With thanks for Bob Mongomery and the Irish Times: Too good to not copy.
A rugged drive among barren hills
GreatRoads: The Shehy Mountains (Part 1) In the first of the new Great Roads series, Bob Montgomery takes a drive from Kilgarvan to Coomhola Bridge
In my travels around Ireland seeking out roads for this series, I have long felt that the Shehy Mountains and their surroundings in West Cork and partly in Kerry offered several interesting possibilities.
Previous attempts to survey the area were ruined by torrential and persistent rain and it seemed at first as if I was to be thwarted once again on this occasion.
My first attempt found me near the top of Knocknamanagh in zero visibility with no possibility of taking suitable photographs. However, an early start from Cork on the next morning proved more promising, although as I travelled the N22 through Macroom and Ballyvourney the sky once again took on an increasingly ominous aspect.
At Poulgorm Bridge I turned south-east along the R569 to Kilgarvan. At Kilgarvan a left turn followed very soon afterwards by a right turn and then another left had me on my intended route.
At first the road appears anything but promising, passing through an area of scrubland, but then we came upon our first surprise: tucked away on this narrow road is a motor museum.
This is the Kilgarvan Motor Museum of John and Joan Mitchell and their sons, a personal collection assembled over many years and on display since 1985.
All of the cars are running and a visit is well worthwhile.
Resuming our journey, the road now begins to rise quite quickly and the bulk of Gullaba Hill rises directly ahead. On our left is the valley of the Slaheny river, across which Carran and Knockantooreen rise to 567m and 450m respectively.
Our road now clings to the edge of the slopes of first Bird Hill (412m) and then Knocknamanagh (637m) while Knockboy (680m) rises behind. A sort of tunnel leads us into the twistiest part of the road and reveals more and more spectacular views across the valley and into the southern distance.
Eventually the road swings to the east and climbs across a barren mountain landscape and swings around the horseshoe-shaped edges of the head of the Borlin Valley before slowly starting to descend along the edges of Conigar (564m) and the other mountains at the heart of the Shehy Mountain range.
The Coomhola River runs through the valley below and accompanies us for much of the long descent to our journey's end at Coomhola Bridge.
This road promised much when viewed on the map and didn't disappoint, providing an interesting road through some spectacular mountain country.
During my journey we met just one car, supporting the thought that this is one of the lesser known drives in this most tourist-orientated part of our country. Seek it out and prepare to be surprised.
Best of all, its end at the Coomhola Bridge leaves us less than a kilometre away from the start of another spectacular, yet quite different drive, over Priest's Leap which we'll tackle in the next of this series in two weeks time.
© 2007 The Irish Times
A rugged drive among barren hills
GreatRoads: The Shehy Mountains (Part 1) In the first of the new Great Roads series, Bob Montgomery takes a drive from Kilgarvan to Coomhola Bridge
In my travels around Ireland seeking out roads for this series, I have long felt that the Shehy Mountains and their surroundings in West Cork and partly in Kerry offered several interesting possibilities.
Previous attempts to survey the area were ruined by torrential and persistent rain and it seemed at first as if I was to be thwarted once again on this occasion.
My first attempt found me near the top of Knocknamanagh in zero visibility with no possibility of taking suitable photographs. However, an early start from Cork on the next morning proved more promising, although as I travelled the N22 through Macroom and Ballyvourney the sky once again took on an increasingly ominous aspect.
At Poulgorm Bridge I turned south-east along the R569 to Kilgarvan. At Kilgarvan a left turn followed very soon afterwards by a right turn and then another left had me on my intended route.
At first the road appears anything but promising, passing through an area of scrubland, but then we came upon our first surprise: tucked away on this narrow road is a motor museum.
This is the Kilgarvan Motor Museum of John and Joan Mitchell and their sons, a personal collection assembled over many years and on display since 1985.
All of the cars are running and a visit is well worthwhile.
Resuming our journey, the road now begins to rise quite quickly and the bulk of Gullaba Hill rises directly ahead. On our left is the valley of the Slaheny river, across which Carran and Knockantooreen rise to 567m and 450m respectively.
Our road now clings to the edge of the slopes of first Bird Hill (412m) and then Knocknamanagh (637m) while Knockboy (680m) rises behind. A sort of tunnel leads us into the twistiest part of the road and reveals more and more spectacular views across the valley and into the southern distance.
Eventually the road swings to the east and climbs across a barren mountain landscape and swings around the horseshoe-shaped edges of the head of the Borlin Valley before slowly starting to descend along the edges of Conigar (564m) and the other mountains at the heart of the Shehy Mountain range.
The Coomhola River runs through the valley below and accompanies us for much of the long descent to our journey's end at Coomhola Bridge.
This road promised much when viewed on the map and didn't disappoint, providing an interesting road through some spectacular mountain country.
During my journey we met just one car, supporting the thought that this is one of the lesser known drives in this most tourist-orientated part of our country. Seek it out and prepare to be surprised.
Best of all, its end at the Coomhola Bridge leaves us less than a kilometre away from the start of another spectacular, yet quite different drive, over Priest's Leap which we'll tackle in the next of this series in two weeks time.
© 2007 The Irish Times
anytime near end of April
