West Cork and Kerry from Cork

Editor's note

First, one night for Kinsale and Clonakilty. A Spanish army landed at Kinsale in 1601; find out why the battle outside the town ended the Nine Years' War, then walk the ramparts of Charles Fort at Summercove. Drive or cycle to the Old Head and look out to where the U-20 torpedoed the Lusitania in 1915. Clonakilty's black pudding began in Edward Twomey's butcher's shop on Pearse Street, so buy some to cook later. Michael Collins lived and went to school in the town, and his house is now a museum. In Asna Square, a statue marks the Battle of the Big Cross in 1798.

Editor's note

Two nights at Baltimore. Dún na Séad, the fort of the jewels, is the O'Driscoll castle over the harbour, restored and open, and the Baltimore Beacon, Lot's Wife, marks the harbour entrance. The village lost at least 107 people to Barbary pirates in 1631. Take the year-round ferry to Sherkin Island, and eat oysters or mussels from Roaringwater Bay. Lough Hyne, Ireland's first Marine Nature Reserve, is barely 800 metres by 600; climb the Knockomagh Wood trail for the view down into it, and look for purple sea urchins in the shallows. At Drombeg, near Glandore, the flat recumbent stone lines up on the winter solstice sunset.

Editor's note

A single night for Bantry and Glengarriff. Durrus cheese is made at Coomkeen in three styles: the classic, the milder Durrus Óg and an oak-smoked one. Taste all three and buy some for supper. Bantry House has been the White family's home since the middle of the 18th century and is still lived in; walk the gardens the second Earl laid out. At Glengarriff, a boat crosses to Garnish Island, where Harold Peto designed the gardens and George Bernard Shaw stayed. Climb to the Martello tower, then walk the old oak and birch of Glengarriff Forest behind the village.

Editor's note

Two nights in Killarney. From Ross Castle on Lough Leane, swim out towards Ross Island or take a boat to Innisfallen. Walk or ride a jaunting car through the Gap of Dunloe, a glacial breach between MacGillycuddy's Reeks and the Purple Mountain Group, past a chain of small lakes to Lord Brandon's Cottage. Torc Mountain's 535-metre summit is reached by a stepped trail from the Torc Waterfall car park. Killarney holds the largest area of native forest left in Ireland; on the Muckross trails the oaks are furred with mosses, liverworts and ferns. It looks its best in the rain, and red deer live in the park.

Editor's note

Three nights in Dingle. Slea Head Drive runs the exposed western edge past beehive huts, and the Conor Pass on the R560 climbs to 456 metres on a single-track shelf with a rock wall on one side and a drop on the other; the descent needs more care than the climb. Boats cross to the Great Blasket when the weather allows, to the village abandoned in 1953. The Blasket Centre at Dún Chaoin tells the story of the island's writers, Peig Sayers among them. At Annascaul, have a drink in the South Pole Inn, which Tom Crean ran after 1920, and walk the five-kilometre spit of Inch Strand.

Editor's note

One last night, at Blarney and Cork, before the crossing home. The MacCarthys' keep dates from 1446: climb to the battlements and, to kiss the Blarney Stone, lie back and hang upside down over the drop. In the gardens, find the Druid's Circle, the Witch's Cave and the Wishing Steps, then walk down to the lake and Blarney House. In the city, there has been a market on the English Market site since 1788. Go in by the 1862 Princes Street entrance, find the cast-iron fountain, and buy tripe and drisheen, or fish from the stalls that supply Cork's restaurants.