Overview
Whiddy Island is a short crossing from Bantry, though it feels a good deal further out. This low, green island lies at the head of Bantry Bay, in County Cork, a deep natural harbour that has drawn navies, oil supertankers and, in January 1979, a tanker disaster. The island is gently rolling and fertile, and the pace is slow. If you do one thing, walk the marked loop from the pier.
Is there a ferry to Whiddy Island?
Whiddy’s ferry operator lists a year-round passenger service from Bantry. Check the timetable, current fares and last boat back before setting out, because the day runs on the ferry timetable. Ask the operator about boarding arrangements if you need assistance.
Walk from the pier
The Whiddy Island Loop starts and finishes at the island pier. Sport Ireland lists the marked loop at 6.2 km, with red arrows on a white background. Keep to the route, leave dogs at home and give private fields, old structures and the oil terminal space. The paths are natural and uneven, so the island is not suited to buggies.
History
The island’s position has drawn soldiers for centuries. After the failed French landing in Bantry Bay in 1796, the British built a line of gun batteries along the northern shore, including the Middle Battery, whose overgrown earthworks and stone footings are a link to 19th-century coastal defence. They are old structures, so give them space.
Older still is Reenananig Castle (sometimes Reenavanny), a tower house of the O’Sullivan Beare lords, which survived Cromwellian bombardment only to be brought down by a storm in 1920. Low stone walls are all that remain.
Aviation history arrived in the last months of the First World War, when the United States Navy set up a seaplane base on the eastern shore and flew five Curtiss Model H aircraft on patrols around Fastnet Rock. The base closed in January 1919, and a stone memorial to pilot Walford August Anderson, killed on 22 October 1918, was unveiled near the ferry pontoon in 2014.
Heavy industry came in the late 1960s, when Gulf Oil built a terminal to berth supertankers. On 8 January 1979 the French tanker Betelgeuse exploded while unloading, killing 50. The terminal never fully returned to commercial shipping.
Quieter heritage survives too: an early ecclesiastical enclosure at Kilmore with a holy well, church and graveyard, the ruins of 19th-century pilchard-processing sheds from the old fishing days, and the ‘Cup and Saucer’ drinking fountain carved by American naval officers during the seaplane era. For more about the island’s history, see the Sheep’s Head Way heritage guide.
Nature and wildlife
The Gulf Stream gives Whiddy a mild microclimate, and it shows in the planting. From late June into autumn, red and purple fuchsia line the hedgerows and garden walls, and in damp, shaded corners the common butterwort, one of Ireland’s few carnivorous plants, spreads its sticky, insect-trapping leaves. Two small lakes near Kilmore hold waterfowl, while gulls, terns and the occasional chough work the open fields and coast. The shoreline’s coves and rock pools are good for an hour of low-tide rummaging with children.
Practical information
- Getting there: passenger ferry from Bantry. Check the operator’s page for times, fares and the last boat back.
- Cars and bikes: the ferry is a passenger service, so plan to arrive on foot.
- Dogs: leave dogs at home for the loop walk.
- Accessibility: the paths are natural and uneven. Ask the ferry operator in advance about boarding arrangements.
- Nearby: Bantry Bay has more to explore on the mainland side.