Mizen Head: The Walk, Map + Visitor Guide

Perched at the southern tip of Ireland, Mizen Head boasts dramatic cliffs, a towering bridge and a historic signal station.

A wild windswept peninsula with a fascinating history, Mizen Head is a breath-taking (literally!) place to experience the power of the Atlantic Ocean.

Stretching out from the southwest of Cork, it’s nearly the most southerly point of Ireland (pipped to 1st place by nearby Brow Head).

Some need-to-knows before visiting Mizen Head

 

Now, although a visit to Mizen Head in Cork is pretty straightforward, there are a few need-to-knows that’ll make your visit that bit more enjoyable. 

1. Location

Mizen Head is located at the tip of the Mizen Head Peninsula in southwest Cork, a 15-minute drive from Crookhaven.

2. Parking/getting there

• Car park: The Mizen Head car park is generally quite outside of the summer months
• Getting here from Cork City: The easiest way to get from Cork City is on this guided tour

3. Opening hours

Mizen Head is open: 

• July and August: 10:00 – 18:00
• September + October: 10:30 – 17:00
• November – March: Weekends from 11:00 – 16:00
• April, May, June: 10:30 – 17:00

4. Admission

Tickets for Mizen Head are priced at €7.50 for an adult, €6 for a senior/student, €4.50 for a child under 15 and free for a child under 5. Please note that you can’t buy tickets online.

5. Well worth a visit (but be weary of the weather)

A visit to Mizen Head is well worth it. I have visited 7 or 8 times over the years and, despite now being very familiar with the peninsula, it never fails to delight. It’s well worth packing for every type of weather – the wind here is fierce, so be prepared!

Things to see and do at Mizen Head

A visit to the Mizen Peninsula is one of the best things to do in West Cork for good reason.

Views aside, there’s a wealth of history to be discovered and it all begins from the visitor centre.

1. Start at the Mizen Head visitor centre

The Mizen Head visitor centre is where you’ll be able to get a real sense of Mizen Head’s history and what life was like for the lighthouse keepers of yesteryear.

They’ve reconstructed the living quarters of a keeper, complete with maps of the era and a chart of what his daily routine would have been. 

You’ll also be able to learn more about the grizzly shipwrecks that occurred in the area, such the SS Stephen Whitney and SS Trada.

There’s information on the interesting story of nearby Fastnet Lighthouse (AKA ‘Ireland’s Teardrop’) too.

2. Kick things off with coastal views

After leaving the visitor centre, you’ll come to a little opening in the steel fence that leads down towards the cliffs.

Although the ground is nice and smooth, it can get quite steep so take care.

You’ll eventually come to a little viewing platform where you’ll get some truly epic vistas!

t’s important to note that the walk back up to the visitor centre is very taxing, so it won’t suit anyone with low levels of fitness or limited mobility. 

3. Walk to the Mizen Head bridge

The Mizen Head bridge is one of the more memorable places to visit in Cork.

Though useful to get from the mainland to Cloghane Island, the views while you’re actually on the Mizen Head bridge itself are stunning.

The bridge is 355 metres from the visitor centre and it’ll take you around 15 minutes to walk to it.

Around 150ft above sea level, the Mizen Head bridge was completed in 1910 and is one of the most interesting examples of early reinforced concrete construction in Ireland.

The old Mizen Head bridge lasted almost 100 years before engineers surveying it deemed it unsafe and it was closed overnight in February 2005.

You’ll also get more eye-level views of the rugged cliffs as they fall away into the distance. And don’t forget to look out for seals and their pups on the rocks below!

4. The Mizen Head signal station

Despite not looking like a traditional tall lighthouse (check out the ferry tours to Fastnet Rock for that sort of thing), Mizen Head’s lighthouse is still the centrepiece of a trip here.

From the signal station not only will you have the sweeping panoramas of the Wild Atlantic Way, but you’ll be able to have a true sense of what it was like for ships passing by through here before the jet age changed everythin.

There’s also an array of interesting wildlife to look out for at Mizen Head depending on what time of year you visit, especially Dolphins and Whales.

The history of Mizen Head signal station

Mizen Head has a bountiful history attached to it and there’s many tales that can discovered if you visit the visitor centre.

Here’s an overview of where it all began.

The early days and the first lighthouse

The wild waters off Mizen Head had always been a treacherous place for ships to navigate, but things came to a head in 1847 with the sinking of the American liner the SS Stephen Whitney.

With the tragic loss of 92 lives, the Irish Light Board decided a lighthouse needed to be built and one has stood at Fastnet Rock since 1854. 

The SS Trada

Sadly, the fog and gales off Mizen Head were too much for mighty SS Trada, which sunk on December 22nd, 1908.

However, resident engineer Thomas Lord and his fellow workers were able to rescue 63 crew by pulling them up the side of the cliffs.

n the ensuing enquiry, the master of the ship blamed the disaster on the lack of a fog signal.

The fog signal and an armed raid

In 1909 a fog signal was established so that, in any fog conditions, a manual charge of explosives was let off at seven and half minute intervals.

Those explosives were the target of an armed raid on the 21st of May 1920 and they were stolen in their entirety.

Surprisingly, the fog signal wasn’t re-established until February 29th, 1924. 

The first Radiobeacon in Ireland

Ireland’s first radiobeacon was installed at Mizen Head on the 1st of January 1931 at a cost of £10,017.

Though more modern technology has since been added, the remains of the beacon can still be seen on the hillside in the concrete plinths either side of the bridge.

The Medium Frequency Radiobeacon service was discontinued on 1st February 1999.

1930 – 1968

On October 1st, 1959, a powerful light was established at Mizen Head with a strength of 11,400 candelas.

Almost 10 years later, on the 10th of October 1968, the range of the light was increased to 16 nautical miles.

1968 had proved to be a pivotal year in Mizen Head’s communication abilities – a racon (radar transponder beacon) had been established in July 1968.

The withdrawal of the Lightkeepers

As technology progressed, the withdrawal of the lightkeepers became an inevitability.

The permanent withdrawal of the lightkeepers finally happened in March 1993 when the Mizen Head light was converted to automatic operation.

Thankfully, the surplus buildings were able to be converted to create the Mizen Vision visitor centre!

Things to do nearby

One of the beauties of Mizen Head is that it’s a short spin away from many other notable landmarks of Ireland.

Below, you’ll find a handful of things to see and do a stone’s throw from Mizen Head:

1. Brow Head (15-minute drive): The most southerly point of mainland Ireland
2. Barleycove Beach (5-minute drive): Arguably one of the best beaches in West Cork
3. Beara Peninsula (1-hour drive): A glorious corner of corner home to Healy Pass and much more
4. Nearby towns and villages (30 – 60 minutes): Schull (30 minutes), Ballydehob (40 minutes), Skibbereen (50 minutes) and Baltimore (1-hour)
5. Islands: Cape Clear Island, Bere Island, Sherkin Island and Whiddy Island