Fotos Margit Anna Binder
(the last photo shows the view from our room in Castletownshend)
Seizing the opportunity for a short much deserved holiday we travelled to West Cork on Friday for the June bank holiday weekend. The weather was beautiful, though we had a few clouds, it was sunny and warm most of the time. We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast, Atlantic House, 3 minutes outside of the village of Castletownshend and from our room we enjoyed a panoramic view down to a sea shore and beyond. The guesthouse owners John and Kathleen Cronin were very friendly and operated a superb home. http://www.atlantichouseaccommodation.com/
In the village of Castletownshend there is a castle lying directly in a bay and above, on a hill, there is a protestant church with a small grave yard which appears to have been owned also by the Townshend family. The castle was built in the 17th century by the Townshend family and the St. Barrahane’s Church was erected in 1826. The graveyard is used mainly by the Townshend family and the Somerville’s, and in a hidden corner near the cemetery’s wall we found some tiny grave stones with names of another family, who we assumed were “only” the castle owner’s servants due to the size and condition of the grave markers. The family name was of an indigenous Irish family.
Having visited the castle, church and graveyard, we went out in the blue, without any plan as to where we would end up. We enjoyed the landscape and the sunshine. Our car brought us, almost of it’s own accord, up and down through a hilly area and after some time we landed at a place called Toe Head, where we stood on a cliff, looking out to sea, watching the waves crashing on the rocks and piling up in a big white spindrift. We also ventured on to many coves and inlets with every one being more beautiful that the last. Though I have seen many coast lines in Ireland, I love to discover more of them as every one is different from the other.
We booked two seats on a Rib boat operated by Baltimore Seafari, in Baltimore the next day, with the hope of seeing whales, dolphins and sharks, but regrettably they must have been hiding somewhere that particular day, and we failed to see even one. http://www.baltimoreseasafari.com
As compensation we saw small grey seals on rocks outside the harbour, which were so shy that they jumped into the water immediately as our boat came near. We saw only their heads looking out of the water now and then for a second and then they slid under the water again. Maybe they are bored looking at curious tourists? We encountered a small shoal of Porpoises which are plentiful in these waters. We were treated to a viewing, later in the harbour area, of the common seal or harbour seal which is smaller than his grey seal relation. As they were near to calving the boatman respected that and kept his distance, so as not to scare them.
I was more impressed by the Gannets. The boatman, Micháel, whose knowledge impressed us no end explained that those birds can dive up to 30 metres deep in the water to catch fish. He brought us on a 2 hour trip around the islands and for each of them he had an interesting story to tell. He informed us that some of the small islands, of which there are reputed to be 100, were bought by millionaires, but though they own their island they can’t prevent people visiting the island beaches , as this is Irish law. Of course, the rich owners are not very impressed by this law, but they can’t change it. Law is law!
We enjoyed our boat trip very much and we can only recommend it to everyone, especially by speed boat, as it is more adventurous when you feel the power of the water when the boat is speeding over the waves. Micháel also pointed out where a German U-boat, U260 lies in a watery grave at 40 metres, having met her demise in March 1945. This submarine is still in excellent condition and is visited by many divers.
We viewed the Stags rocks and the famous most south westerly lighthouse in Europe, namely the Fastnet. Best value trip we ever took and when we came ashore we were very satisfied as were our fellow passengers.
The next day, Sunday, took us along the coast road to Schull, Goleen and Mizen Head. There was a 100 year old bridge in Mizen Head which lead to Mizen Head Lighthouse and Signal Station, but as the old bridge was in dangerous condition, they built a new one, which should be finished and opened in November this year. When this is open, it will make a return trip obligatory for us, next year.
As we did not see very much in Mizen Head we continued our trip and went to Bantry, where you can see semi-tropical plants , palms , the azure blue sea rolling into a bay with cascading mountain streams. After we enjoyed the sights and attractions of Bantry, we proceeded on to Glengariff where we crossed in a ferry over to a small island called Garnish. On the way to the island we passed rocks where bigger grey seals basked in the warm sunshine. They were not shy at all, they just looked half curious at us. Maybe they are more used to visitors and are less scared than their more wild cousins further out to sea. Garnish Island itself was nice, but not so extraordinary. There is only a botanic garden with lots of Rhododendrons in many different colours, an Italian garden with an Italian style building with arches and a pond, furthermore you can walk through a wall garden and walk up the stairs of a Martello round tower, where you can enjoy a nice view of your surroundings. We spent 2 hours on Garnish before returning again by ferry to Glengariff. Nice trip and lots of nice pictures.
As we had lots of rain in our last night and the rain continued in the morning, we decided to move towards home directly. We did make a detour via Courtmacsherry and Kinsale but the rain prevented us from enjoying these beautiful towns. If the weather was better, we would have taken more time for West Cork, but it is not fun when it rains cats and dogs. We certainly will come back to beautiful West Cork soon again, as there are still lots of places we haven’t seen or explored yet and look forward to our return.
