Kilcrohane - Living the Sheep's Head Way

The Artists’ Cottage & Studio

March 18, 2016 by Dunmanus

LAHARANDOTA, the Artists’ Cottage & Studio, is a luxury holiday home nestled on the hillside of the Sheep’s Head peninsula

The Artists’ Cottage is surrounded by a large, private garden with wonderful sea views, and it features a stream, pond, and small outdoor pool. A lovely barbeque and patio area is equipped with garden furniture. Inside there are three bedrooms (a double, twin, and a single), downstairs loo, family bathroom, en suite shower room, open-plan kitchen/living room, study with sofa bed, and sun room.

This exquisite luxury West Cork holiday home is an architect-restored traditional cottage made from stone, slate, and timber in keeping with its rugged natural setting. The farmhouse loft adjacent to the cottage has been renovated to form the studio and it can be booked to provide additional self-contained accommodation for up to 4 guests.

The stunning Sheep’s Head peninsula is set between Bantry and Dunmanus bays, and the cottage has wonderful views over Dunmanus Bay and the neighbouring Mizen peninsula.

From the stony heights of Seefin Mountain to rolling pastures and sea cliffs, the peninsula offers great land- and seascapes. Laharandota is just 2 miles from the southern end of the peninsula, and there the Sheep’s Head Lighthouse clings to its jagged tip, 400 feet above the surf. Take a moment to soak in the balmy (yes, balmy!) breezes: the Gulf Stream nips Ireland along this coast, explaining the presence of palm trees in the cottage’s garden.

Local Walking Trails and Activities

Stroll down the lane from the cottage directly onto the Sheep’s Head Way, one of Ireland’s 31 waymarked ways (marked trails). The peninsula’s natural wild beauty makes its 88km trail an exhilerating challenge for all keen walkers.

There are wonderful loop walks all around the area, and riding, cycling, sailing, kayaking, shore fishing, and food tours are all available close by too. On a quieter day, you’ll enjoy discovering the wonderful galleries and craft workshops that feature in the local craft trail.

You’ll enjoy a wonderful holiday when you spend time at the Artists’ Cottage, and, like many of our visitors, you’ll be tempted to return year after year!

Fáilte Ireland Rating:	Welcome Standard [new Fáilte Ireland accommodation standard]
Owner:	Julie Fitzgerald Vitelli
Phone:	+44 (0)7734 663589
Email:	[email protected]
Website:	http://www.theartistscottage.com
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TripAdvisor Reviews:	Yes
Location:	Near Kilcrohane, Sheep's Head peninsula, Co. Cork
Rates:	See rates schedule
Electricity	Rates inclusive of fuel, heating, bedding, towels & Irish VAT
Facebook:	Yes
Twitter:	@Artists_Cottage

Trá Ruaim Loft – Holiday Apartment

February 18, 2015 by Dunmanus

Trá Ruaim Loft, is a traditional stone-built farm loft on West Cork’s Sheep’s Head peninsula, which has been converted into a one-bedroom holiday apartment.

There are sea views over Dunmanus Bay and the Mizen peninsula. The kitchen/living area opens onto a spacious raised deck built around the trunk of a sycamore tree with steps descending to a traditional orchard.

This cosy holiday apartment is located on the scenic and unspoilt Sheep’s Head peninsula, renowned for its award-winning walks and cycle routes. Five minutes’ drive from Kilcrohane village, and 30 minutes from the bustling market town of Bantry, it is situated on the Shee’ps Head Way walking route, just five minutes walk from the Black Gate Trailhead (the starting point for 3 colour-coded loop walks). It is adjacent to a dairy farm yard, and from the deck you can enjoy all the sights and sounds of a family-run Irish farm. Wake up to the sound of a cock crowing!

The loft has been newly-renovated to a high standard, but it retains its traditional style. Old stone steps lead up to the main loft door entrance with its stone walls and timber roof trusses overhead.

The old stonewalls both inside and outside have been kept in their original state. The old timber floor planks and high ceilings helps retain a rustic feel.

The apartment comprises a bedroom and an open-plan kitchen/living room with double glass doors opening onto a deck with stunning views out over Dunmanus Bay and the West Cork countryside. The kitchen has sea views looking over Dunmanus Bay onto Carbery Island and Mount Gabriel in the distance.

