We were heading home from Hare Island after a Fit Up Theatre Performance, when this happened
Many of our top Facebook photographs this year were from the Mizen, but not all. You also liked and shared photographs that captured the essence of other parts of West Cork.
Baltimore Bay and Ringarogy Island
I think the Baltimore Bay one was so popular because the colours are SO west Cork. When you get blue sky and clouds, the sea turns this amazing Caribbean blue and the contrast with the green fields and wilder high ground is gorgeous.
Lighthouse Loop, Sheep’s Head
This photograph of our friend Susan Byron of Ireland’s Hidden Gems is one of my favourites this year because of the impression it creates of sheer wildness.
Occasionally we get lucky with the local wildlife. Ferdia, the fox, used to be a regular around our place but has forsaken us recently for neighbours with higher quality leftovers.
Bantry House
It’s possible to get good shots of Bantry House in winter, when the trees don’t obscure it from view.
Kilcoe Castle
Kilcoe Castle is such an icon on the landscape. This photograph shows the neighbourly way it interacts with the other houses around it.
Bardic School Loop Walk, Sheep’s Head
This tiny abandoned cottage may have been part of the 17th Century Bardic School near Lake Faranamanagh on the Sheep’s Head. We’re looking across at the Mizen in this shot.
The Beara, from the Sheep’s Head
And here’s the view from the other side of the Sheep’s Head, across to the Beara Peninsula, with the instantly-recognisable bulk of Hungry Hill to the far right.
Priest’s Leap Valley
The long climb up to Priest’s Leap starts near Ballylickey and ends at a high mountain pass that separates Cork and Kerry. The views are spectacular from the top, but this shot of a colourful house and farms in the valley on the way up seemed to express something typical of West Cork.
Farm, Sheep’s Head
This farm appears to be carved out of the mountain land behind it.
Barloge Bay, at the entrance to Lough Hyne
This was taken in November. I love the contrast of the turquoise water with the autumn colours of the bracken-covered hillside.
A final sunset to end this post. This was taken last February from the lay-by overlooking Roaringwater Bay on the N71. The light was extraordinary – a once in a blue moon kind of shot. The mussel beds make the water look like floating ice packs.
A big thanks to Celia Bartlett for helping us improve our photographic skills this year. We loved our workshop with her.
Happy New Year to all our faithful readers!
Roaringwater Journal 