Much like the yearly transhumance herding trip we run in May that aims to inspire through the empowering discovery of true, real food production that is an active conversion of the mountain landscape into food, the coastline can offer us a similarly profound window into what it still means to subsist on the treasures of the ocean. There is no stronger connection to the landscape than that of actively becoming it through its eating.

Back in 2018, Up There The Last founder Max Jones moved to West Cork to learn from and support the traditional practice of wild Atlantic Salmon smoking, becoming swept away in the complex currents of fisheries, artisans, fishermen and the chasm that lies between how things are presented to us on the supermarket shelf, and what you discover by actually living. Please read here for more context.

For Traditions of the Sea, an empowering programme has been put together to equip the attendee with the knowledge and wherewithal to exist naturally in a coastal context. From smoking and wind-curing fish to harvesting shrimp with your own hand-made push net, to follow these traditional methods of food preservation is to become unchained from modern conditioning and to reclaim responsibility to live congruently with the ocean and the life it offers to us.

It has been this way for thousands of years.

Who is this trip for?

This programme has been designed to re-connect us to the freedom of responsibly harvesting sea-food from the wild and preserving it to traditional methods. It has been developed to break down what you have learned about food in the 21st century by total immersion into a coastal culture that has propagated techniques of food production rooted in tradition for multiple generations. It will teach you to safely forage, preserve and eat with confidence the abundant foods that are provided by the ocean and its surroundings, like potted shrimp with raw milk butter and barrel smoked fish. An experiential retreat to develop true skills and life stories, this week surfs the fine line of wholesome relaxation and thorough engagement.

We all love the sea and some of us feel drawn to engaging with it on a level that goes deeper than kicking our feet in the shallows. This is to know what happens with the swell of the tides, to understand which plants are delicious and edible. To read the coastline in a way that will allow you best guess where to find crabs, shrimp, scallops and prawns, to know what time of year it is safe to harvest, where to drop a lobster pot and how to find fish responsibly.

To date, we have been joined on previous expeditions internationally by farmers, cooks, fishers, fishmongers, chefs, artisans, fish smokers, writers, photographers, hobbyists and nature lovers.

There is the option to stay in the house accommodation, or to purchase an individual ticket for the day attendance, with your own accommodation.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

How to best use salt for preservation - dry salting and bringing
Fish filleting
Traditional passive method cold smoking and how to build a barrel smoker
Hot smoking fish at home
Curing with natural wind
De-pasteurising cream to understand how to make real cultured butter
Fermenting milk

Sea foraging for edible greens
Bastible bread-baking on the fire
Catching shrimp with your own hand-made net
Seaweed ID and preparation
How to make your own willow lobster creel
Raking for cockles and salting for razor clams
Cold smoking fish
Fire-cooking and preparing crab, lobster and shellfish
Multiple traditional recipes
And more…

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What’s Included?

What’s included?

Six nights accommodation in a 1700’s estate right on the Atlantic in West Cork (If booked accommodation)
Breakfast and lunch for the week with a community feast on the final evening
The complete set of Up There The Last’s coastal offerings consolidated into a single programme
Hyper-regional traditional coastal recipe sessions
Internationally acclaimed “Forbidden Food” tasting seminar
Cockling, shrimping, lobster-potting and hand-diving for spider crabs
Raw milk masterclass with traditional hand-made booley butter and real cheese
Visits to the inshore fleet and fish dealers
Masterclasses in smoking, curing, raw milk butter making, foraging, filleting, fire cooking and more
Breakfast and lunch, which are intentionally focused on traditional coastal cooking methods and disappearing traditional recipes
Immersive beach dinner and communal feast
How to create a hot and cold smoker for home preservation
Building your own push-net for shrimping
N.B
- These are subject to slight alteration as sometimes we like to include new and wonderful activities or shift things depending on the weather
- Courses will finish around 17:00 after which you are free to do what you like around West Cork!

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WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED

Flights to Cork
Transport from Cork to Castletownshend - Please contact us with help and advice
Evening dinners - there are local restaurants and pubs, and access to the Drishane Kitchen for self- cooked/communal meals

SUNDAY

ARRIVAL // Check in 16:00

CORK AIRPORT

Optional collection from Cork Airport and an hour and a half drive along the coast into wild West Cork, the most south-westerly point of Ireland. Coach arrives into Skibbereen with free private collection from the coach stop to your final destination, Castletownshend.

A stone house with ivy growing on its walls, surrounded by lush green trees and a gravel driveway leading to the entrance.

