20 Attractions to Explore Near Timoleague Friary

West Cork Model Railway Village, a leading tourist attraction in the West Cork region, is tucked in along the Clonakilty stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way, over looking Clonakilty Bay. See fully operational trains and the towns that the railway served. This is a delightful way to whet the appetite for your visit to West Cork.

This vast, sandy beach is one of the most beautiful to be found along this stretch of the coastline. The beach has two separate sections, divided by the rocky Virgin Mary Headland. The swell here can be excellent and there are good opportunities for surfing. The beach is also popular with families who come here to play in the sand, picnic and hunt for shells or marine life in the rockpools around the headland.

Inchydoney is a small island off West Cork, Ireland, connected to the mainland by two causeways. The nearest town is Clonakilty. It has a Blue Flag beach. It is a popular tourist destination. There are two beaches, one either side of the Virgin Mary headland. In Summer there is a lifeguard station on the headland for three months.

This beautiful three-acre garden is full of surprises with amazing designs and fun for all the family with over ten unique gardens designs, including; Japanese, Chinese and Sunken White Gardens and a fairy woods. A wander over the birch mound leads to the walled kitchen garden. The kids will have great fun visiting the Hobbit House built right through the birch mound, searching for the fairy houses in the fairy woods, and playing with the Pygmy Goats and Birds.

This is a cottage and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland. It was the birthplace of Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins. The house is rectangular and single-storey, built of local stone. Michael John Collins, father of Michael, was an adept carpenter and made the furniture, doors and windowframes himself.

Red Strand is Green Flag Beach located in a horseshoe bay near Rosscarbery in County Cork. It is quite popular for surfing and has reasonably consistent surf all year round. Nestling between two lush green headlands, one of which contains the iconic Galley Head lighthouse, the water here is exceptionally clean and suitable for swimming in good weather.

The Old Head of Kinsale is a narrow headland that stretches about 4.5 km into the Celtic Sea. The rugged terrain and dramatic views of the striking Old Head lighthouse and golf course offer the perfect opportunity to capture that crucial photo of a Wild Atlantic Way Signature Discovery Point, no matter what the weather.

Old Head is one of Ireland's most spectacular links courses located on the Old Head of Kinsale that juts out over two miles into the Atlantic Ocean. As one of the most photographed golf courses in the world, Old Head provides an unforgettable links golf experience that is revered the world over and adorns many of the Top 100 Golf Course lists not just in Ireland but Europe and further afield.

Desmond Castle is on Cork Street in Kinsale County Cork and was built as a custom house by the Earl of Desmond around 1500. It has had a colourful history, ranging from Spanish occupation in 1601 to use as a prison for captured American sailors during the American War of Independence. The castle was also used as a borough jail from 1791 to the onset of the Great Famine when it was used as an auxiliary workhouse tending to the starving populace.

Galley Head is a gleaming white lighthouse that sits at the southernmost point of a picturesque headland known as Dundeady Island and is close to the charming market town of Clonakilty. It is also one of twelve lighthouses which make up Great Lighthouses of Ireland, a new all-island tourism initiative. Visitors from home and abroad now have the chance to visit or stay in a lighthouse and to find out about our history and heritage.

James Fort is an early 17th-century pentagonal bastion fort located on Castlepark peninsula in Kinsale harbour, County Cork, Ireland. Situated downstream from Kinsale on the River Bandon, the fort was built to defend the harbour and seaborne approaches of the town. Following the construction of Charles Fort on the opposite side of the harbour in the late 17th century, James Fort became known as the "old fort" .

Owenahincha is a beach located in Rosscarbery in County Cork. It is a Blue Flag beach. It is an exposed beach and the sea can be quite rough at times. Public car parking and public toilet facilities are provided at the beach.

Charles Fort is a massive star-shaped structure of the late seventeenth century, well preserved despite its history. The fort is now operated as a heritage tourism site by the Heritage Ireland arm of the Office of Public Works. As one of the country’s largest military installations, Charles Fort has been part of some of the most momentous events of Irish history.

Drombeg Stone Circle is a circle of 17 standing stones which on excavation showed that there had been an urn burial in the centre. Although not an especially significant example, Drombeg is one of the most visited megalithic sites in Ireland, and is protected under the National Monuments Act.

Carrigadrohid Castle is situated on a rock outcrop in a wonderfully picturesque setting on the River Lee. Built in the 15th century by the MacCarthys of Muskerry. It is partially ruined building, whose charm is well worth a visit. It has been in ruins since the late 18th century. In later years, a local group has been formed with the aim of preserving the castle.

Ballincollig Royal Gunpowder Mills was one of three Royal gunpowder mills that manufactured gunpowder for the British Government. Located in Ballincollig near Cork city in Ireland, the powder mills were originally opened in 1794 as a private enterprise, before being taken over by the British Government during the Napoleonic Wars. Though ruined, many of the remaining structures of the mill site are afforded National Monument status.

The Gearagh is a submerged glacial woodland and nature reserve two kilometres southwest of Macroom, County Cork, Ireland. It is located at the point where the River Lee descends from the mountains and widens at an alluvial plain, and stretches for roughly five kilometres, bounded by the townlands of Toonsbridge, Illaunmore and Anahala.

This is one of the largest and finest stone forts in Ireland and was probably built in the early centuries AD before Christianity came. Approximately 29 metres in diameter the fort has thick walls some 3 metres wide and standing almost 2 metres high. Access to the fort is through a narrow entrance on the north eastern side of the walls. The site is owned by the Irish Government which has declared it a national monument.

Fountainstown beach is located on the South Cork coast, west of the entrance to Cork Harbour and on the northern side of Ringabella Bay. The Front Beach is located at the entrance to the village, facing east towards Ringabella, and is the more frequently used. The beach can be pebbly or sandy, depending on the tides. The Back Beach, which also faces east, is located on a promontory in Ringabella Bay and is generally sandy, though the water is shallow.