Waterford to Kinsale

20th August
Waterford to Kinsale
At breakfast this morning we exchanged travel stories with a nice couple from Ohio. They had travelled from Dublin to Northern Ireland and now were going around the Republic of Ireland. They were going in the reverse direction to us so It was good to hear about some of their experiences. So following the advice of our Waterford B & B hostess Catherine we headed for Cork, via Waterford, filled up the diesel and hit the N25 headed in the direction of Kinsale with our first stop at Dungarvan.
This is a pretty town (in places) with a very turbulent history. Members of the historical society ran a film for us......The old fort built in the 1200's by the English trying to keep the Irish under some control, turned into a castle at one stage around 1400. There was history that invloved Prince John and also Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell. More recent times it was the setting for the first Irish police force till the IRA started assinating the Irish born members of the force. Eventually the force was disbanded and the present day Garda was set up in different premises. The building was then fought over by the English and the Irish for many years. It was a barracks for the English and finally it is being restored back to it's time as a castle. 800 years of fighting has certainly taken its toll on the building.
We had a bit of lunch to get our heads back into holiday mode and then journey on....

From Dungarvan we drove on and crossed from County Waterford to County Cork just near Youghal. It was about here that we got our first glimpse of the Celtic Sea. At Killeagh we came accross a cute Hotel with a thatched roof . On through Midleton (yes one d - it is Ireland) and on down to Cobh. Every one seemed to be pronouncing this as Cove. We were in the Information Centre so I also asked if Cove was the correct way of saying Cobh. "Oh yes...it's a silent B H" Wow that explains it??!! Anyway at least she did tell me that Cobh was the gaelic word for Cove so I think that explains it a bit better.
Anyway Cobh is famous not for the biggest/oldest/longest or whateverest but the LAST. Yes it was the last port that passengers boarded the Titanic. It was like Titanic Central. Posters, monuments, cards, you name it had Titanic on it. Cobh is a working sea port still. It is set on an extremely high sloping hillside. It has some great views as you will see in the photos.
From Cobh we took a ferry across to Monkstown. It took about 3 minutes, but saved us quite a journey. We drove through Carrigaline and on down to Kinsale. It is said to be 'the Gourmet Capital of Ireland' with over 30 restrauants cafes and pubs. It is a very picturesque village. We are staying right on the harbour front at the Trident Hotel. It is a working fishing port, and also very busy with pleasure boats and harbour tours for tourists. We got settled in and then went for a walk around the medieval part of town. It is strange but I feel like we are no longer in Ireland but have arrived in Italy. The fact that it is sunny and warm might have a little bit to do with that feeling!!!
So next a nice meal, Monk fish was the fish of the day - very tasty!!! So now to watch a movie and get ready for another adventure tomorrow.