A lifetime of Islands: Island 360 - Hop Island, Rochestown, County Cork

Hop Island is located on the south side of Lough Mahon half a mile to the west of the village of Rochestown and 5 miles south east of the centre of the City of Cork. It is linked to the mainland by a causeway and is about 400 metres from north to south by 200 metres from east to west. There are 3 or 4 houses on the island and the Hop Island Horse Riding and Equestrian Centre. The equestrian centre has both indoor and outdoor arenas and a schooling cross-country course.

I visited at low tide when a lot of rather unattractive mud and flotsam and jetsam was exposed. It isn't the world's most exciting island. I walked up the road as far as the entrance to the equestrian centre. There were a couple of loose ponies wandering around but thankfully they showed no interest in me.

Here endeth my 2016 island collecting campaign - it started with a goat and ended with a hop! I managed to visit 58 "new" islands.