Sheep's Head Way Walking Holiday — 6 Days (Moderate)

Arrive in Bantry and settle into your first accommodation — the gentle market town at the head of Bantry Bay. Bantry has a Friday market, the Italianate Bantry House and Gardens (well worth a visit if you arrive early enough), Fish Kitchen and the Brick Oven for dinner, and the long sweep of the bay outside the door.

We will provide you with information on how to get here using public transport in your pre-departure pack — Cork is the closest rail and bus hub, with regular onward services to Bantry — or talk to us about private transfer options from Cork Airport.

Tonight, rest. Tomorrow you walk west onto the Sheep's Head.

Your Sheep's Head Way begins. West out of Bantry along quiet coastal lanes onto the peninsula proper, with Bantry Bay opening out to your right and the Caha Mountains rising across the water. The trail leaves the road for green lanes and old farm tracks, climbing gently as it threads between pasture, hedgerow and the occasional sheep dog appearing from a gate.

About 14 km of rolling north-coast country, finishing at Glanlough. Bridge View House have arranged a transfer to bring you the short distance south to your accommodation in Kilcrohane. Tonight is dinner at Bridge View House — the on-site restaurant, with packed lunch already booked for tomorrow.

After breakfast, a short transfer brings you back to Glanlough where the trail picks up. The path follows the north coast of the peninsula, now genuinely committed to the Sheep's Head with views opening west toward the lighthouse you'll visit tomorrow.

The route traces the slopes above Bantry Bay, threading between heather and gorse, with the occasional ruined stone cottage and the bones of an old copper-mining heritage. About 17.5 km later you finish near Kilcrohane village and walk the last short section to Bridge View House for your second night here.

O'Callaghan's pub for a celebratory pint is the obvious finish, or sit in the Bridge View House garden and watch the light change over the bay.

The star day. Out from Kilcrohane along the dramatic ridge to the very tip of the peninsula — the Napoleonic signal tower, the famous blowhole, and the small white lighthouse at the end of the world. 360-degree Atlantic views the whole way: Bantry Bay to your right, Dunmanus Bay to your left, the open ocean ahead.

The return route brings you back along the lower coastal path — different terrain, different views — to the same Kilcrohane B&B. Your bag is already there, no packing required. Tonight is a seafood dinner and an early bed.

The south coast return. East out of Kilcrohane along the quieter southern shore of the peninsula, with Dunmanus Bay on your right hand and the Mizen Head visible across the water. The trail passes stone circles, standing stones and a copper-mining heritage stretching back to the Bronze Age.

Lunch in Ahakista — a tiny harbour with Arundel's by the Pier for seafood — then on through pastoral country to Durrus. Tonight, Good Things Café for the celebration dinner.

A leisurely morning. A last full Irish breakfast.

Durrus is roughly 90 minutes by road from Cork Airport / Cork Kent station, or 15 minutes back to Bantry if you'd like to spend the morning at Bantry House before heading on. We can arrange a private transfer for the morning if you'd prefer.