Day Trip

What To See in Baltimore & The Islands of West Cork

Darragh Doran

26 Dec 2024 — 5 min read

Today you'll move between our hubs of Kinsale to Bantry via Baltimore.

Baltimore is a pirate ravaged, festival filled gateway to the some of the most remote inhabited islands in Ireland. And along the way, you'll pass the small character filled villages of West Cork.

It's a relaxing day with more sailing than driving and the beauty of this route is you can take it as slow as you like, each turn off reveals another village worth exploring.

Kinsale To Baltimore

Leaving the Cork hub of Kinsale, the N71 will bring you through the village of Leap. They have the class Leap Scarecrow Festival in October but you'll get scary looks if you pronounce it Leep, it's Let.

You'll pass Skibbereen, which is home to Ireland's Olympian Gold medalist rowers, Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy. Their interviews are comedy gold too, pure Cork boy!

Make any stops or detours you like along the way, the beauty of the Wild Atlantic Way is that it's so easy to follow. Just look for the blue WAW signs.

The Sacking Of Baltimore

Make your way to Baltimore. Baltimore is a small sea town with a strange place in Irish history. The Sack of Baltimore took place in 1631 when the town was raided by pirates and the captured Irish were brought to Algeria in North Africa as slaves. The numbers captured were between 100 and 200, but they say only 3 ever returned to Ireland. So if you ever find yourself in Algiers and see a red headed kid running around, you know where they came from.

Coincidentally, you are in Baltimore today to get on a boat, but voluntarily not at cutlass point. There's three island & a lighthouse close to Baltimore that you can catch boats to. The hard part is picking which one to go to. Each is very unique and different.

Go ahead and spend a night here! All islands are at their best before and after the mainland ferry leaves. Yes, I know I'm breaking my 'don't move every night' rule here, but how often can you sleep on a tiny piece of rock on the edge of Europe.

Sherkin Island

Sherkin Island is home to about 100 people and more recently another 40 Ukrainian refugees. They call it the Island of Arts because there are so many artists among its residents. The light shines differently on Sherkin. On a sunny day, you could be in the Mediterranean.

In its 3 miles, the island has three beaches, the ruins of a 15th century abbey, the obligatory castle, and the Jolly Roger pub where you'll likely end up no matter what your original plans were

Video credit: @moutardedrone

Cape Clear Island

You could also take a boat to yet another beautiful island in the area. Cape Clear Island. What make Cape Clear unique is that it is a Gaeltacht area, so Irish is the spoken language among its residents.

Cape Clear Ferries will bring you to Cape Clear. This boat journey takes 45 minutes and flies by with the scenery you pass. No cars on this boat, it's passenger only (and the occasional cow). But waiting for you in Cape Clear is an electric bus which will bring you on a tour of the island.

You can walk one of the 4km or 6km loops on the island too. You'll pass the ruins of a 12th century church, an 18th century lighthouse and maybe even see some dolphins or whales who like to frolic in the ominously named Roaringwater Bay. Afterwards, reward yourself with an ice cream that comes from the island goats.

Cape Clear Island has an annual story telling festival that I regretfully have not been to yet, but will do one day.

Fastnet Lighthouse

Fastnet Rock is the absolute most southern point of Ireland. A tiny blip of a rock 6km off the coast of Cape Clear island. A lighthouse was built on it after a bad shipwreck in 1847. Today Cape Clear Ferries will bring you on a loop around the rock (you stay on the boat). You can do a full day trip including time on Cape Clear Island first, or do a twilight tour just to the lighthouse. Either option is very highly recommended.

Heir Island

Yes, I know, another island! But they're all different in their own ways so pick the ones that sound best for you.

Heir Island is just a 4 minute boat ride from Cunnamore Pier. The island is two miles long and one mile wide. Life is as slow as you might imagine on the island. Come for a walk, to meet islanders, to slow down, to meander and ponder.

You'll need to plan ahead but it's worth it for lunch at the Island Cottage on Heir Island. Owners John & Ellmary have gourmet training in the highend restaurants in Paris. Now you can dine at their place on Heir, where the day revolves around fishing boats, not fashion shows.

Walking Trails Around Baltimore

For the landlubber, you can see these islands if you walk the entire Baltimore Beacon loop trail. The views across to Sherkin Island and Cape Clear are spectacular, and you'll often have them entirely to yourself since most people just go to the beacon itself. Their loss, your quiet gain.

Festivals

Baltimore loves a good festival. Here are the main ones, but let's be honest, any night in a port town in a mini festival of its own.

Baltimore Wooden Boat & Seafood Festival (May)

See how they built the boats back in the day and eat some fish that was still swimming while you were sleeping last night.

Baltimore Pirate Festival (June)

The town commemorates the Sack of Baltimore and recreate what happened that day. I think I'd rather be captured than endure a pirate reenactments, but many people like it.

Baltimore Folk Festival (July)

This is more my cup of tea, lots of musicians and pints in the cozy bars of Baltimore.

Baltimore Sea Angling Festival (September)

I used to live in Charleston, SC where I quickly learned that fishing was more competitive than the NFL. Try and get a spot of one of the boats here during the festival.

Baltimore Regatta (Early August)

The sailors of Baltimore race each other around the harbour. There's lots of good vantage points to watch them bobble around the buoys. There's a great buzz around the town this week.

Baltimore Jazz Festival (October Bank Holiday Weekend)

They love their jazz in Cork, so Baltimore started its own fest. Book your accommodation early!

Baltimore To Bantry

Now it's just a 40 minute drive to Bantry, which is our hub for West Cork. Along the drive you'll see signs for all sorts of cool places that you'll want to visit, but no need to get distracted. We cover those too.

Get Lost

We'll point you in the right direction, but the real adventure is when you wander off on your own. Because in Ireland, there's no such thing as a wrong turn. Just don't ask the locals for directions unless you've got time for a chat.

9 More Cork Day Trips

There's 5 day trips in our central Cork guide. And we have 5 more Cork day trips in our West Cork guide. You'll be speaking like a Cork native if you do all ten!