We are just back from an amazing 8-day / 8-night road trip across the beautiful southern coast of Ireland. Our adventure began just outside the lovely little town of Drimoleague in West Cork at Top of the Rock Pod Park & Walking Center.
Top of the Rock is home to pod accommodation, walking trails and a Farm Hands program for families. It is also the location of David Ross’ family home. David, his wife Elizabeth & their children make the stay all the more special with their warm hospitality.
Top of the Rock is located on top of a big hill with stunning views out over West Cork. They have 7 pods on their property and a large communal space with kitchens, dining area, toys, a game room, toilets, shower block & even a BBQ.
Drimoleague is only a couple kilometres away. It has a Centra, restaurant & pubs. Bantry, Skibbereen & other gorgeous coastal towns are only a short drive down the road, making Top of the Rock an excellent place to stay for exploring West Cork.
The Celtic Pod – A Luxury Pod
We checked into one of the Ross’ luxury pods, which means we had our own toilet, sink, refrigerator, toaster & kettle! This was glamping at it’s finest. Our pod was the Celtic Pod which has a glorious view out over the valley & hills. We had our own picnic table for having our meals while watching the animals & enjoying the view.
Here is the Celtic Pod inside and out…
The pod & common area building were spotlessly clean with a smell of clean throughout them. The pod also included cutlery, plates, glasses & a microwave. The bed was made & we had two bath towels & one hand towel also included.
The couch opens up which would allow two people to sleep on it. We left it as is with our oldest sleeping on the couch & our younger two on the floor. There are extra mattresses to borrow in the communal building so we took two of the child-sized mattresses. It was a tight squeeze but the five of us fit with space to walk through to the toilet.
Each pod has its own private space & feel snuggled into a corner of the farm, near the walking trails. In the evening, David lit a bonfire & we enjoyed toasting marshmallows & meeting other guests.
The experience was really positive and uplighting. It was proper family bonding time with games & chat for the two evenings of our stay.
Farm Hands
Top of the Rock is part of a working farm. David, along with his wife & daughter, run a program called Farm Hands for families to attend. It runs for two hours & is packed with learning & fun on the farm.
I’ve put together this video of our Farm Hands experience so you can get at taste of what it’s like!
If the video doesn’t play, you can watch it directly on YouTube here.
All 5 of us enjoyed Farm Hands. The homemade biscuits at the picnic was a firm favourite as was little Marshmallow, a pet lamb who followed us around the farm. It’s a fun & interactive experience for guests of Top of the Rock & also for visitors who aren’t staying there.
Walking Trails
Top of the Rock is also home to a series of walking trails. We ventured out on the purple trail which follows the river for awhile. It was a stunning walk through the fields, passed the duck pond, down along the river & back up to the pods.
The purple trail took 40 minutes. Our 4-year-old was totally fed up by the 30-minute mark. There are longer trails as well for those with older or no kids in tow. The walking trails is another lovely way to connect as a family & to connect with nature at Top of the Rock.
Useful Equipment & Tips for Glamping
Our pod was really well equipt! I had packed some items not realising they’d be provided, like cutlery. But things I had brought for the pod stay came in handy throughout the week.
Useful items for glamping or camping include:
Sleeping bags. The 3 kids had matching sleeping bags from Millets that were super soft, comfy & rated for temperatures between 8 – 28. So the kids were lovely & warm in their bags. It was worth getting good quality bags because the zippers didn’t open up & they were very comfortable & well made. Also, the bags were easily rolled up into carry bags for storage.
Cooler. We brought a big cooler full of supplies with us including bottles of water, burgers, yoghurt & fruit. The cooler sat out front of the pod & stayed quite cool so we were able to keep our waters & fruit stored in it. The cooler came in handy for the drive home as we loaded it up with waters & ice so we had cold drinks & food for the drive.
Entertainment. We were very lucky that there are so many activities to do at Top of the Rock like a playground, games room & toys, you can see in the photos below. There is also the Farm Hands program & walking trails. We didn’t need things to entertain us! The kids did have their Keep ‘Em Quiet activity packs which came in handy for the drives & any downtime in the pod.
Practical Items:
Eating. Items like paper plates, cutlery, napkins, paper towels, a sharp knife, scissors & cups came in handy.
Toiletries. The usual toiletries & also washcloth, hand towel & bath towels.
Pillows & bedding (depending on the type of accommodation you have booked).
Bags for rubbish & dirty laundry. You can’t pack enough of these!
Overall Experience
We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in the Celtic Pod. There are a lot of factors that made our experience at Top of the Rock so enjoyable including:
David & Elizabeth themselves. They are so welcoming & their positive energy creates the basis for a peaceful & enjoyable stay.
Having fun activities to do as a family such as…
Farm Hands
Walking Trails
Ping pong, pool table & toys
Playground
The pod, common building & grounds are so well kept. The pod was like brand new & spotlessly clean.
Elizabeth’s breakfast bag in the morning – this is well worth getting! It includes 2 freshly baked scones, a Glenilen Farm yoghurt, homemade jam & Glenilen Farm butter. It was so delicious & a highlight of our stay.
There is free wifi in the main building. And 3G throughout the farm.
We’d love to visit Top of the Rock again in the future. The overall experience was excellent. I couldn’t fault a thing. I’m really delighted we stayed there, met the Ross family & got to enjoy West Cork.
The rest of our road trip will be coming to the blog soon! So buckle your seat belt & enjoy the trip with us! For more, visit my travel with kids posts. Follow Cuddle Fairy on social media to keep up to date with the upcoming road trip posts. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. xx
We were very kindly guests at Top of the Rock & I was sent the sleeping bags & cooler for review purposes; all opinions are my own.
.png)
