As its name implies in the Irish language - The Rough Glen - it is a place of unrivalled beauty surrounded by high mountain ridges. The long narrow valley stretches down south to the sheltered harbour with many islands. Renowned for its Mediterranean type climate it is a botanist's paradise as well as a resort of peacefulness and tranquillity which attracted the British Royalty in past years. Garnish Island in the centre of the harbour presents the best example of semi-tropical vegetation in this hemisphere.