My second trip to Cork was in November, once again arriving on Friday and leaving on Sunday evening. I was better prepared this time for the epic slog to the Aer Lingus departure gate at Heathrow, and the dash across the runway at Cork International. I contemplated showing the passport guy in Cork a colouring book to see if he would notice, but I decided against it in the end – it would be just my luck that he would be paying attention that day!
On Friday we had a quiet night in front of a movie and a fire. I wanted to make a mention of the latter, as this really is a novelty for a Londoner. I can honestly say that I do not know one single person here with an open fire, but it seems it is common place in Cork to have at least one in the house. Lots of town-dwellers here have real-effect gas fires, but it just isn’t the same. The heat off them isn’t as strong, there is no lovely smell of coal or cut turf (which I have seen sold door-to-door here), and importantly, you can’t throw your rubbish in there.., It is something that I won’t be tiring of anyway. Well, maybe in the summer. Maybe.
On Saturday we headed out into the cold for a drive,
On Friday we had a quiet night in front of a movie and a fire. I wanted to make a mention of the latter, as this really is a novelty for a Londoner. I can honestly say that I do not know one single person here with an open fire, but it seems it is common place in Cork to have at least one in the house. Lots of town-dwellers here have real-effect gas fires, but it just isn’t the same. The heat off them isn’t as strong, there is no lovely smell of coal or cut turf (which I have seen sold door-to-door here), and importantly, you can’t throw your rubbish in there.., It is something that I won’t be tiring of anyway. Well, maybe in the summer. Maybe.
On Saturday we headed out into the cold for a drive,
stopping first at the Charles Fort in Kinsale. The fort was built in the late 17th century on the site of Ringcurran Castle, which apparently featured prominently in the Seige of Kinsale – a big old battle between the Irish and English, involving Irish support from the Spanish Armada! Yikes. Whilst looking up the details of this, I spotted that one of the home team leaders was an Irish King called Aodh Rua Ó Domhnaill (also known as Aodh Rua II ), which anglicised is Hugh Roe Ó Donnell (or Red Hugh II) – one of my ancestors perhaps?! He sounds like a bit of a dude, so clearly he is. (Always knew I had blue blood. Or would it be green…?)
The Charles Fort is at the entrance to Kinsale Harbour, which it overlooks, and was designed to defend attacks. It is at a very scenic location and we had a quick walk around the outside rather than paying the small charge to go in (not because we are cheap of course, but because it was freezing cold and the fort is mostly gone, so it is all outside! Brr… ). We did go for a short walk up the coastal path from the fort to look back at it and through to Kinsale harbour
– a nice walk with a great view, giving a better idea of the size and shape of the fort. James’s Fort was a similar shape and size across the harbour from this one, and there are some ruins there that I would be interested to see sometime (I read that they used to have an underwater chain between the two that could be used to clothes-line invading ships!). I think the Charles Fort might be a place to go back to in the summer to enjoy a guided tour and explore properly when it isn’t quite so chilly.
We continued on to Kinsale from the fort to have some lunch and a wander about the town. Kinsale is a place that I have associated with rugby, as I often hear about the infamous Kinsale 7s tournament. I was therefore surprised to see that it is actually a pretty little town with a harbour full of sailing boats – not somewhere I can imagine masses of stumbling rugby teams on tour… they must play elsewhere surely!? I am told that in the summer the population of Kinsale swells substantially with the sailing set and other tourists (including a lot of Brits!), but at that time of year the streets and shops were all nice and quiet. We had a coffee in a harbour café and then strolled around the streets and shops. All the buildings are b
rightly coloured, and there are lovely little gift shops everywhere, some with work from local artists. Again, I think I would like to go back to Kinsale when it is a bit warmer – it may even be improved by a little bustle. I’ve heard that they have an annual gourmet food festival so I may be investigating those dates for a return trip! I did get to watch some rugby though – an Ireland game was on the TV in the pub we stopped at for lunch!
Saturday evening was spent in a nearby town at a friend’s birthday party. In the absence of regular public transport, going out to another town gives the options of: getting a lift, driving and not drinking, getting a taxi to go out, or driving there and leaving the car, getting a cab home (and lift back the following day to collect the car!). We took the last option. We were just out in some local bars, but I enjoyed the evening – especially the fact that I could still understand everyone (it wasn’t just beginners luck! Awesome!), and my discovery the toilet door in one of the pubs was a double wardrobe door. It opened outwards and had wardrobe handles on … it was like going to Narnia to spend a penny. Amazing.
The Charles Fort is at the entrance to Kinsale Harbour, which it overlooks, and was designed to defend attacks. It is at a very scenic location and we had a quick walk around the outside rather than paying the small charge to go in (not because we are cheap of course, but because it was freezing cold and the fort is mostly gone, so it is all outside! Brr… ). We did go for a short walk up the coastal path from the fort to look back at it and through to Kinsale harbour
– a nice walk with a great view, giving a better idea of the size and shape of the fort. James’s Fort was a similar shape and size across the harbour from this one, and there are some ruins there that I would be interested to see sometime (I read that they used to have an underwater chain between the two that could be used to clothes-line invading ships!). I think the Charles Fort might be a place to go back to in the summer to enjoy a guided tour and explore properly when it isn’t quite so chilly.We continued on to Kinsale from the fort to have some lunch and a wander about the town. Kinsale is a place that I have associated with rugby, as I often hear about the infamous Kinsale 7s tournament. I was therefore surprised to see that it is actually a pretty little town with a harbour full of sailing boats – not somewhere I can imagine masses of stumbling rugby teams on tour… they must play elsewhere surely!? I am told that in the summer the population of Kinsale swells substantially with the sailing set and other tourists (including a lot of Brits!), but at that time of year the streets and shops were all nice and quiet. We had a coffee in a harbour café and then strolled around the streets and shops. All the buildings are b
rightly coloured, and there are lovely little gift shops everywhere, some with work from local artists. Again, I think I would like to go back to Kinsale when it is a bit warmer – it may even be improved by a little bustle. I’ve heard that they have an annual gourmet food festival so I may be investigating those dates for a return trip! I did get to watch some rugby though – an Ireland game was on the TV in the pub we stopped at for lunch!Saturday evening was spent in a nearby town at a friend’s birthday party. In the absence of regular public transport, going out to another town gives the options of: getting a lift, driving and not drinking, getting a taxi to go out, or driving there and leaving the car, getting a cab home (and lift back the following day to collect the car!). We took the last option. We were just out in some local bars, but I enjoyed the evening – especially the fact that I could still understand everyone (it wasn’t just beginners luck! Awesome!), and my discovery the toilet door in one of the pubs was a double wardrobe door. It opened outwards and had wardrobe handles on … it was like going to Narnia to spend a penny. Amazing.
So, after a relaxing lazy Sunday, my second trip was a little less eventful than my first due to the weather, but the good impression I had of Cork was continuing. Even the drives between these places are enjoyable, and I left looking forward to my next visit, which would not be until January…
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