Where We Be
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| 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.
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 |
