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There are many fine walks in the Baltimore area offering great views, places of historic and archaeological interest, the seashore and a wealth of flora and fauna. A walking guide map & brochure is available at reception for the Baltimore area, Loughine, and the Islands of Sherkin & Cape Clear.
For a short stroll you could visit the pretty harbour with its ancient O’Driscoll castle now imaginatively being converted to a family home. This was the ‘Ti Mor’ of the name Baile Ti Mor. Baltimore was an important fishing and boat-building area and was dominated by the O’Driscoll clan who profited from the plentiful stocks of mackerel and pilchards. The history of the area can be read on the plaque erected in the harbour. Round the corner is the old railway station where up to 16 fish-laden trains departed for Cork daily. The fish was thence exported to the USA. Now the old station is the location for the Glenaans Sailing School.
A longer walk can take you on around the Cove and up the winding road to the Beacon…or Lot’s Wife (the pillar of salt) as it is called. Beacons and Signal Towers were erected all around the coast by the British in the early 19th Century when they feared a European invasion. After the climb up to the Beacon please be very careful as strong winds could easily push the unwary over the high cliffs. However the climb is well worthwhile as the views over to Sherkin Island and out to sea are magnificent.
If flora and fauna interest you there is no better walk than across the bridge to Ringarogy island. A pleasant one and a half hour loop walk takes you first past the mud-flats where myriad birds are to be seen, most notably shelduck with their green heads, white breasts and red legs and beaks. Also curlew and oyster-catchers and green and redshanks are to be seen grubbing in the mud when the tide is out. The walk follows a quiet road around the island where fuschia, honeysuckle, rhododendron, hawthorn, montbretia and many kinds of seaweed can be identified.
For a bird’s eye view of Baltimore there is another loop walk that passes The Community Hall and then turns inland towards Spain Tower – a gaunt example of one of the 19th Century Signal Towers. A system of signalling from one tower to the next was put in place so that the whole coast was watched. The coastal views along this route are superb.
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