Despite being next to a main road, we slept well in the marina – probably something to do with the rich food and copious amounts of beer! Tuesday, May 5 began chilly but with blue skies.

We wanted to see Bantry House and Gardens as it was one of the must see places in the area. It opened at 10.00 and we walked from the marina to save moving the van. The house has been in the White family since 1729 and the family still live there. There’s an air of faded elegance to the place. Slightly rundown but full of treasures from the family’s travels. The estate was once 80,000 acres through judicious marriages and canny purchases. Now it’s a mere 150 acres. The front garden had magnificent views over Bantry Bay.

Back to the van, quick fuel and food shop and by midday we were on our way to Glengarriff as we wanted to get over to Garinish Island or Ilnacullin to see the gardens there. The ferry was supposed to go at “around 13.00” but ended up being about 13.15. Had we known we would have made ourselves some lunch! The ferry was small and quirky but passed by Seal Island, which was a few rocks with basking seals on. They did look cute. The gardens were truly magnificent, especially the Italianate garden with its sweeping views across the bay. There was even a Martello Tower built during the Napoleonic Wars. We really enjoyed the hour we spent there.

Back to Glengarriff to walk along their nature trail to the Blue Pool (not worth a photo) and then onto our night stop with views over to Whiddy Island at Zetland Pier (P4N#61911), also known as Derreenacarrin. Gorgeous, remote spot but sadly, full of midges so instead of watching the sun set from outside, we hunkered in the van as soon as the little blighters made an appearance.

Miles since last blog: 20

Miles this trip: 723