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The coastline west of Clonakilty is a beautiful stretch of little bays and creeks, sandy coves and tidal loughs. There are tiny lagoons here and there, isolated along the shore from the main body of the sea, providing placid contrast to the furling white ocean spray. Each place has its own special charms - Rosscarbery, Glandore, Leap and Union Hall . If you take the main N71 you're never far from these places, all lie just a couple of miles south of the main drag west - with easy access by foot as well as car. The broad bay at ROSSCARBERY has lost a great deal of its ethereal beauty since the building of the ugly, modern and hideously large Celtic Ross Hotel (tel 023/48722; over GBP130/?165.07; facilities include pool). Still, their Irish theme bar does serve good food. If you want to stay in more discreet surroundings, try the family-run Curraheen Lodge (tel 023/48498) hostel about one mile west of here - it offers quiet camping too; to find it, turn left opposite the pleasant Courthouse Bar , and then take the second lane on the left. Rosscarbery's pretty village square is tucked up a lane behind the main road, and here you'll find a handful of bars as well as O'Callaghan Walshe (weekends only during the winter; tel 023/48125), an intimate restaurant renowned for its fresh seafood. A particularly atmospheric place to stay in the area is Castle Salem (tel 023/48381; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79) two and a half miles away, a seventeenth-century farmhouse in an extraordinary setting of deep green rolling fields; it's signposted off the N71 after about one mile from Rosscarbery. There's plenty of history too - the house adjoins a fifteenth-century castle , accessible via a doorway off the main stairs, and William Penn , founder of Pennsylvania, is known to have stayed here. Heading on from Rosscarbery, take the minor R597 and look out for signs to the Drombeg stone circle . Dating from the Bronze Age, the seventeen stones that make up this circle are particularly impressive for their fine location - overlooking fields that fall to the sea. Nearby is a fulacht fiadh - a cooking site from the same era, where troughs of cold water would have been heated by hot stones thrown into them from a fire. Back on the R597, about a mile before Glandore, the road passes the neat little Meadow campsite (tel 028/33280), where there are laundry facilities and a wet weather room. There's a fleeting outrageous glamour to GLANDORE with its turquoise-blue waters and deep-green slopes, and there can be no better way to absorb the scene than with a plate of seafood and a cool drink from Hayes bar overlooking the bay. Accommodation is thin on the ground, but Bay View is a pleasant B&B (tel 028/33115; GBP26-33/?33.01-41.90). The nearest hostel is the one just outside UNION HALL : Maria's Schoolhouse (IHH; tel 028/33002) is a bright and cheery place, with comfy armchairs and big log fires; excellent - but expensive - vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals are readily available, and the hostel also organizes sea kayaking and bike rental ; at the time of writing, Maria's was up for sale, so it's worth phoning ahead to check that it's still open and offering the same facilities. Just over a mile inland from Glandore, LEAP , a small village straddling the N71, is best known for Connolly's bar, arguably the best live music venue in west Cork, with a great range of bands year round: rock, reggae, traditional, bluegrass - just about anything that makes it out of Dublin will be on here. For the latest, details check out Connolly's Web site ( www.connollysofleap.com ). For those looking to say in the village, Highfield B&B is the best place to try (tel 028/33273; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79).
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