DRISHANE HOUSE

Drishane has been in the same family for nine generations and will your home for the duration of Traditions of the Sea. Perfectly placed between several of the most important learning locations for the programme across West Cork, Drishane overlooks the ocean with which you will become well acquainted during your stay, and will become your home away from home.

View through a window showing a scenic coastal landscape with grass, trees, rocks, and the ocean with a sailboat, framed by white curtains and a dark interior.

DINNER AND SOME PINTS

As guests arrive throughout the day, you will be shown to your room before joining the group for a hearty meal after which we will walk to the local pub and get to know one-another over pints of foamy stout and fiddles by yet another toasty fire. To see off the night you can drink a “burnt barley flip”- a soporific nightcap made by plunging a red hot poker into a glass of stout, rum, honey and a dash of raw milk.

BED

After dinner we head back to Drishane to sleep in preparation for the days ahead.

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A gravel driveway in front of a large house with ivy-covered walls and multiple chimneys, surrounded by trees under a cloudy sky.

Group of people sitting around a dinner table outdoors at night, illuminated by a lantern, with a dark sky above.

Scenic view of a bay with rocky shoreline, green cliffs in the background, and a partly cloudy sky.

MONDAY

FISH, SALT & THE WIND

LEASURELY BREAKFAST

You are awoken by the welcome scent of coffee rising through the floorboards from the kitchen. Come downstairs for a leasurely breakfast, based around traditional morning foods like yoghurt, home made bread, raw milk, natural butter and seasonal preserves.

FRESH FISH AND FORAGE

After breakfast we will drive along the coast to Union Hall (Bréantrá), a small village which is home to the nearest fishing fleet. Here we will select some of the fish will work with for the week such as monkfish, whiting, hake, haddock, gurnard, John Dory, mullet etc. Once packed and put on ice, we head to a secret estuary for the traditional foraging of delicious sea greens before heading back to Drishane for a session in fish skills, filleting and salt/brining regime.

A fish on a wooden cutting board with a knife at the bottom. To the right, a bowl with seafood and red sauce.

Slice of salted salmon fish on a black counter with salt scattered around in a rustic kitchen setting.

CURING

After lunch we look at the effects of wind and using the coastal climate to our advantage in terms of preserving fish through desiccation. A short seminar on the role salt and wind play in the preservation of fish will culminate in its practical application as after filleting, brining and tying off the fish, we will string up the fish to dry in the sea wind. This will prepare us for cold smoking, and also forms the first phase of pellicle development for hot smoking.

During this session we will look at Dexter beef from Drishane and how to process meat in the same way.

EVENING RELAX AND BED

You are free to explore West Cork for restaurants or the village of Castletownshend or make use of the communal kitchen. We can run you into town for supplies if you want to eat at home.

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TUESDAY

WILLOW LOBSTER CREEL MAKING & COLD SMOKING

WILLOW LOBSTER POTS

After breakfast we look at crafting for sea sustenance.

These are a look at the entirely passive systems of engaging with the land and sea, to find our food in the most sustainable way possible. Brendan Simpson, an ex-commercial fisherman will teach the making of traditional ink-well pots, for the successful harvest of crustacea from the Atlantic. Traditionally dropped from currach boats and fished for a tide, these traditional tools are a way of enduring coastal existence.

SMOKE THEORY AND LIGHTING THE FIRE

After lunch you will fire up the cold smoker. This is a beautiful phase that encourages you to gently respond to the natural behaviour of the wood burner and smoke, registering olfactory changes to the different burn temperatures of varying sizes of native hardwood, successfully managing the fire to give a continuous flow of smoke.

During this afternoon session you will also look at other foods to smoke and the subsequent techniques to correctly manage them in the smoker. This will include how to hang strips of dexter beef, wrap cheese and butter in muslin and consider the actual risks and realities of cross-contamination when using a single smoking chamber for multiple foods.

The smoker will remain lit through the night with one volunteer to check on it at midnight!

Person bending over emitting smoke near a large outdoor smoking device with a chimney-like vent and a coiled hose, set outdoors with greenery and boats in the background.

WEDNESDAY

BREAD & BUTTER & HOT SMOKED FISH

THE OLD GRAIN STORE

After breakfast you head to the Old Grain Store in Clonakilty, our secret HQ location dedicated to the making of all our traditional foods. You will learn about raw milk, natural starter cultures and how to de-pasteurise cream to create real farmhouse butter by hand churning and shaping to traditional methods. This is one of the most popular courses at Up There The Last, and will change the way you eat forever.

LUNCH

Lunch is a spread of some of the interesting examples of real food we have collected, including natural cheeses, charcuterie, home grown salad and more.

