Wild Atlantic wildlife

Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way is about much more than wild scenery and windswept western coastlines. While the world’s longest defined touring route certainly boasts some jaw-dropping vistas, and quintessentially Irish hospitality, the route also offers some of the best coastal and marine wildlife watching opportunities you’ll encounter anywhere.

The West Cork stretch of the route, where I host our signature Discover Wildlife Weekends, is the ideal spot to get closer to the Wild Atlantic Way’s wilder side.

Incredible wildlife, outstanding location

Being based in the charming village of Rosscarbery for these weekends gives us easy access to some of the best coastal vantage points for marine wildlife watching in Europe, and the diverse mosaic of coastal habitats on offer supports an astonishing array of species. The weekends run in spring, summer and autumn, timed to coincide with key periods in the wildlife calendar, and are an ideal way to take a few days out of the maelstrom of daily life, immerse yourself in the natural world and recharge your batteries.

To give you a taster of what the West Cork coast has to offer I’ve put together a short video slideshow (above) featuring just some of the many wildlife highlights of recent years.

Discover the wildlife of the West Cork coast in 2017

The weekends are great fun, and while we can’t guarantee the weather or the wildlife we’ll encounter on any given weekend, there are always memorable encounters, and an almost palpable sense of anticipation that anything could turn up.

Our partners at the Celtic Ross Hotel offer a great value accommodation package for the weekend, and our trips with Ireland’s most experienced whale watching skipper, Colin Barnes of Cork Whale Watch, are always a highlight.

So what are you waiting for? For more information and to join me on one of our 2017 weekends check out our Discover Wildlife Weekend page.