Glengarriff Ireland
16
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Seabourn Cruise Line (9 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
Nowhere: the ship anchors in deep, sheltered water at the head of Bantry Bay, and the tender lands passengers a short step from the village.
Because the village enjoys a surprisingly mild microclimate: sheltered from the wind by a ring of hills and warmed by Gulf Stream currents, it grows tree ferns, rhododendrons and species from the southern hemisphere. It is the first surprise of the call.
An island a few minutes' sail from the pier, called Ilnacullin in Irish, home to some of the most celebrated gardens in Ireland: an Italian garden, a Greek temple, a Martello tower and walks where rare plants grow that have no business surviving at this latitude.
Businessman Annan Bryce, who bought the rocky islet in 1910 and commissioned landscape architect Harold Peto to build an Eden there. Tons of soil were shipped in, rare species planted, and the mild climate did the rest. The estate passed to the Irish state in the middle of the last century.
About two hours including the crossing: the garden takes an hour or two of unhurried wandering between pavilions and flowerbeds. Crossings run regularly from the harbour.
Yes. The boat trip to Garinish passes Seal Island, where seals lounge on the rocks, and a white-tailed eagle, reintroduced to the region, sometimes soars above the bay. The crossing is a show in its own right.
Ancient moss-carpeted oak woods, among the best preserved in the country, a short walk from the village. Marked trails wind between river, waterfalls and undergrowth, including the pleasant River Walk, manageable for most walkers.
A main street, a few wool shops and a handful of pubs where a turf fire sits alongside the regulars' conversation. You stop for seafood soup or a pint, long enough to catch the rhythm of the Irish southwest, where nobody ever seems in a hurry.
A road cut in hairpins through the mountains of the Beara peninsula, reached by excursion from the pier. It opens onto isolated valleys, dark lakes and views reaching to the Atlantic: stone walls, indifferent sheep and shifting light.
Garinish Island and the nature reserve, with a stop in the village: that is a complete programme with no rushing. The Beara and Healy Pass excursion is a different day, and it rules out the gardens.
