It starts as a continuation of the N27 outside Cork City Airport. As might be expected, the standard of road drops immediately, though there has been progressive widening along this part of the road in recent years. The R600 winds its way south along the valley of the River Stick to the harbour at Kinsale, though the descent into the town is from the east.
There's then a 180-degree turn as the R600 briefly approaches the town centre, and then swings back out to run along the harbour front, with plenty of yachts visible. After a kilometre or so, it leaves the urban area and carries on hugging the north bank of the Bandon River.
After passing through Kinsale, it crosses the river to run on its south bank, and heads westwards through Ballinspittle, following the coast to Timoleague. Having passed through the village, the route turns away from the coast and heads back inland.
The end of the road appears just before Clonakilty, on the N71.
History
The R600 originally started on the N71 in the centre of Cork. The section from here to the airport was upgraded to N27. Since then that road has diverted onto the South Link Road to meet the City Centre in a different location, leaving only the section from the N40 South Ring to the Airport on the original R600 line.
The route's predecessor, the L42, crossed the River Bandon between Kinsale and Ballinspittle by means of a narrow bridge (since demolished) some way upstream of the present structure, which was completed in the later part of the 1970s.