Boards, bikes and hikes: my family adventure in West Cork, Ireland

18.08.2023 - 12:31 / theguardian.com

At first, there is some fussing from my 10- and 12-year-old sons. “Will the water be too cold?”, “I don’t want to wear a wetsuit”, “Are there even any decent waves?”… But once their young surf instructor, Josh Mahony, appears with two boards under his arms and the kind of shoulders that suggest he could paddle south to Spain and back in his lunch break, there is only silence as they follow him into the waves.

Some hours later, having caught many waves including their first proper unbroken green ones – before today they’d only surfed more easily managed whitewater – it’s an effort to get them out.

We’ve come to Garretstown in County Cork, a picturesque stretch of sandy beach dotted with smooth grey, brown and purple pebbles. In the car park, an old man is selling honey, eggs and swedes from a picnic table, while all around us is verdant green countryside and cows, save a brutalist concrete toilet block, a yellow airstream pizza van and a wooden sauna sitting above the shoreline.

The boys are having a lesson with Atlantic Offshore Adventures (€30), and I rent a board to join them. The water is incredibly clear and rich in seaweed – signs of a healthy marine ecosystem. There was uproar in spring when Garretstown lost its Blue Flag clean beach status for not having the right recycling bin, but that’s since been rectified and the award reinstated.

The waves are small, clean and lovely – we even catch a few “party waves” riding in altogether – and as there are big gaps between each set, we get to ask Josh what it was like to grow up here. “Everyone is very sporty and outdoors loving,” he says. “I played rugby, hurling and Gaelic football, and also did cross-country, swimming, surfing and windsurfing.”

He tells us the waves aren’t always as smooth as they are today, but this beach is generally good for beginners, as even when it’s ruined by the wind there is usually whitewater to surf. And if it is flat, they offer standup paddleboarding at a nearby beach.

After our surf, we head to nearby Garrylucas Beach, a popular sea swimming spot and enjoy pizza at Stranded, a cafe, tapas and wine bar that often has indie folk bands playing.

Garretstown sits on the Wild Atlantic Way, a 1,600-mile coastal route that runs from the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal to the village of Kinsale eight miles up the road. We spend the night slightly inland amid lush green fields at Rivermount House (doubles from €95 B&B), a peaceful place with scenic views of the Bandon River. The next day we follow the route west, stopping off at Clonakilty Adventure Centre, which has a fun high ropes course and zip wire, before heading to the Sheep’s Head peninsula, and its network of 125 miles of coastal hiking trails.

We decide to hike the