Blogs from County Cork, Ireland, Europe - page 4

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Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Cork August 13th 2018

After a bit of a sleep in, Tish, Olivia and Andrew travelled to Cork City to spend the day checking out the cosmopolitan city centre as well as some fantastic old architecture. Highlight was an indoor market which commenced trading in 1788, the same year Australia was settled by the First Fleet And included a fish market with some mighty strange looking fish Australia. After some retail therapy and a visit to the Cork tourist information office, we checked out some of Cork’s oldest pubs many of which have live music in the evenings. In the late afternoon we stopped at one of those trendy old pubs which had been converted from a pharmacy and indulged in a meat & cheese platter plus a salmon patty platter washed down with some sauvigon blanc. Before long, it ... read more
Watergrasshill
Cork
Cork

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Cork May 3rd 2018

What a day of contrasts; from the cleanliness, orderliness and busyness of Killarney, to the ruggedness, wildness and coldness of the Gap of Dunloe on the edge of the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks (Ireland’s highest mountain range) with its fast flowing streams, numerous crags, lakes, waterfalls and zig-zagging narrow roads to Kenmare and its environmental and town beauty, Skibbereen on the banks of the river Ilen and surrou...nded by numerous small farms, Glengariff, tucked away in a thickly wooded slope right down to its inlet; Leap, a small fishing village, Clonakilty with its cheerfully painted buildings and with its numerous pubs through to Brandon and onto the old city of Cork on the River Lee, and sadly, its down-and-outs and rushing from here to there; the constant throughout the day … drizzle, low cloud and mist. The photos ... read more
Weather closing in.
Over flowing lake.
Very cold.

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Schull September 10th 2017

Day 9 Schull It looks like we may be heading for a wild day,but who knows. The rain has just eased off after hitting the windows for a while, but at least the wind will blow us along for some time until we turn the headland at Bantry. I would like another day like yesterday where we saw 3000 cyclists heading in the opposite direction on the Rebel Tour of Cork 160km sportive and where the sun was shining on all the boats in Castletownbere harbour at night. Maccarthys Bar was also good last night with the walls plastered with memorabilia and there was even a bacon slicer on the counter and posters everywhere such as the one I posted denying access to Thieves, Fakirs Rogues and Vagabonds. The morning continued overcast but luckily only a ... read more
Glengarriff
A proper cup of coffee.

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Beara Pen September 9th 2017

Day 8. Castletownbera. 112km Nice night at the Smugglers Inn at Waterville despite the noisy golf party who ate after us in the restaurant and bellowed on way into the night. The weather was wild overnight and we had a bad forecast for today. However, it set off dull and dry and apart from one quick shower we had a great day with quite a bit of sun and enough wind on our backs to make us smile. We took our photos by the Charlie Chaplain statue in Waterville ,as we do by the Eric Morecambe statue in Morecambe. After the first big climb out of Waterville we had the greatest views ever of he coastline with its many rugged islands and had to stop many times. We had two large climbs before hitting Sneem for ... read more
Murphy's Restaurant.

Europe » Ireland » County Cork September 8th 2017

Monday 4 September About 50 km from Dublin is the Kildare area. The area is famous for patron saint of Ireland, St Brigid, and her messages of the interrelatedness of nature and spirituality dating back to the 5th century. It is known for the original monastery founded by St. Brigid on the site of an oak tree (Kildare meaning 'church of the oak'). This became one of the three most important Christian foundations in Celtic Ireland. Since mummy teaches at a school which is based on the principles of St. Brigid, we thought it would be a good place to visit. Our first stop was the information centre. The lady there was very helpful and gave us a map showing where everything would be, showed us some reproductions from the book of Kildare, and told us ... read more
Kildare - St Brigid's well
Kildare - St Brigid's well
Kildare - St Brigid's well

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney August 18th 2017

Today we leave Killarney and travel to Waterford, home of Waterford Crystal with a stop at the Blarney Castle. It was a particularly bleak looking day with overcast skies and a drenching rain. At least we will be traveling today. I usually like to watch the scenery and take photos as we drive, but not today. I couldn't keep my eyes open and kept dozing off. Our first stop was at Blarney Castle and the Blarney stone. When we arrived we were given an orientation by Patrick about where to meet and he gave us 3 hours of free time. Peter dropped us off at the castle and as is usually the case, the rain stopped and the sun came out with just intermittent showers for the rest of the time at the castle. The Blarney ... read more

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney August 17th 2017

The Ring of Kerry is a scenic drive around the Iveragh Peninsula in southwest Ireland's County Kerry. After the usual morning routine of an early breakfast, we boarded our bus for this beautiful drive. Because this is a popular tourist destination it was important that we leave early so as not to get caught up in all the bus traffic. As the narrow roads make it difficult for tour coaches to pass, all tour buses run in counterclockwise direction. It is recommended that car owners travel in the opposite direction. We stopped along the way for photo opportunities and stopped for lunch at the Scarriff Inn which had an amazing view. We arrived before many other tour buses so we were able to get in and out within an hour. That early start really payid off. ... read more
Along the Ring of Kerry beautiful scenery
Peter and Patrick

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Blarney August 7th 2017

Cobh was our first port of call in Ireland. (More on Cobh later.) In Ireland and Northern Ireland we booked shore excursions in advance through the Paddywagon Tours company. (Their gimmick is to have green motorcoaches adorned with shamrocks and leprechauns.) Our driver/guide was a proud Corkman who took us to Blarney Castle, through Cork, to Kinsale and back to Cobh. Arriving at Blarney Castle car park, one passes a former railway station, now a souvenir shop. I liked reading the informational markers about the Cork and Muskerry Light Railway. Opened to Blarney in 1887, it was the railway that touched off the descent of throngs of tourists upon "Old Castle Blarney". All visitors to Blarney in those days had to pay their entry fee to railway company, whether or not they arrived by train. The ... read more
Blarney Castle and Round Tower
Lookout Tower
North Wall

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Cobh August 7th 2017

Returning to Cobh from our shore excursion to Blarney, Cork and Kinsale, we passed several sites of note. One was the Father Mathew Tower (1846). The tower was built to honour Theobald Matthew (1790-1856), a temperance reformer, popularly known as Father Matthew. Another was the Clonmel Church (The Old Church), a ruin today. The graves of 193 victims of the Lusitania sinking are in the Old Church Cemetery. (Lusitania was torpedoed off the Old Head of Kinsale in May 1915.) I had not known of the connection between Cobh and Lusitania before. In Cobh proper, we stopped to visit St. Colman's Cathedral. The Cathedral Church of St. Colman (Cobh Cathedral) is relatively new as Gothic Cathedrals go. It was designed by architects Edward Pugin and George Ashlin who designed a number of Victorian era churches in ... read more
Tympanum Over the Main Entrance
High Altar
Rose Window

Europe » Ireland » County Cork » Kinsale August 7th 2017

Paddywagon Tours drove us through Cork enroute from Blarney to Kinsale. We did see a fair amount of the city from the motorcoach, though we did not have the opportunity to walk it. The River Lee flows though Cork and several attractive bridges cross the river. Our guide was proud that Cork has more tall buildings than Dublin! Cork is is also famous as the home of Murphy's Brewery and its Murphy's Stout (now owned by Heineken Ireland). South of Cork city is Kinsale, a picturesque harbour town at the mouth of the River Brandon. Our first stop was at Charles Fort for a scenic overlook of the harbour. Charles Fort was established in 1682 to defend Kinsale harbour. The companion James Fort (1607) can be seen on a promontory across the harbour. Charles Fort remained ... read more
Murphy's Brewery
Cork City Hall
The Elysian




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