The laundry/drying room is located on the ground floor and there is separate storage space for bikes, fishing equipment or hiking gear. The laundry has a dryer/washing machine and sink with a drying room which has been laid out with timber shelving and hanging space for coats/boots – perfect for walking enthusiasts.

The bedroom has an en suite toilet, shower and wash basin. The bedroom with its high raised ceiling carried by the original timber beams has views again out over the traditional orchard & Dunmanus bay. This room has a double bed & single bed so can cater for couples or two individuals as required.

The spacious deck area is built around the trunk of a sycamore tree with steps descending to the orchard. It’s the perfect place to enjoy a meal on a summer’s evening, watch the fishing & sailing boats go by and see the dairy herd come home for milking.

Fáilte Ireland Rating:	3 Star
Owner:	Claire O'Mahony
Phone:	+353 (0)27 67007 / (mob) +353 (0)86 309 2942
Email:	[email protected]
Website:	http://www.sheepsheadaccommodation.com/site/index.php/tra-ruaim-loft


TripAdvisor Reviews:
Location:	Kilcrohane, Sheep's Head peninsula, Co. Cork
Rates:
Electricity:	Oil and electricity charged by meter reading
Facebook:	Yes

Mason’s Cottage

February 18, 2015 by Dunmanus

Mason’s Cottage is a spectacular holiday home with sea views, located on its own private landscaped grounds just outside Kilcrohane on the Sheep’s Head peninsula.

This is a bright sunny welcoming holiday base, perfect for families, and tastefully furnished to a very high standard. Two miles from Kilcrohane village, and sixteen miles from the bustling market town of Bantry, the house gives you easy access to the peninsula’s award-winning walks and cycling routes.

From the entrance hall, the open plan split-level dining/living room with its triangular window steps down to dramatically reveal what is surely one of the finest sea views in Ireland, stretching across Dunmanus Bay to the open Atlantic Ocean. The kitchen has sea views looking onto the garden.

The three bedrooms and two bathrooms, are all on the same level. One bedroom has a king-size bed and en suite bathroom with shower; a double bedroom has a sea view, and there is also a single bedroom.

The cottage has a family bathroom with bath and shower. The patio area overlooks the garden & sea views is perfect when you want to enjoy a BBQ on a summer’s evening.

The area has plenty to offer. The peninsula is dotted with secluded little beaches. Golf, fishing, diving, walking, cycling, public tennis courts, a children’s playground, boat trips, horse riding and traditional music sessions are all available nearby.

This is a great destination for couples and families, and Mason’s Cottage is an ideal base for touring West Cork’s towns and villages.

The Sheep’s Head peninsula, having won the Eden Award as a “European Destination of Excellence” is the perfect place to take a walking holiday. It offers a huge variety of terrain with breathtaking views; many long and short loop walks are available.

The area is rich in heritage and prehistoric sites. The peninsula also offers excellent touring by car. Have a pint in one of the local pubs, or just enjoy the peace and tranquility in this stunning location.

Kilcrohane is the last village on the Sheep’s Head peninsula and is reached by a coastal drive along Dunmanus Bay. It is a pretty village with two pubs, a shop, a post office, restaurants and a church. During the summer months the village has a wine bar which hosts a number of local talented musicians.

The area is a European designated conservation area, so whether you’re whale and dolphin watching, or viewing the protected habitat of Chough and Peregrine Falcons, there’s a multitude of wildlife to be found.

Rates: From €400 per week.

To book, contact Claire on [email protected]

Fáilte Ireland Rating:	3 Star
Owner:	Claire O'Mahony
Phone:	+353 (0)27 67007 / (mob) +353 (0)86 309 2942
Email:	[email protected]
Website:	http://www.sheepsheadaccommodation.com/site/index.php/tra-ruaim-loft


TripAdvisor Reviews:
Location:	Kilcrohane, Sheep's Head peninsula, Co. Cork
Rates:
Electricity:	Oil and electricity charged by meter reading
Facebook:	Yes

The Old Creamery

June 21, 2014 by Dunmanus

The Old Creamery in Kilcrohane is the newest place to eat along the Sheep’s Head Way!

Taste the fresh local food being dished up at The Old Creamery, and you’ll be getting a real flavour of life on the western edge of Europe. In this new family-run café and restaurant, sample wonderful local meats, fish and produce overlooking Dunmanus Bay. And you can even hire a bicycle to explore the peninsula and work off the effects of your indulgence!

