Sheep's Head Loop Cork: Ireland's Emptiest Scenic Drive
Ireland's southwestern coast has a series of jagged peninsulas sticking out, like they are all vying to be the most westerly point in Europe.
Each peninsula has a scenic drive that is on every visitor's must-do list for Ireland. The Ring of Kerry, Dingle Peninsula, Slea Head Drive, Ring of Beara.
They are world famous for a reason, but they come with the downside of crowds that do detract from the scenery.
But here's one you never heard of. Even Irish people don't know it. Sheep's Head Peninsula just outside of Bantry in County Cork.
It is just as beautiful but it's completely empty.
And it is stunning. Simply stunning and made all the more so by the silence.
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The Loop
The Sheep's Head Loop is 60kms long. It can be done in an afternoon, but you'll probably do like we did and spend the whole day on. It's part of the Wild Atlantic Way so very easy to follow with its distinctive blue N & S signs.
Bantry
The loop starts just outside of Bantry. A lovely market town that you should plan to visit on a Friday. It has the biggest market in the region. It's a great place to base yourself to explore West Cork. The Maritime Hotel is the pick in Bantry.
Northern Side of the Sheep's Head Loop
The Seffin ridge splits the peninsula in half. This northern side of Sheep's Head is rocky and steep.
There's no commercialism at all on the northern side except for an honest box selling fresh eggs. We bought some and didn't even have to bother pulling into the side of the road.We were more likely to have a sheep baa at us to move the car than another motorist. We hadn't seen another car in 15 minutes at this stage.
Seefin Viewing Point
The road gradually brings you higher until you reach the Seefin viewing point. You are looking across Bantry Bay here to the Beara Peninsula (my 2nd favorite drive).
We bumped into our first fellow visitors here. A French family setting up a Michelin level lunch. I had a bite of my Snickers and then went hiking from here. It was not planned at all, but there was a path and I followed it for 30 minutes. I will come back and hike this loop myself soon.
I actually stopped taking photos because I knew they just wouldn't do it justice.
Kilcrohane
Just when we were wondering what residents do for shops & food here, we drove into Kilcrohane, the main village of the peninsula.
Eileen's Bar was like something from a postcard. I could just imagine an evening here sipping a pint by the fire. Yet another things on my never ending bucket list.
We had lunch at The Creamery and we were very impressed the quality of food. The friendly youngsters working there were excellent ambassadors for the area and told us to go to the lighthouse.
Bernie's Cupán Tae
We were now on the southern side of the peninsula and it was much greener than the other side. Outrageous scenery, this time looking over to the Mizen Head peninsula.
The road became narrower with signs for no large vehicles. Then turned into a rollercoaster as we dropped into a low gear to get up an incline, then stayed in low gear to control as we went down. I wouldn't do this drive on your first day in Ireland!
But the rewards at the end made it all worth while. We parked up at what must be Ireland's most remote cafe, Bernie's Cupán Tae. It was actually quite busy, there's were 5 cars parked here. More than we'd seen all day. It was a nice cafe to stock up on some sugar ahead of the lighthouse walk.
Sheep's Head Lighthouse
From Bernie's, you walk 30 minutes to the lighthouse. Be prepared to just drop your jaw at every bend off the walk. I was laughing, out loud, at how ludicrous this setting was and then, after one more bend, there was a lake! My ears were popping it was so high and here was this unworldly lake, Lough Akeen.
I sat down for 15 minutes and just took it all in. How was this place not packed with visitors? This is a place you'd fly across the world to see.
I got back up and kept walking to the lighthouse. I don't know a different way to describe the scenery without repeating, stunning, stunning, stunning. I hate heights but love the views so I walked to the edge and looked down at cliffs that make the Cliffs of Moher look average.
In the distance I could see Mizen. Behind me, I could see the Beara. What a place.
I finally made it to the lighthouse and nice as it was, this man made structure felt like an intrusion in this piece of rocks that millions of years of wind and waves had carved out.
Ahakista
Back in the car, we drove back to the mainland via Ahakista. On a day of unexpectedness, the Ahakista Bar amazed us. It looked tiny. But there were a lot of cars outside. In rural Ireland, when you see this, you stop and investigate.
What I thought was a tin shack, turned out to have a lovely waterfront beer garden. There were people enjoying the sun, pints & life. There were more people here than we'd seen all day.
We had a deserved drink here at the end of a fabulous day on Sheep's Head.
Final Thoughts
If you come to Ireland in the Summer and don't want to deal with the crowds, then this is where to come. Skip Kerry, wonderful as it is and come to West Cork and its three drives, the Beara, Sheep's Head and the Mizen.
You can read about my own holiday in West Cork this year where I spent 5 days exploring this corner of Ireland that too many visitors skip.
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