Rosscarbery: A Favourite Family Holiday Destination!
Beach Fun
In Rosscarbery your children can safely learn to swim or improve their swimming technique. Warren Strand and Owenahincha, located minutes from Rosscarbery, are ideal for families. They are suitable for bathing and paddling during the holiday season when lifeguards are on duty. Lifebuoys, public car parking and toilet facilities are provided. The Warren is sheltered and a popular choice for families with small kids who can enjoy its awesome rock pools! The older children might enjoy a round of pitch and putt at Rosscarbery Club located in the dunes or a game of tennis in the adjacent courts. Owenahincha is a little more exposed and the waters are sometimes rough but it’s a great place to fly a kite! Long Strand, with its mile and a half of sand, is ideal for building the biggest and best sandcastles! The impressive dunes provide hours of fun for the little adventurers and explorers! While Long Strand is popular among experienced surfers its pounding waves prove dangerous for swimming and there are no lifeguards. Be warned that it’s a very exposed and windy spot so wrap up tight! With all that space to run around don’t forget to pack the dog! Public car parking facilities are available. A trip to Long Strand is never complete without a stroll in Castlefreke Woods, located minutes from the beach. Red Strand is a quiet sheltered spot located minutes from Long Strand. Its many rock pools are great for paddling and its soft wet sand is ideal for intricate sandcastle construction! Have the sunglasses at the ready and don’t forget the all-important sunscreen folks! Click here to learn more about Rosscarbery’s beaches!
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Crazy Golf
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Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf is an 18-hole pirate-themed golf course. Crazy golf is fun for all the family and the course is safe and secure. Family rates apply and “scallywags” (under 3 years) go free! The centre caters for kiddies’ parties. So fasten your pegleg and watch out for those treasure chests guys! Smugglers Cove is ideally located, minutes from Rosscarbery town, beside the Driving Range where Mum and Dad can perfect their swing!
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Rosscarbery Lagoon Activity Centre
Here at the Lagoon Activity Centre, on the edge of Rosscarbery town, you can hire pedal boats, paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, rowing boats and dinghies. A trip to Rosscarbery lagoon is fun for all the family and the centre caters for all ages. The large shallow lagoon is separated from the tidal estuary by the causeway and so is a safe environment for the kiddies to learn to sail. Relax in the knowledge that the lagoon is only about 3 feet deep. Life jackets are provided and a safety boat is always on hand if required. The centre caters for kids’ parties.
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Surfing
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Parents will be happy to hear that at Rebel Wave surf school safety is the top priority! Fully-qualified IWS lifeguards and Irish Surfing Association instructors provide surfing lessons for kids on the Warren Strand and Owenahincha Beach, just minutes from Rosscarbery. This is a safe, fun and exciting way for your kids to experience the ocean and learn all about water safety. Rebel Wave run 5-day surf camps for kids and teens during the summer and Easter holidays. Your kids will gain knowledge of tides, rips, water safety and good surf etiquette. Not only will they learn how to surf safely but they will also experience sea kayaking, snorkelling and pier jumping! For those pro-surfers among you top-quality hardboards, softboards, bodyboards and wetsuits can be hired from the school. Snorkelling equipment and single and double kayaks are also for hire. Surf’s up lil dudes and dudettes!
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Pony-Riding and Trekking
The best way to experience beautiful Rosscarbery is on horseback. Treks take you through the nearby countryside and to the seaside! Beginners are welcome and a pre-trek lesson, where you will learn all the basics, is included. All treks are accompanied by a fully-qualified instructor. Rosscarbery Riding Centre, located on the outskirts of Rosscarbery, is AIRE (Association of Irish Riding Establishments) and Bord Fáilte approved. All riding equipment is provided by the centre and facilities include showers, changing rooms and a waiting room for the parents.
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Whale Watching and Dolphin Watching
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Rosscarbery is one of the best places in the world for whale and dolphin watching. Fin whales make regular appearances in Rosscarbery Bay. These graceful giants are the second largest mammals in the world! Groups of common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins stage breath-taking leaping displays beside the boat and whales too will often follow the boat. So be sure to remember your camera! Other common sightings include pilot whales, minke whales, orcas (the so-called killer whales), basking sharks, seals, harbour porpoise and leatherback turtles. This is a great way for your kids to learn about nature, wildlife and the Irish coastline in a safe and fun environment. Lifejackets are provided on all the chartered crafts. If you’re worried about getting seasick, with some quality binoculars, you and your family can enjoy this fun activity from the comfort of dry land! Things To Do In Rosscarbery promise that your children will cherish these memories forever.
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Rosscarbery Pitch and Putt
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The 36-hole pitch and putt course is situated in the sand dunes, at the Warren Strand, a two minute drive from Rosscarbery. The course consists of two 18-hole link courses: the Creggane (Red) Course and the Channel (Yellow) Course. Rosscarbery Pitch and Putt guarantee a fun day out for all the family! Children and student rates apply. Two tarmacadam tennis courts adjoin the pitch and putt courses. Rosscarbery Pitch and Putt comes highly recommended by Things To Do In Rosscarbery.
