Glengarriff (Gleann Garbh, "Rugged Glen") lies in the far southwest of Ireland at the mouth of a 6mile/10km long valley where the River Glengarriff flows into Bantry Bay.
In the favored climate of the region, to which the Gulf Stream brings moist warmth, a mantle of vegetation of almost tropical luxuriance - fuchsias, yews, hollies and arbutus
- covers the rocky slopes of the hills reaching down to the sea.
Glengarriff is a small village, wholly given up to the holiday and tourist trade, with a large amount of accommodation for visitors in private houses.