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The secondary roads west of Cork city run up the Lee Valley, through scenic countryside and a number of small villages. MACROOM , the only place of any size on the N22 between Cork and Killarney, serves as a stopping-off point for tourists and music enthusiasts heading west. Several bars offer meals - the Castle Hotel on Main Street is a good option and serves up until about 8pm. The Boggeragh Mountains to the north of the Lee Valley appear as high, rolling moorland, unspectacular compared with other ranges in Cork and Kerry but particularly rich in archeological remains: stone circles, standing stones, wedge tombs and ring forts. A leaflet, Antiquities of the Boggeragh Mountains , is available from the tourist office in Cork city - of great value in locating these sites. The stretch of road beyond Macroom west to Bantry Bay is a far quieter one than the route out of Cork; it leads into the mountains and to one of the county's last remaining Gaeltacht regions. Fine scenery accompanies you all the way: the little village of INCHIGEELAGH sits beside a ribbon lake, which the road passes as it heads for the tiny village of BALLINGEARY . Beyond here the route west takes you through the dramatic glacial valley of Gougane Barra and down to Bantry Bay . Alternatively, taking the road south of Cork city to Bandon and then west to DUNMANWAY brings you to very promising country of deserted hills and lakes. Dunmanway is a plain country town, but just outside it the excellent IHH-run hostel , Shiplake House Mountain Hostel (tel & fax 023/45750), is in a beautiful setting and also has gypsy caravans for couples and families (GBP12.50/?15.87), camping and delicious vegetarian food. To find it take the Castle Road next to the Market Diner out of town, follow it for two and a half miles in the direction of Coolkelure (the road to Kealkill) and turn right at the hostel sign. Bus Eireann runs at least two daily buses from Cork to Dunmanway, and a bus from Dunmanway to Bantry and Glengarriff.
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