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Swimming Pool
A 15m heated indoor swimming pool, a kids’ pool and a bubble pool can all be found in the Celtic Ross Hotel. Your kids will spend hours of fun splashing around in the pool on a rainy day! Best of all non-residents can avail of these facilities. The leisure centre has been awarded the White Flag Excellence Award which is based on the achievement of high standards in three key areas: safety, hygiene & maintenance and customer care. Relax knowing your kids are in safe hands.
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Castlefreke Woods
Your kids will burn off all their excess energy with a trip to Castlefreke Woods! Take a walk through its winding pathways and experience the native woodland and wildlife up close. Climb one of its huge ginormous ancient trees and see if you can catch a glimpse of the castle ruins. Or make a wish at the wishing well! With picnic tables provided it’s ideal for family picnics but watch out for the midges, they bite! Don’t forget to bring the family dog along for the adventure. After all that activity you and your little tykes have certainly earned a nice ice-cream in the nearby picturesque village of Rathbarry!
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Galley Head Lighthouse (Dundeady Headland)
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It’s official kids love lighthouses! The 21m high lighthouse station at Galley Head is perched on a clifftop about 40m above sea level. Built in 1875, the first light was established in 1878. At this time it emitted one of the most powerful lights (from a lighthouse) in the world! The light was initially powered by gas, then paraffin and finally in 1969 electricity. The requirement for the lighthouse keeper to live at the station was discontinued from 1997 and the light is now controlled from the central monitoring room at Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. The lighthouse itself is not open to the public. Galley Head is ideal for family picnics and walks along the dramatic cliffs. Look out for the sixteenth-century ruins of Dundeady Castle! Galley Head is located about 9km southeast of Rosscarbery and is a pleasant 15 minute coastal drive. A trip to Galley Head comes highly recommended by Things To Do In Rosscarbery! |
Rosscarbery GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association)
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Why not take the kids to the local GAA pitch to watch a match? Rosscarbery’s GAA club was founded in 1887 and there is a strong tradition of Gaelic football and, to a lesser extent, hurling in the area. Remember to encourage the kids to shout for our local team: Carbery Rangers! Don’t forget to dress in the local colours: green, white and yellow! If the pitch is free grab your hurley and sliotar and puck around for yourself … but don’t forget your helmet! The pitch is located in Newtown, Rosscarbery, a two minute stroll from the Square.
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Drombeg Stone Circle
Remember archaeology isn’t just for the adults, children also “dig it”! So take your kids to visit Drombeg Stone Circle: a world-famous Bronze Age site! Originally there were 17 huge ginormous standing stones making up the stone circle at Drombeg but two are now missing. Can you spot the cup-marks or any other carvings on the stones? Archaeologists excavated the prehistoric ritual site in the 1950s. Read the storyboards there and learn for yourself all about this ancient stone circle, nearby hut site and fulacht fiadh. What do YOU think the fulacht fiadh was used for? Be sure to get some photos of the kiddies next to the towering megaliths! Free entry and free public parking. Drombeg Stone Circle is a six minute drive west of Rosscarbery. |
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Rosscarbery Playground
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The colourful modern playground is located on the edge of Rosscarbery town. It’s a fun and safe place for your kids to waste some energy and make new friends! Things To Do In Rosscarbery highly recommend the playground for small kids! For older kids and active teens the basketball and tennis courts are located nearby.
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Pamper the Kids!
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The holistic suite in the Celtic Ross Hotel offers beauty treatments, facials and makeovers for teenagers. Things To Do In Rosscarbery highly recommend the Celtic Ross holistic suite!
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Feed the Swans
Visit the swans in the lagoon at the edge of Rosscarbery town. Rosscarbery is home to a large indigenous population of mute swans. Whooper swans also use the lagoon as a resting spot during their long migration. If you want to feed them bring along some grains like wheat or corn or greens like lettuce and spinach. If you only have bread make sure it’s fresh as mould can poison them.
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Tennis Court and Basketball Court
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The tennis and basketball courts are located beside the playground on the eastern side of Rosscarbery town. Your kids can spend hours in the courts running off all that extra energy! There are also two tarmacadam tennis courts situated in the sand dunes beside Rosscarbery Pitch and Putt Clubhouse at the Warren Strand, minutes from Rosscarbery town. So grab those rackets kids!
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Kids Club
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The Cool Roo Kids Club is run daily in the Celtic Ross Hotel during the summer holidays. Fun activities are organised and supervision is provided. On rainy days kids’ movies are shown. Best of all residents go free of charge. It’s a great way for your kids to burn all that extra energy and make new friends!
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Cycling
All kids LOVE cycling! Hire a bike locally and experience, at your own pace, what West Cork has to offer! If Mum and Dad are feeling a little lazy after all that amazing Rosscarbery night life try an electronically-assisted bike to get you up those steep West Cork hills. In West Cork safety always comes first so don’t forget those helmets and high-visibility jackets guys!
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Cinema
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Catch up on the latest releases in Clonakilty Park Cinema, just a 10 minute drive from Rosscarbery. If you’d prefer to take a spin west along Cinemax Bantry is a 40 minute drive from Rosscarbery. Or if you wish to stay closer to home, the Celtic Ross Hotel screen kids movies on rainy days.
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