HOT SMOKED FISH* IMMERSIVE FEAST

One of the most popular sessions at Up There The Last is this absolutely magnificent meal on the beach, finally hot-smoking our brined air cured fish to the traditional method; in a barrel dug deep in the sand. A fire is made with oak and your catch is cooked up there and then, with your toes in the same sand from which this world-class seafood is caught and where we learn the true meaning of local eating through wild food and fire.

*Weather permitting

THURSDAY

SEA PICKING

THE BEACH

After breakfast, the morning’s session will be all about the tide as we head to a traditional spot to forage for bivalves, traditionally known as “sea-picking”.

COCKLES AND MUSSELS

The sea is enchanting and so many of us feel drawn to its charm. To be able to read the landscape and successfully harvest food from the foreshore is to augment this powerful connection to the ocean. The traditional way is to head out at low tide with rakes, baskets and salt to forage for cockles, mussels, gaper and razor clams, along with a variety of more seasonal seashore greens. During the week, we will be outside of harvest time for these wild creatures- we will learn the techniques to catch them and then put them back, eating in their stead shellfish provided by local Roaringwater Bay seaman Colin, cooked on the fire.

AFTERNOON OFF!

EVENING RELAX AND BED

You are free to explore West Cork for restaurants or the village of Castletownshend or make use of the communal kitchen. We can run you into town for supplies if you want to eat at home.

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A basket of oysters on a wooden board, with a small bottle of hot sauce, a knife, and some cloths, placed on a gravel surface.

FRIDAY

SEAWEED FORAGING AND THE MIGHTY FEAST

SEAWEED FORAGING SKILLS

Breakfast is followed by a session with local expert and artist Samuel Arnold Keane*, a devotee of all things of the sea. Learn seaweeds by their original Irish names, practical uses and traditional methods of harvest and processing.

Lunch is fish wrapped in seaweed on the fire.

*TBC

COMMUNAL COOKING & BREAD ROUND THE FIRE

The afternoon is relaxed with no commitments prior to the big feast. In the past, guests have enjoyed helping with the prep for the evening dinner which will be spent around the fire and learning how to bake bread using the resulting butter day buttermilk, in a bastible pot. The traditional recipe for Soda Bread is intrinsic to understanding the origin and cultural standing of cultured butter and shall be made under the guidance of Ita Sheehey, a wonderful local cook who remembers the technique of baking in her grandmother’s iron pot over the fire.

MIGHTY SEA FEAST

Tonight we feast, celebrating your new knowledge by eating and drinking amongst friends! Please let us know if you play music, we can arrange for instruments to be there. Also, we will most likely get quite pissed at this one so you may want to have your things packed in the afternoon!

SATURDAY

Farewell // Checkout 11:00

With no commitments, today is all about a hungover full-Irish breakfast and your own enjoyment of beautiful West Cork, heading away to your next adventure. Be it the local market or an early morning pint, we are happy to recommend activities in the area.

A scenic view of the ocean and shoreline with hills in the distance, under a partly cloudy sky.

SOME OF THE DISHES YOU WILL EAT AND LEARN DURING THE PROGRAMME

Anchovies, raw booley butter and bread

Real buttermilk, steamed potatoes

West Cork Smokeys, samphire, booley butter, fermented wild garlic and steamed potatoes

Potted shrimp

Spider crab in sherry

Smoked wild Atlantic salmon on soda bread and booley butter

Cockles and mussels on the fire with bread and dripping

Carrageen Moss Pudding

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ACCOMMODATION

HOME

The house is equipped with everything you would expect from a large family home, centrally heated in parts and there are wood-burning stoves or open fires in all the public spaces.

INCLUDES ONE FULL-WEEK COURSE TICKET

DOUBLE - €3410

SINGLE - €3160

TWIN - €2535

If you would like to come as a couple and take a double room, or with a friend for the twin, the cost is the room above plus the €1650 ticket price for the extra person.

If you would like to pitch your own tent and avail of the programme without accommodation in the house, the front lawn will be accessible.

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A bedroom with two wooden bed frames with white bed linens and pillows. There are two bedside lamps on a wooden nightstand between the beds, a painting on the wall above, and a carpeted floor with a small portion of a decorative rug visible.

A bedroom with a wooden four-poster bed, white bedding, and floral-patterned sides. There are windows with white and red curtains, a small nightstand with a lamp, and a bookshelf with books.

Living room with large window, framed portraits, floral-patterned furniture, and a wooden piano with framed photos on top.

