BALTIMORE Tidy Towns committee members and volunteers made an outing on a sunny Thursday to visit Dunmore House Hotel.

Its ‘Ocean Garden’ supplies the hotel’s restaurant with seasonal produce and the gardeners, Neal Hooper and Finbarr O’Neill, walked the group through the incredible kitchen garden overlooking Clonakilty Bay, patiently explaining the planting, the sustainability practices, the challenges and solutions, and their vision for further expansion. Everyone learned a lot about companion planting, natural fertilisers and composting methods before enjoying a spot of lunch in the hotel lounge.

Baltimore Tidy Towns was established over 50 years ago in the 1970s by Jean Norman and friends, and has gone from strength to strength. Its committee of eleven members meets once a month all year round for planning and behind the scenes work. In addition to this they come out every Saturday and Wednesday mornings throughout the year for an hour’s maintenance of the over 30 beds and sites. A host of volunteers help with different jobs such as clearing verges and litter picking. This extends beyond the village to even cover part of the R595 between Baltimore and Skibbereen - a very challenging stretch and only for intrepid folk.

The latest edition of the Baltimore Heritage Trail brochure has come out and guides the visitor through 15 sites relevant to the history and built heritage of Baltimore. Some new plaques have been added and some older ones repaired or replaced (when stolen).

Everyone is welcome to attend the group’s annual fundraising coffee morning which will be held at the Baltimore Sailing Club on Tuesday August 11th from 10.30am to 12pm. There will be plants and flowers, home-made cakes, savoury bites, home-grown fruit and vegetables. There will also be tickets for the legendary raffle.