Daly’s ‘West Cork Way’ moving at pace

Jim Daly, Cork South West Fine Gael TD, has said that Cork County Council is making significant progress with his ‘West Cork Way’ proposal, and he is confident that the next steps will see the development of the route come to fruition.

Deputy Daly said: “My proposal for a long distance walking trail between Cork Airport and Mizen Head could have a really positive impact on tourism in the area.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the West Cork Way will really help to draw tourism to this beautiful part of Ireland. We have seen the success of similar routes in other countries, such as the Camino de Santiago in Spain. There is also a clear benefit to marketing the West Cork Way along with the hugely successful Wild Atlantic Way.”

Daly recently met with senior officials of Cork County Council who are developing his proposal and he says he is extremely pleased with the progress being made. To date the Council has identified and mapped all of the existing walks and also mapped out potential tracks to join the dots. The long term plan, according to Daly, is to encourage walking tourism, which is a big industry, to West Cork and to entice people to purchase food, drink, and accommodation along the way, particularly in the smaller towns and villages.

“There are two options proposed. A coastal route will take walkers from Cork Airport to Mizen Head passing through places such as Kilbrittain, Courtmacsherry, Clonakilty, Rosscaberry, Glandore, Leap, Union Hall, Skibbereen and Schull. The rural route will take in Bandon, Enniskeane, Dunmanway, Drimoleague and Bantry. The marketing of this route will see a huge dividend for businesses in these towns and villages.

“Cork County Council is now establishing a countywide partnership group for the development of trails in Cork, and this group will take ownership of the development of the West Cork Way. I look forward to working with them to see this idea to fruition to the benefit of Cork tourism.”