, creating a visual panorama of incomparable beauty. The region is dotted with a wealth of small charming towns and villages connected with narrow roads and lanes that are part of the unique West Cork experience. Visiting drivers should slow their pace and take in the beautiful scenery as the road twists along rivers, winds over and around the numerous hills, and hugs the dramatic coastline. The journey by sea is just as inspiring. This is an exceptionally good boating area, as enthusiastic sailors will attest. Dursey Island is accessible only by a dramatic cable car ride above and across the spectacular Dursey Sound, while Garnish Island in Glengarriff is home to one of the most exotic gardens in the world. Your West Cork experience can include a leap back to ancient times with a visit to the two thousand-year-old Drombeg Stones or a stop to explore one of the Gaeltacht areas where Irish is the preferred language. Military history is captured at the impressive star-shaped Charles Fort at Bantry, the destination of French invasions in 1689 and 1796. Renowned as the “Gourmet Capital”, Kinsale is a picturesque harbor side commonly dedicated to seaside diversions and gourmet food. The wide variety of restaurants found along its narrow lanes offer choices to suit all palates with many providing world-class dining enjoyment. For sports lovers, engage in a round of road bowling, a uniquely Cork sport, played on a country roads most evenings and Sundays. It involves lofting a steel ball along the road over a measured distance. Like golf, the player with the last number of throws is the eventual winner. West Cork is a literal and visual feast, from its fabled fine cuisine to the bright, overflowing window boxes of Clonakilty, the lovely shores of Bantry Bay and the spectacular seaside cliffs of Mizen Head. No visit to the Region would be complete without visiting the islands Dursey, Whiddy and of course Cape Clear.