Cobh Shore Excursion: Blarney Castle, Cork City and Kinsale Private Tour

Leaving the ship in Cobh we would head directly to Blarney Castle getting ahead of the crowds to avoid long queues at this very popular site, this is important if you wish to kiss the Blarney stone which is said locally to give you the ‘gift of the gab’ or more appropriately the ‘gift of eloquent speech’. The castle itself was built more than six hundred years ago and home of the McCarthy Clan, with its beautiful gardens and lake a must see on a visit to Cork.

From Blarney we would head for Cork city known locally as ‘The real Capital of Ireland’, the river Lee flows through Cork dividing the city into North & South and the Port of Cork meets the Atlantic Ocean at Cobh. The people of Cork may be difficult to understand as it is said we sing our words rather than speak them, a very hilly city steeped in history, beautiful Cathedrals and lime stone buildings fast becoming a very cosmopolitan place. Cork is also the second deepest natural port in the world, Sydney being the first. Key attractions in Cork would be St Finbarr’s Cathedral and the English Market.

From Cork we would head to the port town of Kinsale otherwise known as the ‘Gourmet capital of Ireland’ famous for its wonderful restaurants and many festivals during the year. On arriving in Kinsale we would come in from an elevated site looking over the town at Charles Fort, a five stared fort famous for its defence of the coastline during the Spanish Armada of 1601, with beautiful panoramic views over the town, the Marina and the multi coloured houses and shops. There is a lot of Spanish influence in the town itself associated with the Armada, the names of the pubs for example, ‘The Spaniard’, ‘The 1601’, ‘The Bulman’ and many more waiting to be explored! It is a real picturesque town in the south west of Ireland and the start of ‘The Wild Atlantic Way’ route.