Coomarkane is on the upland side of Glengarriff in County Cork, on the Beara Peninsula. The Beara-Breifne Way guide lists Coomarkane Visitor Centre as a passport stamp location for the walk between Adrigole and Glengarriff, so walkers carrying the passport book may want to call in. The valley’s hidden, rock-girt lakes feed the Mare’s Tail waterfall.
The building was designed to sit into the hillside rather than on top of it, modelled on the traditional Irish cottage and put up with local materials and low-impact methods.
The visitor centre
This is a small operation down a side road, not a big attraction, so check directly before depending on it for a stamp, refreshments or information. You can ring the centre on +353 27 63826.
Use the route maps for the walking stage. Bring water and food, arrange your return and keep to the marked route through working land.
Nearby
Glengarriff is a short drive back down the road, with shops, pubs and boats out to the Italian gardens on Garinish Island and the oak woods of Glengarriff Nature Reserve.
Keep west along the Beara and Adrigole sits under Hungry Hill; Ballylickey marks the head of Bantry Bay in the other direction.