Kinsale

Oh Kinsale. Sweet sweet Kinsale. We now have a new favourite place. Before we get into the reasons why we must tell you about Cobh (pronounced cove). We stopped there on our way to Kinsale.  It is a little seaside village on a small island south of cork. It is famous as the last port of call for the Titanic. As well, the Lucitania was sunk just off its coast by a German torpedo during WWII.

Kev on our hike

Cobh is very hilly with colourful buildings lining the coast. It reminded us of Cinque Terre or another small town you may see along the Riviera. It was a nice break on our drive and apparently a popular place of escape for people from the cities in southern Ireland (see pictures).

Meg and the Xmas/Cactus tree

OK Kinsale.  Our B&B is situated along the gorgeous coastal highway isolated from just about everything but the sea, wind, and a few cows (see pictures). It is about a 15 minute drive from cozy Kinsale.

Once settled in. We went and explored the town with all its quaint shops and overabundance of restaurants and pubs. Kinsale is reputed to be the only city in Ireland to have more restaurants than pubs. So many that it is quite the difficult task to choose where to strap on the feed bag.

The next morning we went into town and did the scilly (pronounced silly) walk. We hope you Monty Python fans appreciate the photo. The walk ends at Fort Charles with incredible views of the town, sea, and surrounding countryside. 

Meg in Cobh

We stopped back in town for some lunch and people watching. Kinsale is VERY clean with just the right amount of bustle. No attitude and a friendly atmosphere that one would envision a small Irish seaside village to possess.

The next morning we did another hike out to another historic fort. Once again mother nature was in a good mood and doused us with sunshine.

Upon returning to town, mother nature wasn't feeling so well so we took in the castle which houses the wine museum. The museum was interesting as Kinsale has been a key wine port since about the 5th century. It has a rich history of experience and influence with the wine industry all over the world. What surprised us most about this castle visit was the incredible history that it has. It was never actually a castle but built to look like that as a status symbol. It was originally a customs house, then it morphed into a prison during conflicts with the Spanish and French (where many died during an inferno). During the war of independence in the U.S. it housed many Americans of captured vessels in the Atlantic. When the famine hit it acted as a work house for the regions impoverished before returning to prison form for debtors until the early 1900s. Again the history that is in most of these places continues to blow us away. Off to Kenmare!

Meg showing off Kinsale

Ministry of S(c)illy walks...

Out our B&B window!!!

Quaint Cobh

slainte!

The sea from Fort Charles