Courtmacsherry harbour village Location Courtmacsherry is a charming seaside village just 5 minutes off the R600 Kinsale --Clonakilty coast road. Quiet unspoiled, it has been a resort for more than a century. Twenty seven miles west of Cork city, the village and surroundings are an attractive holiday venue, or a first night or last-night stopover for visitors using Cork ferryport or airport. Also it is the perfect base from which to tour the south coast of Ireland. Gaily painted houses and fine georgian villas face the calm inlet of Courtmacsherry Bay. Fishing boats bob on the channel, a stone's throw from the front gardens. Framed between water and the woods behind, the village is one of the prettiest in West Cork. Amenities There is a beach, pier, post office, two village shops and a large, well stocked supermarket at Barryroe, just three minutes away –also a Catholic Church, a Church of Ireland with summer services. There is a pottery and an exceptional craft shop in the village together with three lively pubs full of character, with music in one or the other on most summer nights. Courtmacsherry boasts the oldest lifeboat station in Ireland since 1824, and the boat is an interesting feature in the inner harbour. Activities Courtmacsherry is well known as a sea angling centre,and places and equipment can be booked by the day on state-of-the-art boats, fishing shark and wreck fishing. Mackerel fishing may be enjoyed off the rocks in summer, and stocked lakes, plus famous sea trout and salmon rivers, with day license, are only a few miles away. Courtmacsherry bay attracts yachts and pleasure boats in summer and there is a pontoon mooring at the new pier. Courtmacsherry Sea Angling Centre offer day angling trips on their state-of-the-art cruisers. They also organise wreck charter excursions to to the site of the sunken Lusitania, off the Old Head Of Kinsale. The bay is a popular windsurfing venue while the white sandy coves at Wood Point and Dunworley are ideal for picnicking, and swimming. Horse riding is available at a number of nearby venues. There are sophisticated gym facilities at Timoleague (5 minutes) and hardcourt and lawn court tennis is nearby. Four golf courses are within easy distance, including the spectacular Old Head of Kinsale course. On spring and summer evenings, visitors can find local teams playing Irish sports, especially hurling, comogie, Gaelic football and road bowling. The area is wonderful for walkers, with routes following the wild, magnificent scenery of The Seven Heads - detailed route guide books with maps are available locally. Seals are common, while dolphins and even whales are sometimes sighted. In autumn, winter and spring, Courtmacsherry Bay holds up to 22,000 and migrant birds.