West Cork Trip

On a dark and dreary January afternoon it is nice to reminisce about long balmy Summer days in West Cork. Last July we spent a week in Baltimore taking in the delights of what this marvellous part of the country had to offer. Having met Ginny (one half of Quercus) the previous month in Dublin, we were pretty excited to add a visit to the Quercus studio to the itinerary.

Ginny and Jason Pavry are the husband & wife team behind Quercus. Based in idyllic Baltimore, West Cork, Quercus aims to strike a balance between aesthetics and sustainability with an emphasis on natural materials sourced in Ireland. Together they developed their signature piece, the Seedpod bird feeder made from hand-turned Irish oak. Other items in the ever growing range include the seedhead, (designed to sit in flowerbeds and borders or in flowerpots) and plant labels, all stocked at Irish Design Shop.

On the morning we made our trip to the Quercus studio, Jason had just completed an order of Seedpods. The workshop, a pretty fancy light filled barn, is a woodturners dream. Tools and chisels hang in an organised manner on the walls, the smell of woodchip fills the space & high quality Irish hardwoods fill the loft.

By the time we had taken a few snaps, Pip the Quercus guard dog had finally started to warm to us. We could have stayed there all day getting helpful woodturning tips from Jason, petting the dog (we love an auld studio dog) but we were on a schedule, the ferry to Sherkin Island was beckoning via a final trip to the Glebe for possibly the best sandwiches in the rebel county.

Clare & Laura’s top tips on West Cork:

• Make sure to take a ferry to some of the nearby islands. We took a day trip to Cape Clear to sample the infamous Cape Clear goat ice cream. Sherkin island is a 15 minute ferry ride from Baltimore. Not much on the island itself, but the wedges in the Jolly Roger pub are fantastic! We stayed over night on Sherkin. Our number one piece of advice is bring a torch! Essential when wandering back to your accomodation after a skinful in the Jolly Roger
• If you are visiting Skibereen, make the visit to Mrs Minihans bar, a truly authentic Irish bar. Sample the warm beer from crystal glasses while flies circle above.
• Clonakilty is a far more picturesque spot than ‘Skib’ with nearby Inchydoney beach a must on the itinerary
• By far our favourite place in West Cork, the Glebe in Baltimore serves fantastic food all day, all sourced locally, organic the whole nine yards! The evening menu is a bit special, the lamb was only marvellous!
• We do like our food