Due to its central location Guests staying at the Harbour View Hotel in Schull, West Cork will find it to be a gateway to a multitude of activites in the Mizen Peninsula. There is something for everyone- the outdoor enthusiast, the arts lover, the food critic and the beauty lovers, you can be sure to find something you love in our peninsula and all within reach of the Harbour View!
Schull itself is dotted with small bars, most serving pub grub and generally featuring live music during the summer months especially. Every sunday there is the local Farmers Market from 10am – 2pm, Easter to October. The first one starts on Sunday April 4th this year. Here you can find a great selection of local food and crafts which are approved under the Bord Bia ‘Good Practice’ scheme. There is definately a bargain to be had here and some delicious homemade products to take back home with you and remember Schull by!
There are also numerous small shops such as the Chapter One bookshop, Barnetts clothes shop, Pebbles, Enibas Jewellers, McCarthys Chemist and plenty more where you can find souveniers or presents for your loved ones.
For those guests who stay with us in July, they will have the opportunity to enjoy the ‘Art in Schull’ festival. West Cork is full of artists in all shapes and sizes and during the month of July Schull is teaming with various types of artists. All genres of art are encouraged and most of the local businesses will showcase exhibitions of the paintings and during the ‘Art around Town’ evening you can have the chance to meet some of the artists and chat with them about their work. There will also be plenty of Drama to be had for the drama lovers with the Schull Drama group performing in the local hall and for those with children, fear not as there will also be loads of entertainment to be had for the little ones with a selection of workshops being held and plenty of activities to be done.
In and around the mizen Peninsula there are numerous sandy beaches well worth a visit on a sunny or a stormy day. They are equally breath taking on a summers day or in a winter storm. The biggest and best known one would be Barleycove beach. Barleycove is a large sandy beach backed by sand dunes which were thrown up in the tidal wave which swept Europe after the Lisbon earthquake in 1755. Today the dunes have been partially eroded but are protected as Special Areas of Conservation. The beach has also been awarded a Blue Flag and has lifeguard patrol during July and August. It is definately a must visit offering spectacular views, dramatic coastline, exotic flora and fauna and bags of fun. Other beaches worth mentioning are Stony beach which is a sister beach to Barleycove and Ballyrisode Beach which is ideal for smaller children as there are virtually no waves and is very sheltered. Ballyrisode beach is in Toormore a short distance from Schull.
For those interested in historical sites there are plenty of sites to be seen in the Mizen Peninsula. A visit to the Altar Dolmen is a must. This is a fine example of a Neolithic tomb and also the views of the ocean are breathtaking form the Altar Dolmen and it is a fine picnic site. There is also a wedge tomb dating back to the Bronze Age in the grounds of a local house. The ring forts of the Early Christian period were the farmsteads of the time and the best examples are at Rathooragh and Lissacaha near Toormore. The Altar Church was built during the famine as relief work.
Another point of interest would be Schulls own Mount Gabriel. It towers over the village at 1339 feet. The two gobes one can see on the summit are part of a European wide air and sea traffic monitoring system.In the late 1970s, as part of the development of Euocontrol two radar domes were built on the top of the mountain and in 1982 the Irish National Liberation Army blew up the radar domes amidst claims they were being used by NATO in violation of Irish Neutrality.
Mount Gabriel had the oldest worked copper mines in north-west Europe dating back to the 17th century B.C. All over the South and Western slopes of the mountain is evidence of Bronze age mining activity. The principal ore mined for was copper. Some of the archaeological items found on the mountain are now found in the national Museum in Dublin.
Another must do when visiting Schull is a trip to Irelands only Planetarium. The Planetarium, which is part of the college campus, is the first of it’s kind anywhere in the republic of Ireland. It was officially opened on March 9th,1989, by his Excellency, the President of Ireland, Dr. Patrick Hillery. On the Planetarium’s 8 metre dome, the Carl Zeiss single sphere sky projector shows an accurate representation of the night sky from anywhere in the northern hemisphere. The Planetarium came to be built in Schull due to the largesse of the late Herr Josef Menke, a German industrialist with a keen interest in astronomy.
The task was accomplished through the joint efforts of the Cork Vocational Education Committee (VEC) and Schull Development Association, with financial support from Bord Fáilte, the National Lottery, the West Cork Development Association and Cork County Council. The Planetarium holds regular star show and fascinates everyone who sets foot in it!
The village next to Schull on your route to Irelands most South-westerely point is Goleen – little inlet – this is a small and lively coastal village overlooking Roaring Water Bay. It was built during the 19th century at a crossroads where a cattle fair was held. The main street is very wide and all the houses were originally shops. Although the harbour dries at low tide giving great feeding for a variety of wildlife, there is a deepwater quay at the entrance to accommodate fishing boats and yachts. A visit to one of the small pubs in Goleen is a good idea if you’re looking for an impromptu sing song or just chat with the locals.
And for those of you interested in a little bit of folklore – In the townland of Dunkelly, north of Goleen, stands a small inlet harbour known as Canty’s Cove. Canty was a pirate, a murderer and a robber who lived in a big house high up over this inlet sometime in the 17th century. It is said that Canty would lure ships into Dunmanus Bay, invite the sailors to dine with him at his mansion and when they had feasted and drunk enough, he would rob them, throw them over the cliff and confiscate anything that was valuable in their ships.
Goleen has a large Roman Catholic chapel and there is a smaller Church of Ireland church situated just outside the village but this has now been deconsecrated and is the site for a sail-maker. The town also boasts a community pitch on which locals play gaelic football and soccer. In the sports hall beside the pitch, is a table tennis club which has 26 members, some of which have played internationally.
Mizen Head, at the southern tip of the Mizen peninsula, about five miles from the village, is often claimed to be the most southerly point on the island of Ireland, but is in fact the country’s most southwesterly point. The distinction of being Ireland’s most southerly point belongs to nearby Brow Head from where Guglielmo Marconi experimented with transatlantic radio signals at the beginning of the 20th century.
Mizen Head can be accessed by visitors right down to the edge of the lighthouse once you brave the hanging bridge which is just undergoing refurbishments. It is an experience not to be missed, the shearing cliffs in themselves are a must but the centre around the lighthouse has such a variety of things to see that we would highly recommend it to everybody, old or young! Close to Mizen Head is also Three Castle Head and as mentioned before Brow Head which also boasts impressive Castle ruins. Also close to Brow Head is the village of Crookhaven where a pint and a reknowned chowder is to be had, especially nice on a sunny day as you can sit on the pier and look out to sea!
These are just few items of interest in the Mizen Peninsula, there is so much to do it’s nearly too much to list! There are activities for old and young, inside and outside come rain or sunshine you can be sure of a fun filled, adventure packed holiday when you stay with us at the Harbour View and take the time to explore the peninsula.
