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The Mizen Peninsula,
at Ireland’s most south-westerly point, is worldwide renown for
the beauty of its rugged landscape and ancient heritage. A tour
of the Mizen Ring gives you the chance to immerse yourself in
the various strands that make the Mizen unique. From geology,
flora, birds and fauna to the influence of man and his history
on the landscape.
Travelling west from Schull you drive along the bog road built
originally in the eighteenth century to carry butter to Cork for
export to the new colonies.
TOORMORE
As you approach Toormore on your left you will see the Altar
Dolmen, a Neolithic tomb. On the right just after that is The
Altar Church built during the Famine as relief work. In the
grounds of the Altar Restaurant a recent find was a Wedge Tomb
from the Bronze Age. GOLEEN
You continue on through the town lands of Kealfadda, Ballyrisode
and Ballydevlin until you reach Goleen. This village was built
during the nineteenth century at a crossroads where a cattle
fair was held. You will see that the street is very wide and all
the houses were originally built as shops. There is a hidden
harbour at Heron’s Cove, down to the left in the village, which
gives the village its name ‘Goilín’, ‘little inlet’. Although
the harbour dries at low tide, giving great feeding for a
variety of wildlife including a fox and a pheasant, there is a
deepwater quay at the entrance to accommodate fishing boats and
yachts. CROOKHAVEN
Crookhaven Harbour is as picturesque as it was useful being a
large sheltered harbour. You pass the old Roadstone Quarry on
the side of the mountain, which provided metalling for the roads
of Wales until 1945. There are numerous Bronze Age field
monuments in the hills around Crookhaven. The Ordnance Survey
Discovery Series map 88 will indicate their whereabouts for you.
The village of Crookhaven has a distinguished history as the
last port of call for ships going to and from America. Over the
centuries ships stocked up with provisions here before tackling
the Atlantic Ocean. All the shipping lines had agents here to
tell the ships in which port their cargo had been sold. In the
late 1900s it was said that you could cross the harbour on the
decks of boats. 700 people lived and worked in the village
against the 29 permanent residents today.
Marconi came here to try to get his first radio message
across the Atlantic and he fitted the first telegraphic
equipment to the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse to communicate with the
passing ships. BROW HEAD
On your way back to Barleycove, you can take the road up to Brow
Head from Galleycove beach. Looking back east from the top of
Brow Head you can see Roaringwater Bay, Cape Clear and some of
Carbery’s Hundred Isles. The Signal Tower was part of a chain
built in 1804 in fear of a French invasion to give fast
communications all round the coast. The original signalling was
done with a system of flags and blackballs on masts. Brow Head
or Mallavogue was a vibrant mining area in the nineteenth
century and you can still see the remains of the mines and the
miners’ houses. BARLEYCOVE
Barleycove is a large sandy beach backed by sand dunes. The sand
dunes were thrown up in the tidal wave that swept Europe after
the earthquake in Lisbon in 1755. Today they have been partially
eroded but they are protected like much of the coast round this
area as European designated Special Areas of Conservation. The
road goes to the east of the beach across a causeway bisecting
Lissagriffin Lakes and at the T-junction you turn left to Mizen
Head.
MIZEN HEAD
Mizen Head Visitor Centre has been developed by a local tourism
co-operative at ireland’s most southwesterly point. They have a
lease on the Irish Light Signal Station which was built in 1905
to protect shipping from the cliffs in fog. It is a spectacular
location with its folded rocks and high cliffs. The Signal
Station is on an island joined to the mainland with a fine
example of an Arched bridge. If you have plenty of puff you can
go up the 99 Steps but there is a path for the less energetic!
At the top of the cliffs near the car park a new building has
been added. Here you may buy a ticket, visit the Shop or the
Café, experience the exciting exhibits about modern technology
and Safety at Sea, the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse, Marconi in
Crookhaven and the Automatic Weather Station. Well worth a
visit!
THREE CASTLE HEAD
Another gem of the Mizen Peninsula is Three Castle Head where
the Three Castles, which are three Tower Houses with, curtain
walling. Built in the 15th. Century on the site of a Bronze Age
Promontory Fort, the Castles stand sentinel beside a cliff top
lake. Access is restricted at the moment because of the unstable
state of the castles, but it is worth asking if it is possible
to visit.
DUNMANUS
Continuing the journey round the Mizen Ring, you take the road
back towards Goleen and turn left onto the Coast Road by
Lissagriffin Lakes. As you wind up the road the view to the
north suddenly opens up to show Dunmanus Bay, Sheep’s Head and
in the distance the Beara Peninsula and the mountains of Kerry.
Looking down to the sea you pass Dhurode Copper Mine with the
round stone built Explosives Magazine. All along the road you
will see signs of the mines. You reach Dunmanus Castle, an
O’Mahony stronghold from the 13th. Century, beside the little
harbour. A short drive from there takes you back onto the Durrus/Bantry
road.
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