Where We Be
One Month in West Cork, Ireland
After our whirlwind drive through Ireland we
were more than a little ready to settle down and
be still for awhile. We stocked up on groceries
in Macroom then drove on to Coachford, a rural
village in West Cork in southern Ireland. Here
we checked into our one-month Airbnb rental
($1,381)). The charming interior was exactly
what we were looking for, and there was plenty
of good countryside to explore beyond.

We liked the rural setting. Up on a hill behind
the house was a dairy farm, so we saw and
heard hundreds of dairy cows mooing at the
milking hour. The owners’ five resident black
sheep came right up to visit us when we first
arrived. A short walk brought us to the lovely
Lee River with a pleasant waterside trail. We
could walk to a grocery store five minutes away,
and we were nicely positioned to explore
southern Ireland on several day trips during
the course of the month.
Our one-month Airbnb rental in Coachford was just as described: a delightful
studio apartment with exposed rock walls, ceiling beams, and wood floors
Our self-contained unit (straight ahead)
shared a lovely patio with the main house
We enjoyed our chance to experience
tiny home living in Ireland for a month
Every two weeks or so, dairy cows were rotated
into the pasture directly behind the house
No need for lawn mowers here -- the cows do all the work
Most days around 3 pm the cows would walk
up the path to get milked, mooing all the way
We also had five black sheep on the premises
I fed the sheep heels of bread one day, and from
then on they'd come running as soon as I showed up
A fifteen minute walk brought us to the lovely Lee River. This part of the river
was dammed for hydroelectricity so it's also known as Inniscarra Lake.
We were glad to discover this pleasant path
following along the river for several miles
This was the endpoint of
the walk along the river
Being situated in the scenic Lee River Valley
was a major perk of our location
Coachford (pop. 439) is a small Irish village way off the tourist path. The key
amenity for us was the Centra grocery store (just across the street in this photo).
Even a small Irish village like this one has room for two pubs!
One thing about southern Ireland: it really does rain a lot -- like five days out of seven. We had
hoped to attend this local festival but there was so much rain we bagged out of it. We did notice
that the locals didn't let a little rain stop them -- I guess if they did, they'd never get anything done!
As we drove to and from sights, the road often followed
along the Lee River, making for great local scenery
Our location gave us the chance to explore southern Ireland at leisure. Over the coming month we
took day trips to Blarney Castle, Cork, Cobh, Kinsale, Mizen Head, Skibbereen, Cashel, and Kilkenny.
A different stroll along this local road
gave us even quicker access to the water