THE bouquets for Baltimore keep on coming with UK newspaper The Guardian describing the village as this year’s ‘best winter getaway’.
Meanwhile, National Geographic has named Cork county as one of the 25 best places in the world to visit – oh the smugness of those living in the country’s real capital!
The Guardian tells its readers that ‘the tiny village of Baltimore boasts a population of just over 400 people, but becomes a bustling hub of tourism during the summer months as tourists pour in to explore the final stretch of the epic 1,500-mile Wild Atlantic Way that snakes along Ireland’s rugged west coast.’
But it is more than just good looks because Baltimore – otherwise known as Dún na Séad, which means ‘fort of the jewels’ – has an incredible history that visitors find fascinating.
The Guardian waxes lyrical about how its past is deeply intertwined with the sea, especially the dramatic Sacking of Baltimore in 1631 when pirates abducted and enslaved villagers.
Today, the newspaper extols the village’s many enthusiasms – all kinds of watersports and angling – but it is the opportunity to visit the village’s beautifully restored castle and the imposing white Beacon on the headland that makes visits memorable.
Great pubs, a brilliant pizzeria, and a two-star Michelin restaurant (Dede) as well as its sister restaurant Baba’de which got the Bib Gourmand nod this year, isn’t too shabby either.
All of this and Carbery’s hundred isles studding the coastline qualifies Baltimore as a great winter getaway – a moniker that will, no doubt, boost the village’s off-season tourism trade.
