Barley Lake – a glacial corrie lake just outside Glengarriff – is well worth a visit!
The corrie lake or tarn was formed in the Ice Age 10,000 years ago when a melting glacier left a crater behind on the mountainside. Today, this remote spot is as still and picturesque as it is isolated!
It can be accessed by road or on an exhilarating cycle or walk. A very steep and winding road brings you up above all but the highest parts of West Cork’s Caha mountains.
Park your car here if you need to! Then head across the countryside until you get to the lake. At 300m above sea level, it is a very impressive sight to behold.
How to get to Barley Lake
Take the Kenmare road out of Glengarriff village. Barley Lake is signposted (left) about a mile up the road.
Map: OSI Discovery Series Sheet 85
Start and finish: The walk proper begins at the small car park above Barley Lake at the end of a third class road. Grid reference 879 573.
You can read more about the walk to Glengarriff’s Barley Lake in the Irish Times.