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Old Head

OpenStreetMap
Looking south-west from Old Head. Terrain and imagery at true elevation.

Old Head sits at 268 feet on the Wild Atlantic Way, facing 240 degrees toward the sea, with the terrain dropping 263 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. The headland is near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. Looking west, the view extends to Blind Strand along the coast at 6.4 miles, the Coolim Cliffs section of the HDS walk at 6.5 miles, and Courtmacsherry Bay View at 7.9 miles. Seven Heads Peninsula lies to the west-southwest at 8.1 miles. The facing direction is angled 30 degrees off due west, putting it broadly in line with sunset; sunset times range from 16:27 at the December solstice to 21:56 at the June solstice, with sunrise times ranging from 05:17 in June to 08:39 in December. Galley Head View is the previous lookout on this route, and Timoleague View follows.

Access
0.4 mi detour
Elevation
268 ft
View
Southwest · 240°
Light
Best at sunset
Relief
263 ft drop
In view
4 named features
Old Head of Kinsale A view south, down the west side of the Old Head of Kinsale. Keywords: kinsale, head, sea, cliffs, rocks, gulls
Oliver Hunter · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
View north from the Old Head Signal Tower
David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
View south from the Old Head Signal Tower
David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
View west from the Old Head Signal Tower
David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Lusitania memorial - Old Head of Kinsale Remembering the 1198 civilians lost when the Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine on 7th May 1915.
John M · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
The Memorial Garden at the Lusitania Museum & Signal Tower, Old Head , Kinsale , Ireland . The Cunard passenger liner, RMS Lusitania , bound for Liverpool from New York, sank 12 miles (20 km) away, off the Old Head (the Old Head lighthouse can be seen in the photo at the top right), on 7 May 191
DeFacto · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

What you’re looking at

Named terrain inside the view from this overlook, nearest first.

  • Blind Strand38 ftwest · 6.4 mi
  • HDS walk Coolim Cliffs147 ftwest · 6.5 mi
  • Courtmacsherry Bay View361 ftwest · 7.9 mi
  • Seven Heads Peninsula126 ftwest-southwest · 8.1 mi

Light

This overlook faces sunset 30° off square to it.

DateSunriseSunsetGolden hour
March equinox06:3818:4718:03
June solstice05:1721:5621:02
September equinox07:2119:3518:51
December solstice08:3916:2715:25

Local time (Europe/Dublin). Computed for this exact position.

Where it is

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How high is Old Head?

Old Head sits at about 268 feet (82 m).

What can you see from Old Head?

From Old Head: Blind Strand (W, 6.4 mi); HDS walk Coolim Cliffs (W, 6.5 mi); Courtmacsherry Bay View (W, 7.9 mi); Seven Heads Peninsula (WSW, 8.1 mi).

Is Old Head better at sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. The land falls away from Old Head toward the sunset, so at sunrise the light is behind you. Exact times shift through the year; the page shows the current window.

What is the next lookout after Old Head?

Timoleague View is the next surfaced lookout along the same route after Old Head.

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Locals make it Verified.

Old Head — confirmed, rated, and photographed by people who actually pulled over. A local confirmation is what upgrades a lookout from Discovered to Verified. Zero hallucinations.

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Field notes

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