Glengarriff is where Ireland's Atlantic mildness is most obvious. The village sits at the head of a sheltered inlet in Bantry Bay, with a mountain wall behind it, and the climate is so soft that subtropical plants thrive. Out in the harbour, on Garinish Island, also known as Ilnacullin, a remarkable garden was laid out in the early twentieth century by the owner, Annan Bryce, and the architect and garden designer Harold Peto. Italianate pavilions, a walled garden, a Grecian temple and rare trees and shrubs from around the world fill the island, and a short boat trip from the village takes you across, past a colony of seals basking on the rocks.
Behind the village, Glengarriff Woods Nature Reserve preserves one of the few remnants of the old oak forest that once covered much of Ireland, with moss-draped trunks, ferns and holly, and a damp, green hush. The writer George Bernard Shaw stayed on Garinish Island and wrote part of Saint Joan there, and Victorian visitors came by the carriage load to admire the scenery. The village retains some of that Victorian air, with old hotels, shops and a small museum.
Glengarriff is a crossroads for riders. The N71 from Bantry runs through on its way to Kenmare, climbing out of the village through a series of tunnels cut into the rock, including the one at Turner's Rock, and then dropping towards Kenmare in broad, enjoyable sweeps. The R572 to the Beara starts nearby, the road to Castletownbere and Healy Pass. The surfaces are generally good and the roads wide enough, but summer brings coaches and caravans, so patience helps. Rain falls often, and the mist rolling in from the bay is part of the charm.
The area is a haven for walkers and nature lovers, with trails into the Caha Mountains and along the shore. Red deer, pine martens and sika deer live in the woods, and the bay is home to common seals and several seabirds. The air smells of salt and wet bracken.
The village has fuel, shops, cafés and pubs, making it a useful stop. For a bigger choice, Bantry is a short ride to the south-east, and Kenmare to the north. A bowl of seafood chowder, or a hot whiskey on a damp day, is the proper local response. Boats to Garinish run frequently from the pier in summer.