Pictured above: Finbarr O’Mahoney of West Cork Secret and Peter Donegan.
They say:
The West Cork Secret is a magical hideaway, loved by all who discover it. It couples the serenity of beautifully landscaped gardens with the shrieks of excitement from the obstacle course. The perfect place for a family outing…..
I say:
If you get a chance to go there, do so. And if you can make it happen, try to get a group together so that you can stay and camp there. The grounds are stunning, extremely well thought out and is to this day a work in progress – Finbarr is constantly trying to add something – set within 35 acres and surrounded by the finest views. Daytime was nothing but the sounds of young and old enjoying all it has to offer and if I could live forever in one piece of Ireland’s landscape, this pretty much has all that I could ever want.
The video and images below explain it much better…..
High praise indeed. Very well deserved. And by the time you get there, the recessed, in ground, hand-built giant hobbit (from 2 gigantic tree stumps that blew over in the storms), complete with lawned roof should be complete. And breath.
I should note I was there in part for still friends reasons, but as far as here and maybe you reading this, I was also there camping (last year I was camping in an orchard).
What was amazing however was that while there, we were hit with 40mm of overnight rain and some of the worst weather I have ever seen camping, in summertime in Ireland. And though one might think that might put some off…. there the next day a group of just over 100 arrived at 10am. The sound of collective laughter is pretty damn genius.
What one soon realises is that muddy water slides when it’s raining don’t really matter and when met with a real hot shower after, a cuppa next to the [also real] log fire and an outdoor hand-built oven pizza that life, simply does not get any better than this.
Or as Ferris would say:
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Of note to the image above top: I could have picked a million other more beautiful places within West Cork Secret to get my photograph taken in front but, I chose right next to the hand-made wood fired pizza oven. Mom would have giggled at that one. 😉
Contact West Cork Secret:
- web: www.westcorksecret.ie
- email: info@westcorksecret.ie
- phone: 00353878331206
To Finbarr and the entire family – thank you it was an honour.
The Sodshow meets Finbarr O’Mahony of West Cork Secret – Part 1
Recommended:
- Sextons Camp Site, Clonakilty – Family camping/ longer stays nearby.
- Wild Side Sports, Bandon. – possibly the best outdoors shop ever – MSR pocket rocket gas, North face shorts, new Icebreaker t-shirt; they do it all….
- Scally’s Supervalu, Clonakilty – Best supermarket I have ever been in – And I dislike a lot shopping. Genius for stocking up if you arrive in late.
- 53 Degrees North. Cork City Centre – Camping shop. I’ll never buy Bear Grylls branded stuff, ever. I did buy a Vango Omega 450XL tent.
- Jim Cashman’s pub, Kilbrittain. Lovely spot. I’d have missed the hurling without it. It also doesn’t rain inside.
- Richys Bar and Bistro – Pea and mint soup – soup is warm – and real coffeine. What a treat.
- Kilbrittain Village Park more than worth a visit.
- Other towns – Timoleague. And Courtmacsherry. Ye little gems. Love your red benches.
A short note on Clonakilty town:
The park square next to the Michael Collins statue is grand for a picnic. They boast possibly the finest post office I’ve ever seen. Parking in the town is pretty much all free. The tourist office is adjacent Richys Bistro; I only went in there as he was watering his hanging baskets. To those responsible for making that all happen in Clonakilty – I hope you read this and pat yourself on the back. It’s no surprise the town was buzzing on a Monday afternoon. My congrats. Very, well done.
