I travelled here with my Mum and Dad while on a trip for their 60th birthday. We spent a few days in Dublin before flying to Cork airport and picking up a hire car. After the hustle, bustle and drunkenness of Dublin, West Cork seemed like a complete contrast. A pleasant drive of an hour or so from Cork city took us through some pretty little towns, and we finally popped out on a clifftop with beautiful views of Glandore and Union Hall. After stopping for a quick pint (great Murphy's!) at the clifftop pub, we took the winding road down to Union Hall: a pretty and tranquil little village that curled around the harbour.

Seascape was easy to find as,even though there were plenty of instructions on the website, it is such a beautiful building and right on the water's edge as you come into the village. Julie (the host) was there to welcome us and showed us around the house. We were shown to our rooms: Mine was a good size and had a double bed, even though I had only booked a single room. Mum and Dad's had double and single beds and an ensuite bathroom. (The bathroom I used was a well-equipped and just across the hall). The bedroom doors opened out to a landing with a huge window that looked out to beautiful views over the harbour, and over the landing was a view down to the dining room, which was nicely laid out for breakfast. There was a large lving room with TV, DVD player, games etc. We were told to make ourselves at home and then Julie left us to do exactly that. We were lucky with the weather, so we strolled around the village for a couple of hours. We probably saw less than ten people in that time! It was so quiet, which is just what we needed after a busy start to the week. Nevertheless the people we saw were friendly and said hello to the strange English folk who were walking round their village... Even a local dog came and said hello and walked around with us for a bit! Then we had a nice dinner (roast beef with 3 types of potato amongst other things!) in a local pub, (with more lovely Murphy's) and got an early night. The beds were very comfortable and the village was so peaceful that the only things that woke us were the sunshine and the birds singing...

We had booked a Whale Watching trip the next morning so I asked our host if she could make breakfast a bit early. She was only too happy to oblige. The breakfast was outstanding. Clearly our host was very proud of her breakfast, and so she should be. Freshly brewed tea and coffee were brought to the table. Plenty of fruit, juice, cereals and yoghurt were there for starters, while Julie rustled up a mighty fry-up for Dad and me, and smoked salmon with scrambled eggs for mum. Very delicious!

The sad thing was that we then had to pack up and leave for our boat trip. Our next destination was further round the coast, so we didn't return to Seascape. However I would love to go back sometime.

Union Hall is not the place for you if you are looking for exciting nightlife or bustling culture. Nor is it very practical if you don't have transport. However, if you want a complete rest in tranquil surroundings with friendly people, then this is for you. I probably wouldn't stay more than a couple of days in Union Hall withough getting itchy feet, but there are lots of other seaside towns in the area that we didn't get to explore nearly enough (Glandore and Baltimore are worth a visit).

Seascape was just what we were looking for in a B&B: Clean, bright and spacious rooms, great breakfast, and a warm, friendly, but unfussy host. We left feeling very content and relaxed. Thank you!