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TIMOLEAGUE AND COURTMACSHERRY |
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TIMOLEAGUE is a small village, set inland on the muddy estuary of
the Ardigeen River. It is dominated by the extensive remains of a
Franciscan abbey which was sacked in 1649. The much advertised Castle
Gardens include a beautiful walled garden, but the ruins of Timoleague
Castle itself are negligible and not worth the entrance fee. Timoleague
is only a small place, but it boasts a handful of good bars, including
Charlie Madden's and The Mill House Bar - you stand a good chance of
finding some sort of live music in one of these at weekends - and
Dillon's , which serves excellent food in the evenings (expect to pay
from around £10/¬12.70). Nearby Lettercollum House guesthouse and
restaurant serves exquisite food (dinner around £24/¬30.47) and offers
good-quality accommodation in a spacious nineteenth-century house set in
wooded grounds (tel 023/46251, www.clon.ie/letterco.html ;
£40/¬50.79-£70/¬88.88). If you want to stay in the village itself, try
Panorama B&B , Chapel Hill (tel 023/46248; £40-55/¬50.79-69.84), which
offers very comfortable accommodation and excellent views. There's also
good camping around two miles out of Timoleague along the R600 towards
Clonakilty at Sexton's Camping (tel 023/46347).
At the broad mouth of the estuary, the village of COURTMACSHERRY is a
safe, quiet family resort. It's certainly tranquil - when asked what
happens here one local reckoned "the tide comes in and the tide goes out
again". That's slightly exaggerated - if you're feeling rich you can go
deep-sea angling or shark fishing (Courtmacsherry Sea Angling Centre;
tel 023/46427), and horse riding can be arranged through the pleasant,
family run Courtmacsherry Hotel (tel 023/46198; over £130/¬165.07). For
B&B, Travara Lodge (tel 023/46493; £40-55/¬50.79-69.84) is a good
option, or you could head a few miles south to Sea Court (8th June to
20th Aug; tel 023/40151 or 40218; £40-55/¬50.79-69.84; dinner
£22.50/¬28.57 by reservation), an eighteenth-century mansion, furnished
with antiques in the tiny village of BUTLERSTOWN .
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