Our 2-day voyage from Killysbeg was a combination of high winds, heavy seas, fog, and occasional rain. The Captain did his best to keep everyone comfortable, but Mother Nature prevailed. Scattered throughout the ship, one could find an abundance of ‘barf bags’, green apples and crackers. As always, we enjoyed the challenge and the continual rocking made for a few peaceful naps and a good night’s sleep. Our Bantry sail-in on Monday morning was quite dreary with fog and a light mist, but gradually the weather cleared and we were able to experience some truly beautiful, magnificent landscape.
Amazingly, our ship was the first oceanliner to dock in their harbor in 30 years. We thought they were kidding until we started to see posted signs all around the city…and then the dozens of folks taking pictures of not only our ship but passengers as well! That’s one of the many advantages of sailing on smaller ships – the ability to get into ports that the megaships cannot. They currently have a cruise terminal under construction, but it will be a few years before it’s completed.
Bantry, in the heart of what’s known as the West Cork, is a region of lush vegetation, palm trees and semi-tropical flowers. Hemmed in by high mountain ridges, a blue sea and cascading mountain streams, it’s a very beautiful place where it seems the landscape changes with every mood of wind and sky. We experienced cloudy, sunny, foggy, & rainy over the course of just a few hours! And we put on a few miles too, walking the entire city in both directions.
In this breath-taking mountain scenery, hilly pastures, meandering streams, lakes and woods, we found a lot of peace and tranquility. The landscape is mountainous with parallel ridges running through the various peninsulas to the sea - mainly in a north-east/south-west direction. The rest of the terrain is occupied by valleys, hidden glens, hills, fast running rivers, woods and forests. The city itself is small with one main street offering several dozen restaurants, pubs, clothing stores, and a large public library.
The Bantry region is divided into three main areas corresponding with the peninsulas: The Beara Peninsula, The Sheep's Head or in Irish (Muintir Bhaire) Peninsula and The Mizen Peninsula. These extend south-west in the Atlantic up to 30 miles. Population in the area is roughly 3,000.
Touring routes are numerous and include the breath-taking scenery of the coastal routes around each of the peninsulas, spectacular winding roads through the mountains, cliff-face roadways, and the unrivalled vistas of mountain lakes, waterfalls, fast running rivers, prehistoric monuments, ancient castles and Christian settlements, forts and stately homes with their majestic gardens.
Bantry House was by far our favorite, as many pictures below will illustrate! Not easy to get to, but should you have an opportunity to visit, don’t miss it.
On our way now to Waterford, Ireland.
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