The Old Creamery is the perfect place to eat if you’re exploring this unspoilt part of the world. It’s also building a reputation with walking groups whose members want to try the great local food produced along the Sheep’s Head peninsula.

A number of our local loop walks begin in Kilcrohane, so the Old Creamery makes the perfect place to reward yourself for your efforts.

The creamery building is also home to the Sheep’s Head Producers’ Market and Shop, so you’ll have the opportunity to meet local craftspeople, and bring home some of the lovely crafts and produce for which the area is building a great reputation.

You can even hire a bike here in case you want to work up an appetite before your lunch by taking a spin on the Sheep’s Head Way Cycle Route.

Location:	Kilcrohane, The Sheep's Head peninsula, Co. Cork.
Opening Hours:	10:30am - 4pm, Wed to Sunday. Dinners Friday & Saturday, 7-9.
Tel:	00 353 (0)27 67139
Email:
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Credit Cards:
Special Dietary Requirements?	Vegetarian, gluten-free, and 'no gluten containing ingredients' options available.
TripAdvisor Reviews:
Facebook:	Yes
Twitter:

Bike Hire at Kilcrohane Creamery

June 20, 2014 by Dunmanus

Hire a bike in Kilcrohane and start exploring the coastline of the Sheep’s Head peninsula – one of the most unspoilt stretches of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way touring route

Traditional and electric bikes are now available for hire in Kilcrohane, so everyone has the chance to experience cycling along a stretch of the Sheep’s Head cycle route.

When you cycle along the Sheep’s Head peninsula, you’ll have time to take in fantastic views across Dunmanus Bay and Bantry Bay. Visit the coastal villages on the peninsula’s south side. Ahakista and Durrus are great places to stop for a coffee! Or why not tackle the hairpin bends on the aptly named ‘Goat’s Path’? It’s a great favourite with local cyclists!

Don’t miss the experience of cycling the Wild Atlantic Way. It’s the perfect way to take in great sea views, and listen to local birdsong. Each of our walk trailheads has a bike rack fitted, so it’s easy to combine a bike ride with a Sheep’s Head Way loop walk.

Hire a bike for the day and you’ll really enjoy exploring our stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way.

Take in the fresh sea air and the fragrance of our local wildflowers as you cycle, and build up an appetite for a really fantastic lunch.

And when your cycle along the coast is over, head back to The Old Creamery in Kilcrohane where you’ll find fresh local food served in a stylish café and restaurant with views over the local river and Dunmanus Bay.

Doesn’t that sound like the perfect way to spend a day living the Sheep’s Head Way?

Cahergal Loop Walk

February 3, 2014 by Dunmanus

The Cahergal Loop Walk on the Sheep’s Head peninsula introduces you to the beauty and peace of an area recognised as a European Destination of Excellence

From the car park at the Black Gate and Alice West Centre past the village of Kilcrohane, follow the purple loop walk arrows for the Cahergal Loop Walk in a northeasterly direction along the public road for a short distance.

At way marker no. 3 (Peakeen, Cahergal and Caher), turn left off the public road. Continue up the track and onto the hill going through 4 stiles en-route until you reach way marker no. 15 (Peakeen and Cahir) and turn left.

Continue on, crossing the peninsula to the Bantry Bay side, until you reach the car park at Cahergal. Keep left after going over the timber stile and cross the road where you will go over another timber stile, passing way marker no. 206.

Continue straight on for the cove, passing the the ruins of a famine hamlet known locally as the “Crimea” and the abandoned copper mines, en route. At way marker no. 238, keep left and walk a short distance along the pubic road. Turn right at the finger post sign for “The Poet’s Way” and go off-road over a timber stile, at way marker no. 65 Poet’s Way/Cahergal. Follow the way markers to traverse the peninsula to the south side until you meet way marker no. 348.

Turn left here and continue straight on until way marker no. 354 and turn right. Continue on down to the public road and back to the Black Gate / Alice West Centre.

Download GPX file for GPS:	Download Cahergal Loop Walk GPX file
Download file for 3D View on Google Earth:	Download Cahergal Loop Walk KMZ file
Start/Finish:	Black Gate Trailhead
Grade:	Hard
Distance:	8.4 km (approx)
Estimated Time:	3 hrs (based on average walking speed of 3 km per hour)
Arrows:	Purple
Metres Climbed/ Ascent:	371 metres
Maximum Height:	184 metres
Dogs Allowed?	No
Minimum Gear:	Walking boots, rain gear, fluid, and a mobile phone.