A Sunday Exploring West Cork: Drombeg Stone Circle, Mizen Head, and Gougane Barra

I had two choices today: take another day to rest and relax or go off on an adventure. I think we both know what I did.

And what an adventure it was!

John opted for staying behind, which meant I could listen to whatever I wanted to—this incredible audiobook—and pull over whenever the mood struck me. And it struck me A LOT! 

The weather was perfect—not a cloud in the sky! So off I went to explore West Cork. My plan was to end up at Mizen Head with some exploring along the way and on the way back to Cobh. I was last in West Cork in 2018 when I explored Dursey Island and Allihies. I absolutely loved it then and I loved it now. 

I set my sightson exploring Clonakilty (John and I went in 2023 but didn't do anything other than have a pint at De Barra's Folk Club). Unfortunately, it being a Sunday morning, there wasn't much open. So I just took a few photos of shop fronts that called to me—and reminded me of people I love—got a coffee and continued on my way.

The Irish countryside did not disappoint. Here's what it was like after leaving Clonakilty and on my way to Drombeg Stone Circle. 

Drombeg Circle was one of those places that I saw on Instagram and added to my saved locations in Google Maps. So when I was figuring out how to spend the day, I looked at what I had saved around Mizen Head and put together a few places I wanted to see. 

If I wasn't used to how Ireland operates, I would have thought for sure there was absolutely nothing for me to see down these random, tiny country roads. But I know better and trusted my directions. 

I came to a car park and knew I was in the right place based on how many other cars were there. It was a short walk to Drombeg Circle. A farmer was there taking care of business with his cows—where I saw one of the cows doing his or her business—and there were a few other tourists there. 

What is Drombeg Circle? It's like Stonehenge but in Ireland. I'm sure I'll offend some people by comparing the two, but you get the drift. A quick Google search says: Drombeg Stone Circle is a circle of 17 standing stones which on excavation showed that there had been an urn burial in the centre. Dating back to the Bronze Age, Drombeg Stone Circle is believed to have been built around 1100-800 BC, making it over 3,000 years old. The Drombeg Stone Circle, or as it is locally known as the Druid's Altar, is located on the edge of a rocky terrace overlooking the sea about a kilometre away, in Glandore, County Cork.

I especially loved the patchwork green fields and that you could see the ocean off in the distance too. 

With that crossed off my list, I then headed for Mizen Head, which was about an hour away. I, of course, stopped to take more photos along the way. So it probably took closer to an hour and a half for me to get there. This scene in particular truly brought tears to my eyes. I was overcome with the beauty right in front of me. 

But these scenes between Drombeg Circle and Mizen Head were pretty freaking beautiful too.

I'll never get over the color of the ocean here. It's stunning and surprising. 

I knew next to nothing about Mizen Head. It's known as the most southerly point of mainland Ireland (although Brow Head is the actual southernmost point). I'd seen photos on Instagram from the many Irish accounts I follow. I knew about the bridge and the lighthouse. But that was about it. There was so much to the place. Unexpected staircases! Unbelievable views in all directions. Crazy rocks and cliffs. It was beautiful.

Every day I go off exploring, I learn the same lesson—I cram too much in. It doesn't leave a lot of time for leisurely checking a place out. I hope I'm able to go back to Ireland again next summer for an extended period of time and will make a point to chill the f out a bit more. Because I wouldn't have minded spending more time exploring Mizen Head. But off I went since I didn't want to get back to Cobh much beyond 5:00 p.m. and, of course, had a couple more places I wanted to check out.

From Mizen Head I went to Bantry, where I had hoped to stop into a shop and a knitting store. On the way there, I pulled over a few times because, once again, everything was so freaking beautiful. The shop turned out to be nice, but I didn't find anything I wanted to buy, and the knitting store was closed. Plus, ya know, I was itching to get back (see previous paragraph about cramming too much in) and didn't end up seeing much of Bantry.

I especially loved this photo, which reminds me of cards I've purchased in Ireland:

Here's more of the scenery that stopped me in my tracks:

And then my final destination of this day trip was Gougane Barra. Another place that I've seen photographed on Instagram a million times. It's a scenic mountain valley, lake, and forest park and is famous for St. Finbarr's Oratory, which is a tiny stone church built at the turn of the 20th century on a small island in the lake. 

During the hour-plus drive back to Cobh, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Somewhere along the way it hit me that this was it—my last real day of exploring. The rest of our time here is work and long drives to get from one place to the next. Which is fine. But that's why I kept pulling over and taking photos. 

Once back in Cobh, I met up with John downtown where we enjoyed a few pints and some music and visited with friends, before finally calling it a night!