Bathroom with a vintage clawfoot bathtub, a small wooden vanity with a sink, a framed mirror, a wicker basket, and a window with floral curtains allowing sunlight to brighten the room.

REQUIREMENTS AND KIT-LIST

The weather in West Cork is unpredictable, so it is best to plan for everything. Here is a quick guide to packing sensibly for the week.

Light travel sack to carry water, layers and snacks during day outings.
Good walking boots. The comfiest, most warn-in ones you have, ankle support is advised. Don’t risk a new pair on this trip in case you get blisters if they’re not broken in!
Wellies / gum boots
Crocs / comfies for around the house
Waterproofs
Plenty of socks
A beach towel
Bring your favourite knife to have with you and sharpen
You should have your own travel insurance cover
If you play an instrument, feel free to bring it along as we will be having a music session during the week!
If you would like to try a dive or swim on your own time, a wetsuit and booties are advised

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A loaf of rustic bread on a wooden serving board, with a knife stuck in the bread, set on a wooden picnic table outdoors. There is an oil lamp and a bottle of beer, with a jar of jam or preserves, in the background on the table. A beach and shoreline are visible in the background.

THE CREW

This year’s programme has been set around engagement with coastal traditions and will also feature, depending on availability, some of the wonderful folk that make up this portion of the Atlantic Coastline and whose knowledge is invaluable.

Carpenter Kyle Huamali, baker Colm Crowley, fish smoker Sally Ferns Barns, forager Samuel Arnold-Keane, fisherman Ruari Jackson, musician Eoghan Higgins and lobster potter John Cronin amongst others.

Your Guide

Here we go, 2025!

Now five years in the making, I am thrilled to release this new offering as the traditional food conservation project Up There The Last evolves.

“Traditions of the Sea” is a programme that has been put together as a result of seven years of research in the food traditions here in the South-West of Ireland.

The purpose of the programme is to reconnect us with our inherent ability and basic human right to preserve the landscape into food and to de-condition us from the unhelpful information we have learned in these past years that prevent us from fully engaging with our coastal habitat. The empowering sessions are designed to equip you with the necessary skills to sustainably locate, harvest and preserve foods from the sea and foreshore, based on traditional methods. The knowledge that has kept us alive for thousands of years.

It is a consolidation of all the costal offerings at Up There The Last, with a focus on harvesting from the ocean and preserving with nothing but fat, smoke, salt and the wind, to natural methods.

I cannot wait to see you there.

Max

Max Jones - Up There The Last

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A person sitting in a cave with a view of the ocean and distant cliffs, while a dog sits nearby.

A small harbor with several boats docked, surrounded by a concrete pier, with green hills and cloudy sky in the background.

A view of a grassy field in the foreground, a coastal cliff with greenery in the middle, and the ocean with a cloudy sky in the background.

Clams cooking on a grill over an open fire, in black mesh baskets, outdoors on rocky ground.

A person wearing a yellow jacket and black beanie standing in shallow water by a lake or sea, holding an orange stick, with overcast skies and mountainous landscape in the background.

A person pouring small seashells into a black cast iron skillet over a campfire outdoors, with rocks and a wooden bench in the background.

A person holding a jar of cream or milk with a metal lid, standing at a wooden counter with a large metal container and some kitchen utensils. In the background, there are several people gathered, and the setting appears to be an indoor space with wo

A group of people gathered inside a rustic, sunlit room with large windows, engaging in a communal activity and sharing smiles.

People gathered outdoors in a grassy field, sitting on chairs and standing, enjoying a barbecue with smoke rising from the grill, surrounded by trees and hills under a clear sky.

A person roasting marshmallows over an open campfire outdoors during daytime, with a person in the background standing near the fire.

A group of people playing musical instruments outdoors in a grassy field. There is a woman playing an accordion and a man playing a violin, with others in the background.

A group of people gathered around a table outdoors at night, illuminated by lanterns, with a dark blue sky and trees silhouetted against the moon in the background.

Person cooking outdoors over a fire, holding a wicker basket filled with small potatoes, with a pot steaming on the fire, near a body of water under a clear sky.

Stack of folded colorful towels and blankets on a wooden bench outdoors near a river with cloudy sky.

A person holding a plate with grilled fish, mushrooms, and garnishments; the setting appears to be outdoors, likely at night.

Wooden table with slices of bread topped with ham and cheese, set outdoors near a body of water with hills and trees in the background during dusk.

A group of people gathered around a table outdoors on a rocky beach, with a stormy sky and a hillside covered in trees and shrubs in the background. There are dogs with the group, and the table has a lantern and various items on it.

