In the local village of Annascaul, there are 2 small shops, a cafe, a sports centre and a football field,a medical centre, a natural therapist, a small sculpture museum (above the south pole pub), a beautiful green area by the river, cycle and walking tracks, bike hire, a church, several pubs some of which serve food, and a pizza restaurant. See annascaulvillage.ie website for more information. At nearby Inch Beach there is a restaurant/cafe on the beach, a hotel that serves food and Foley's Pub 2 kms from the beach which is very atmospheric and also serves food. There is also a church at Inch. From April to October there are 2 surf schools on Inch beach with surf hire. Inch is everyone's playground in the summer with people playing hurling, football, horse-riding (although there are no horse-riding schools) and all the water sports. Minard Beach is a beautiful storm beach beside Minard castle, holy well & pier. There is a track from Annascaul lake up into the mountains, although you will need good orienteering maps if you want to explore the hills as the walks are not marked.