RESTAURANT extension works at the Mizen Head Visitor Centre will necessitate a three-day closure to create a separate access area for construction workers.
A spokesperson confirmed that the visitor centre, on Ireland’s most southwesterly point, will be closed on Monday May 8th, Tuesday the 9th and May 10th – to create a double access, one for the workers and one for the public.
As part of the three-day closure, there will be no access to the headland either.
‘We are obliged, for health and safety reasons, to do this,’ said the spokesperson.
The restaurant extension is at the end of the building, near the car park.
When completed, the centre’s old horse-drawn coastguard carriage will become its special feature.
Meanwhile, the playground, also adjacent to the car park, has been removed, but there are plans to put an even bigger and better one in its place before the year is out.
‘Both the revamped restaurant and new playground will greatly enhance what we can offer our visitors,’ said the centre’s spokesperson.
The Mizen Head Visitor Centre not only gives tourists a truly immersive account of the signal station, but also the thrill of crossing the iconic bridge, 150ft above sea level.
The Mizen Head bridge was completed in 1910, and is considered one of the most interesting examples of early reinforced concrete construction in Ireland.
It was demolished and reconstructed using concrete and reinforced steel between October 2009 and December 2010, before being re-opened in August 2011 by the then Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar.
Aside from the three closed days, the centre will be open daily from 10.30am to 5pm.
