Sherkin’s location scores well on several fronts. It’s got all the seclusion of an island hideaway, yet lies just 10 minutes from Baltimore by ferry. It attracts a milder climate (when frost hits the lawns of Baltimore, you can find green grass out here), yet boasts stunning Atlantic scenery.
Little surprise, then, that so many non-islanders have made Sherkin their home. The summer months, in particular, see crowds from far and wide flocking to the island - with the result that the ancestral hub of the O’Driscoll clan (their ivy-clad castle lies just above the pier) is today a melting pot of culture, life and art. Sherkin is known as the Island of the Arts, and even offers a Visual Arts Degree Programme, and work by the island’s many artists and designers is sold at the Island Crafts Centre in Baltimore.
Location: Roaringwater Bay, Co. Cork. The ferry port of Baltimore is roughly 42km (50mins) by road from Bantry, and 98km (1hr 45mins) from Cork.
Size: 4.8km x 2.4km. Sherkin can be visited in a day, but you won’t be disappointed with an overnight stay - many visitors have even made their homes here!
Population: 100+
Facilities: B&Bs, self-catering, restaurant, art gallery, coffee /craft shop, pubs, community centre,beaches, library.
Top 3 Activities: Arts, adventure, sailing
Festival highlights: Sherkin family regatta (July), Summer Arts Festival
Getting there: Ferries sail daily from Baltimore, year-round. Sailings take 10 minutes.
Contact Sherkin Ferry +353 28 20218; +353 87 2638470
www.sherkinferry.ie
Getting around: Sherkin richly rewards walkers; but taxis (summer) and buses (year-round) are also to hand.
Find out more: www.sherkinisland.ie or www.westcorkislands/sherkin
Did you know?
There’s a modern day trend on Sherkin – where people get married in the island’s little church, and crack open the champag
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