Basket of freshly baked bread on a stone surface outdoors, with a cast iron skillet filled with cooked wild mushrooms nearby, and various bottles and jars in the background.

A group of people gathered around a table outdoors at night, illuminated by candles and string lights, enjoying a social event with smiles and conversation.

Dried fish hung on a wooden rack, set against a beach with water and hills in the background, on a cloudy day.

A cast iron skillet with sautéed yellow and brown mushrooms, a metal spoon, and a black tripod stand outdoors on a gravel surface.

Meat drying on a string over a fire pit outdoors, supported by a rustic wooden frame, with trees in the background.

Close-up of two smoked fish held by a person's hand with a brown wristwatch, in front of a grill.

A campfire with a black metal pot on top, set on a rocky beach with logs and baskets nearby. In the background, green foliage extends along the shoreline under a cloudy sky.

A basket of oysters on a wooden table at an outdoor market or event.

A crab trap made of black netting with a yellow rope tied to it, sitting on sandy ground, with a buoy, a black helmet or plastic container, and some tangled ropes near it. The background shows someone's legs and grassy terrain.

A red lobster being held with a slotted spoon over a cooking pot.

A group of men at a beach picnic, some shirtless, gathered around a table with food, with the ocean and hills in the background.

A fish served on a white plate with greens and potatoes.

Lobster and bread rolls on a wooden surface.

A table set for a meal outdoors, with white plates, glasses, and cutlery, and three vintage lanterns as centerpieces, against a background of a lakeshore or river with grassy hills and trees under a cloudy sky.

Person holding a basket with small potatoes over a campfire, with a group of people sitting at a table near the water in the background.

Two lanterns burning on a wooden table near a beach with water and distant hills in the background, and a pair of work gloves on the table.

Fishing boats with fish heads attached, lined up on a wooden rack, on a beach with water and a distant landmass in the background.

A wooden picnic basket contains dried fish, set on sandy ground, with a large piece of fabric or netting draped over the fish.

Dried fish hanging on a wooden rack outdoors near a body of water with hills in the background.

A split roasted fish on brown parchment paper on a wooden table. In the background, there are a glass of red wine, a knife, a candle, and a paper tube.

A cozy living room with vintage furniture, paintings, and large window with cream curtains that open to a garden and ocean view.

A landscape of a park or meadow with tall trees on the left and right, green grass in the foreground, and a line of trees in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.

View through a series of doorways into a living room with upholstered furniture, lamps, and framed artwork, with a patterned carpet and curtains.

A formal dining room with a long wooden table surrounded by antique chairs with pink and red upholstered seats, ornate curtains, and framed paintings on the walls, with sunlight coming through large open windows.

A cozy living room with a large window and cream curtains, decorated with framed paintings and pictures, a piano, and comfortable upholstered chairs and sofas.

Interior view of a room with a large arched window and glass door overlooking a lush green garden and trees outside. Light curtains frame the window, and part of a wooden dresser with framed photos and decorative items is visible on the right.

Room with window showing a scenic view of a coastline, with trees and a sailboat on the water, and a park bench outside.

Interior of a house featuring a staircase with a carpeted banister, framed artwork on the wall, a table with a flower arrangement, and chairs with decorative pillows, illuminated by natural light.

A gravel driveway leads to a house surrounded by greenery, with trees and bushes on either side and a clear sky above.

A person holding a block of cheese over a container filled with water, with another person partially visible on the left. The scene appears to be in a dimly lit room.

Several pieces of sliced cheese on a dark wooden cutting board.

People sit at a wooden dining table in a cozy, warmly lit room with wood-paneled walls and cabinets filled with dishes and glasses, enjoying a social gathering.

“I joined Max for a Forbidden Foods tour expecting fresh butter and foraged foods from West Cork, but instead received a deeply transformative and philosophical experience about our connections to the past and our hopes for the future. Max's inquisitive brain and deep desire to better understand our food gave me greater insights into the challenges of our current systems and ways we can restore ancestral practice for the health of our planet and ourselves. He brought joy and brilliance to our afternoon together, and I find myself regularly reflecting on the big questions he posed. And the food was delicious too! I highly, highly reccomend Max and his tours”

— Hon. Jessie Ulibarri
"Up There The Last speaks the language of community through the cultural culinary traditions of Ireland, leaving behind the message that it is possible to create kinship whoever you are and wherever you go with nothing but the most basic of provisions. With the magic of this vision we are shown us that to return to the ways of our ancestors is to return to our humanity. You won't want to miss this experience. I assure you there is nothing like it."

Taryn G