A beautiful view from our bedroom window enjoying the distant panoramic views. The forecast was ok, with lighter winds, and light rain around 3 pm.

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast prepared by our hosts Jim and Carol and got underway soon thereafter.

It was straight up to the top of the hills down to the conga line of curious cows.

The first town was Skibbereen, the capital of West Cork. It was fairly quiet being a Sunday morning.

Not far from Skibbereen is the Abbeystrowry burial ground, a totally sobering experience. It is the site of what is regarded as one of the most poignant and significant Famine memorials in Ireland.

This is the location of the infamous ‘pits’ or mass graves where possibly 8,000 to 10,000 Famine victims were buried in 7 years.

The dead were thrown in the pits coffin-less and nameless, by the hundreds, daily without mourning or ceremony. A few inches of dirt would be added waiting for the next batch.

We moved on, but you had to feel compassion for the dreadful times experience here in Ireland where they lost 25% of their population to the Famine and subsequent emigration.

A short climb had a lay by we stopped at. There was a plaque promoting walks on the Mizen Peninsula.

Ballydehob was the next town, and it has an impressive 12 arch viaduct that was used by West Cork Rail in the last century

Schull lies at the foothills of Mount Gabriel and Schull Harbour. Very popular with yachtsmen.

We stopped for a coffee at a small cafe that was super busy, and drank our coffee next to the doggy minus a leg, overlooking the harbour.

Getting out of town down the narrow busy Main Street was like riding a scooter, crawling pace if lucky, ready to jump off at short notice. A steep but short climb out had us moving again, fairly clear of traffic. Where does it all go?

We were on the main route to Mizen Head and to our right was Knockaphuca. I just wanted to type the word, even in Irish is Cnoc an Phuca!

It is a mountain summit in Cork and a popular walking trail. Our route took us to the eastern and western flanks today.

Lowertown had seemingly seen better days. There were multiple commemorative plaques recognising what was on this site before. As an example, the little post office niche is where the Macleain post office once stood. It was closed in the late 1920’s.

It also memorialises,the former owners son who was killed by British forces in 1919 as part of the so called Troubles during the War for Irish Independence.

On a brighter note is this dancing platform. The dancing platform was a traditional meeting place where courtships and social gatherings built local community relationships.

Lowertown had a dancing platform, Locals would come and listen to Irish music, trade stories, watch and often dance themselves.

The coast was to be a constant companion for much of the rest of the ride. The scenery was outstanding along the Mizen Peninsula.

We stopped off to view The Altar. It has existed for over 4,000 with scientific research finding ancient bone fragments buried deep within. It is believed that these were the ashes of loved family from the Bronze Age.

In the 18th century, priests used the site to conduct services when it was illegal to say Catholic mass.

Magnificent coastal views as we headed to Mizen Head.

We crossed down to the right hand side of this beach, climbing up past the string of buildings you can see on the left hill.

Then looking back towards where we had ridden and the previous photo stop point.

Mizen Head is Irelands most South Westerly point. The site is operated by a tourism cooperative and costs 7.5 euro to enter. It has long been reported as the most southerly point of Ireland, but another head nearby is about two metres further south (but inaccessible?).

In earlier years we had contemplated a supported ride from Mizen Head to Malin Head ( far Northern Ireland), but changed our minds after that company kept 3,000 pounds ($6,000 aud) of a deposit six months out from a trip. That was the motivator for us doing our own thing. Look at us now, having our own solo bike adventures 😊❣️

Tony paid the fee and walked around the site, whilst I watched our bikes and got bailed up by curious, but well intentioned USA tourists. The place was crawling with tourists. The parking area was full of tour buses, campers and cars.

Tony found on the walk conga lines of slow moving tourists on the steep steps in various areas. We try to avoid conga lines! Here are some of the photos from his walk as he cut it short to return and not join the long lines.

We decided not to lunch here to get away from the crowds, and had noted a pub and pop up food van as we climbed the 4 km climb towards Mizen Head.

We scooted back to the food van, sat at an outdoor table and enjoyed a Belgian waffle with Nutella and banana, and a fruit smoothie.

The next section of ride was our favourite. The western flank of the Mizen Peninsula for 20 km or so, along a road that buses cannot enter, and large cars and caravans would find difficult. We encountered only four vehicles in 20 km, and one of those was the Garda (police).

Some of the photos of this blissful and beautiful section.

As we scooted along we last this couple blackberry picking. They both shouted at us, and the only word I recognised was “Aussie”. I’m like WT.??? Who could know we are Aussie, so we stopped and went back.

To our surprise and disbelief, it was Jim and Carol who cooked our breakfast, owning the lovely overnight accomodation in Union Hall. They had picked buckets of blackberries already.

We moved on to finish this lovely section of ride.

All good things must come to an end, and that quieter section of road ultimately joined the main road to Bantry, our overnight stay. Traffic was busy but for most there was a small verge.

Bantry is located at the mouth of Bantry Bay, twice entered by French fleets in 1689 to support James II against William of Orange.

As we entered we noted the children playing in the water, adjacent to the cemetery.

The bay is peaceful.

We checked into our accomodation, showered and crossed the road to check out dinner options.

A famous anchor.

We enjoyed our meal. Not cheap, as we had a main course each and a non alcoholic drink each, and it was $99 aud.( Seafood linguini and a lasagna, lemonade and a sparkling water).

The Australian dollar is not strong on the Euro or Sterling. making our dollar low helps our exporters be more competitive, but makes Aussies having international holidays pay more for the privilege.

The end of another day. It was a brilliant day. The winds were not an issue, the scenery and route was magnificent. 108 km and 1100 metres of climbing. A solid day.

Thanks for reading 😊❣️