Cork, Ireland's largest county, is the perfect place to ease yourself gently into the exhilarations of Ireland's west coast. Cork city, the south's self-proclaimed cultural capital manages to be at one and the same time a relaxed and a spirited place.

There are no spectacular sights, but Cork is one of Ireland's most pleasurable and accessible cities. Always a port, and with an island at its core, Cork nestles well inland on the estuary of the River Lee, which sustains the city with that same clear, soothing atmosphere that characterizes most of the county, and in particular its coast and rivers. In the east of the county maritime history is still more richly distilled, in the small ports of Cobh, Youghal and - most of all - Kinsale , all suggestive of a prosperity that Ireland could have had throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were it not for the strangulation of its overseas trade by Britain. On the other side of this coin are the riches of the Anglo-Irish legacy, most in evidence at Bantry House with its outrageously sumptuous art treasures.

In the main the charms of the Cork countryside are those of a gently rural backwater, but as you head west along a fabulously indented coastline of hidden bays and coves to the wild peninsulas of the extreme southwest, or through the ravine of Gougane Barra high above Glengarriff and Bantry Bay , the soft contours of a comfortable and easy prettiness slip away to reveal beauty of a more elemental kind. There's not as much of this as you might find in, say, Kerry, but in the Caha Mountains careering north from Bantry Bay, the scintillating cliffs of Mizen Head or the seascapes of Sherkin and Clear islands , teeming with birdlife, Cork has scenery as exciting and dramatic as you'll find anywhere.

Public transport around the county is fairly extensive if infrequent. Bus Éireann covers the whole of Cork except for the extreme west of Mizen Head and the Beara Peninsula. Major towns have daily connections - though there's only one bus a week along Sheep's Head and one linking Kenmare with Castletownbere. Small towns and villages off the main roads are served less frequently, so if you are relying on public transport it's worth taking details of times and days of services you are likely to want while in a major bus station. Ask about return fares - often they are as cheap as single tickets if used on certain days. On certain routes private buses provide the only transport. The intricate landscape of west Cork, in particular, is best explored at a slow pace, making it ideal country for touring by bike or hitching . The N71 is the main coastal road, but it's much more rewarding to meander off along the minor roads through remoter areas, past sandy coves and small communities.

If you have a tent, you can camp almost anywhere along the coast if you ask permission first, though the Beara Peninsula and the Caha Mountains are very rocky. The few official campsites are listed in the text.

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