West Cork > Towns > Glengarriff

For generations, Glengarriff has appealed to visitors.  The following compliment is attributed to Thackeray:  "Within five miles around the pretty inn of Glengarriff there is a country of the magnificence of which no pen can give an idea".  He was not exaggerating.  Glengarriff is a beautiful sea-side village, whose climate gets the full benefit of the Gulf Stream as seals bask on the rocks in the summer sunshine

The island of Ilnaculling, or Garnish Island, with its famed gardens is close by.  There is a regular ferry service, at half-hourly intervals, from the village to the island.

Glengarriff is also the gateway to the Beara Peninsula.  Also, less than one kilometer to the west of the village along N71 towards Kenmare is Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve, a relic of the original oak forest that covered Ireland for some ten thousand years.  It has picnic-areas and a variety of forest walks. 

On a Literary note, George Bernard Shaw is reputed to have written "St Joan" while staying in Glengarriff.

 Glengarriff is also a fisherman's paradise as boats are available for sea-angling, while lake and shore fishing is possible in the area.