Cork and Kinsale, Ireland – Day 7, Thursday, August 25, 2022
Our first stop today is in the City of Cork, County Cork, in
southeastern Ireland. It is the second largest city in Ireland and is a magnet
for the shipping industry. We walked to
the English Market, a large bustling place of vendors packed side-by-side with
three rows for shoppers between them.
It’s been in operation since 1788 and is where you can find vendors
specializing in anything from the most delicious olives, cheeses, and breads;
meats and seafoods – including displaying the entire fish of various types –
locally made soaps, wine and honey; souvenirs, fresh fruit and sandwiches for a
picnic lunch across the street! Our next hike was up to St. Peter and Paul’s
Catholic Church, then the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne. Both are so beautiful, dating back to the 17th
and 18th centuries.
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| Olives in The English Market |
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| Meats |
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| Cheeses |
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| Deli |
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| Sanctuary of St. Peter and Paul, in cork |
We did get some sandwiches from the English Market and ate
lunch in the park, then headed down the coast to Kinsale. This town has two
forts – Charles Fort, which is mostly intact, and James Fort, which is in
ruins. Because we had already done quite a bit of walking today and time was a
factor, we decided just to relax a bit along the edge of the inlet to the
Atlantic. It was beautiful and
peaceful.
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| Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne in Cork |
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The newly renovated Baptismal Font
in the Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne
Cork, County Cork, Ireland |
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| Typical street scene in the cities of Ireland! |
It took a fair amount of driving to get to our B&B
outside of Killarney, much of it on back roads.
Frank is getting quite skilled at this left-side shifting and driving,
maneuvering the many roundabouts and avoiding collisions on the very narrow
roads. So the width of many of the back
roads is less than two lanes, no shoulders, hedges on both sides. In Ireland, there is no “my side” or “your
side” on those the roads. The roads are
community, commonly shared by all vehicles, including tractor, and animals (the
occasional cow or sheep!); and you are expected to pull over or back up if need
be to allow passage of on-coming traffic.
Buses, however, do have the right-of-way and all other vehicles need to
pull over or even back up to let them through.
Fortunately, even though this is still Ireland’s high time for tourism,
we haven’t encountered very many buses in our travels.
Muckross Riding Stables B&B is pleasantly located and
has rabbits and horses to enjoy, as well as several carriages. We’re here for two nights, so it felt good to
settle in for a bit. After going into
town for dinner, we return to relax, again expressing the wonders of all the
beautiful sites we have meandered through today.
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