Gubbeen Loop

A calm, bright day to start December took us to Schull again to walk another of the Fastnet Trails loops. The Gubbeen Loop overlaps the Colla Loop I walked last week but is a little longer and starts in the opposite direction from the trailhead by the East End car park. (If you can’t find the car park on the map, it’s opposite the Harbour View Hotel and above the harbour). 

We walked up through the village and followed the route along a road that we had never travelled before, passing a battalion of tractors spilling out into the road by a dealer’s yard. To the north the ridge from Mount Gabriel to Knockageeha (Windy Hill) was crystal clear in the cold light. The route descended and passed the Gubbeen Farm, well known for its cheese and meat products.

An old clapper bridge at the head of Croagh River estuary marked a left turn to head towards Caherluskey where this route joined the Colla Loop to descend to Colla Pier and return to the trailhead with great views over Long Island, Copper Point lighthouse and Schull harbour.