The woods
Glengarriff Nature Reserve protects one of the best surviving stands of oceanic sessile oak woodland in Ireland: 300 hectares of it a kilometre north of Glengarriff village on the N71, wedged between the Caha Mountains and Bantry Bay. The damp Atlantic air is the whole point. It keeps the trunks and boulders furred with moss, fern and lichen, and it supports a group of so-called Lusitanian plants and animals that live almost nowhere else in Ireland outside the south-west and northern Iberia.
If you only have an hour, do Lady Bantry’s Lookout. It’s a short, steep climb, but it opens onto the best view in the reserve: down over Glengarriff Harbour, Garinish Island and the scatter of smaller islands across the bay. The waterfall, by contrast, is a modest step of a cascade, worth the short walk mainly after a few days of rain.
The trails
Five waymarked routes run from the car park, all signed, with a leaflet box at the entrance. None is long.
| Trail | Length | Difficulty | Approx. time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterfall Walk | 0.5 km each way | Easy | 15 min each way |
| Lady Bantry’s Lookout | 1 km | Moderate | 30 min |
| Big Meadow Walk | 3 km | Easy | 1.5 h |
| Esknamucky Walk | approx 2.8 km | Moderate | approx 1.5 h |
The Waterfall Walk follows a soft forest track to the cascade, with picnic tables just off the path. Big Meadow Walk leads to an open clearing of wildflowers, anthills and veteran oaks, skirting the River Walk and crossing two footbridges. Esknamucky Walk climbs gently through dense oak to several viewpoints, taking in a stone bridge, a short stretch of public road and a few steps. It’s the one where you’re most likely to have the woods to yourself.
What lives here
Look on the tree trunks and rocks for the Kerry slug, the reserve’s Lusitanian speciality, at home in cool bark crevices. Sika deer graze the woodland edges, red squirrels work the canopy, and siskins are common in the trees; along the River Walk you may catch an otter or a kingfisher at the water. The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) is another Lusitanian survivor, and it earns its keep in winter, when its glossy leaves and red berries are about the only colour going.
A little history
It was from the shelter of these woods that Donal Cam O’Sullivan Beare set out on his long march to Leitrim early in 1602, after the Gaelic defeat at Kinsale. In 1751 the woods became part of the Bantry Estate under the White family, later the Earls of Bantry, whose stewardship largely protected them from the timber-felling that stripped so much of Ireland’s oak. The state took the land on for forestry in the mid-20th century and planted conifers; by 1991 the ecological value of the surviving native oak won out and the area was designated a Nature Reserve under the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which has been clearing the conifers and letting the oak regenerate ever since.
Before you go
- Getting there and parking: The entrance is on the N71 (Kenmare Road), about 1 km from the village, with a free car park by the leaflet box. It fills on summer weekends, so come before 10am.
- No toilets, no café: There are none on site. The village and neighbouring Ballylickey have pubs, cafés and shops a short drive off.
- Footwear: Atlantic weather turns fast. Waterproofs and sturdy shoes earn their place on the Esknamucky and Lady Bantry’s routes, where there are steps and uneven ground.
- Dogs are welcome on all trails under close control.
Grab the paper leaflet at the car park before you head in, keep to the marked paths, and give the oaks an unhurried couple of hours.