At the northern extremities of Glandore Harbour lies the village of Leap (pronounced Lep). Leim Ui Dhonnabhain (Gaelic) derives from an ancient story of a local Chieftain O’Donovan, who while being pursued by enemies jumped the ravine and escaped, thus O’Donovan’s Leap. In fact there is an old saying “Beyond the Leap, beyond the law”, indicating that the countryside west of Leap, was a haven for criminals and political refugees on the run as they could not be easily followed past the Leap,
To the west of the village, on the Skibbereen road, are the Shepperton Lakes, picturesquely set beneath the hills. These are very popular trout & fishing waters. Ballinlough Lake lies to the north.
Leap is a village noted for hosting rock bands and racehorses. The Central Track is used for trotting and sulkey racing (similar to harness racing), two horse racing disciplines which are fairly unique to the West Cork region.
