Island 349 - Inishbeg, County Cork

Inish Beg (or Inis Beag in Irish) is linked to the coast of West Cork about 6 miles west of Skibbereen and 3 miles north of the village of Baltimore.  The name means "little island" in Irish. The eastern half of the island is a private estate but there is a public road on to it.   The island is linked to the mainland of County Cork by a causeway and hump backed bridge.  The island, which is located in the tidal estuary of the River Ilen is technically tidal but I wouldn't want to try walking to it across the mud, as it looked very soft.  In 2011 the resident population of the island was 25 but in 1841 it was home to 335 people.

The Inish Beg Estate offers luxury self-catering accommodation, activity breaks, café and the gardens are open to the public.  Had the weather been better on the last day of my holiday I would have visited the gardens but it poured with rain, so I went to the excellent Skibberreen Heritage Centre instead.  There is a Bronze Age boulder burial on the island and a fairy mound in front of the main house on the island, which was completed in 1899.  Kay Summersby, who was Dwight D Eisenhower's chauffeur during the Second World War was born at Inish Beg House in 1908.

Entrance to Inish Beg Gardens

 

 The Lodge - Self-catering Accommodation

 

Sheep 

 

 Causeway to Inish Beg

 

Bridge in the middle of the causeway

 

Sign to Inish Beg Gardens on Inish Beg

The wavy line symbol beneath the writing denotes that the Inish Beg Estate is part of the Wild Atlantic Way.  This is a 2,500 mile touring route from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork.