Glengarriff Woods and Lady Bantry's Lookout

From the car park, follow the track north to the road and turn left over the stone bridge on the Canrooska River. At the picnic table, take the left-hand path onto Esknamucky, the High Walk, which climbs through old oak wood to viewpoints towards the Caha Mountains, then drops past a eucalyptus grove to the road. Cross it and return by the River Walk: this round goes anticlockwise. Then head south over the footbridge on the Glengarriff River, along the line of an old Beara road. Cross the road and climb the steep, stepped path to Lady Bantry's Lookout, looking over the harbour to Garinish and Whiddy islands and Bantry Bay. Return the same way.

It is 4.7 km round with 136 m of ascent; allow about 1½ hours. The grade is Easy: woodland paths and tracks, with steep, stepped climbs on the High Walk and to the lookout.

Glengarriff Woods is a nature reserve owned and run by NPWS, open every day and free to walk. Keep dogs under close control. The steep paths and steps are slippery after rain, and the walk crosses public roads. Red squirrels live in the woods, and the river holds the rare freshwater pearl mussel.

The car park is free. Bus Éireann route 236 (Cork, Bantry, Castletownbere) stops in Glengarriff, about 1 km from the reserve entrance.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.