Out & About

Nature & Surroundings:

Beaches, Woods and Walks

Inch Beach is a beautiful sandy beach in East Cork and it’s only 15 min. walk from the Hideaway.
It’s an ideal beach for surfing and the Swell Surf School is located there and you can rent all the gear you need for surfing and stand up paddling.
They also organise surf lessons, surf camps and other activities for groups or 1 to 1.At Inch Beach there’s also an easy cliff walk that leads to Power Head with stunning views of the bay and of the Ring of Cork.

Guileen is an old fisherman village that you can reach within 30/40 min walk following the country road (easy difficulty) or when it’s low tide you can reach it also via Inch beach (medium/high difficulty). Guileen is more of a rocky beach and has also a lovely pub, the Guileen Arms where you can quench your thirst after your walk (please note pub is not always open, check in advance with them!).

Further West on the coastline you can reach the stunning Lighthouse in Rochespoint that overlooks all the natural harbour of Cork.
Nearby there’s also Whitebay, a beautiful sandy beach.

If you’re travelling more on the East costline from the Hideaway there’s a series of small beaches that culminate with Ballybranegan Beach,
a beautiful stretch of sandy beach that’s about 1km long! Further east you will find Garryvoe and Ballycotton.

If you like walking or cycling in the woods, 5 min drive from the Hideaway there’s Rostellan Woods with a few short and easy trails.
Closer to Midleton you can go to Ballyannan woods with lovely views of the estuary.
For longer walks a cycles you can go to the Glennbower Woods in Killeagh, about 30 min drive from us.

For a more detailed list of woods and walking trails in our area check these links:

1) Ring of Cork Walking Trails
2) East Cork Woodland Walks
3) Co. Cork Walking Trails
4) Cork Walks & Hikes

Outdoor & Family Activities

• Swell Surf School,  based only 15 min walk from us at Inch Beach has everything you need for surfing or coasteering.
  You can rent out all you need and they organise surf camps, groups and 1 to 1 lessons and excursions.
• Sauna at Inch Beach: open on the weekends for individual and group bookings, the Sweaty Sanctuary Sauna is a well being experience second to none!
• East Cork Outdoor Adventures: only 5 min. drive from us in Rostellan these guys caters for a great variety of water and land based eco activities like:
  kayaking, snorkeling, archery tag, tree climbing and more.
• Midleton to Youghal Greenway: if you’re into cycling the first part of the cycling path has been opened recently, and if you didn’t bring a bike with you
  Cork Bike Hire has a selection of hybrid bikes, trikes and Ebikes for rent.  They also do a delivery and collection service to the campsite!
  Alternatively you can rent them off in Midleton from the Midleton Greenway Bike & Bites and find also some cycling routes, downloadable from their website!
• Jameson Distillery Tour: Enjoy a fully guided distillery tour, premium whiskey tasting, cask opening experience, cocktail making class or extended duration tour, going behind-the-scenes across this historic 15-acre site
  
• Fota Wildlife Park, 30min drive from us you can reach these stunning gardens with an incredible variety of wildlife biodiversity
• Titanic Experience: in the beautiful and colorful coastal village of Cobh you can visit this interactive museum or spend the day visiting
• Spike Island one of Ireland’s oldest fortresses and formerly the world’s largest prison.
• Fota Island Adventure: If you’re looking for some more action, weather it’s with your family or friends, they cater for a great variety of bush craft and water based activities like combat archery, obstacle course, field games and more.
• Leahy’s Open Farm in Dungourney is a great animal farm to visit for the younger families, but nevertheless still great fun and experience!
  You can get up close and personal with plenty of animals, with special petting and feeding times.
• Ballycotton Sea Adventures or the Cork Harbour Boat Hire: if you love the sea there’s some very interesting trips you can organise either with these 2 companies!

For a more extensive list of outdoor and family activities in East Cork please visit:

1) Things to do in the Ring of Cork
2) Sightseeing in East Cork
3) Heritage Walks

Food & Drink

The Pubs:

If you’re looking for the most authentic Irish country pub experience search no more: Poc ar Buile, located in the village of Ballinrostig (20 min walk from the Hideaway), is an incredible pub that will wrap you in coziness and comfort. The hospitality and the quality of the drinks goes beyond imagination and they also offer a shuttle service to the Hideaway if organised before hand. Irish Trad sessions are on evey 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month.
Unmissable!

Within 5/10 min drive you can find the Guileen Arms or the Schooner in the village of Whitegate.
In Rostellan you ca find Rosie’s, a very friendly gastropub pub on the coast road to Whitegate.

These would be the closest pubs to the Hideaway but there’s more options in Midleton and Cloyne within 20 min drive from us.

Here’s a more extensive list of pubs:

1) Pubs in East Cork
2) Food & Drink in East Cork

Restaurants:

Rosie’s gastro pub is the closest restaurant from the Hideaway.

In Midleton there’s surely more dining options with a variety of styles
Our favorite restaurant at the moment is Ferrit&Lee, excellent food and service.
Nevertheless in Midleton there’s other places like The Farmgate, San Marco, Surf&Turf, Finin’s, The Granary, Salina’s Bistro are only a few of the many eatires in Midleton that are also part of FEAST, the food festival in East Cork that showcases some of the best foods and recipes in our area.

Nature & Surroundings