Exploring Kinsale Ireland – Part I

After checking into our bed and breakfast all 4 of us decided to go back down Compass Hill and spend some time exploring Kinsale. 

Our host at the bed and breakfast told us about a place to park that was just above the busy main portion of town, warning us that parking along the main street or harbor front could be challenging.  We took this photo of part of the harbor from that little parking area…having procured the last spot in the tiny lot.

…and it was time for photos!  Bonnie and Bill posed for me overlooking the harbor.

…and then of course, Bonnie had to take a picture of Laurie and me.  Wasn’t it a beautiful day!

A paved walkway and series of stairs led down the hill to the center of Kinsale.  Along the way, we passed this house… This is actually just one part of the total property.  At one point in time Ireland had almshouses for the poor built all over the country. 

The Almshouses, (aka “Gift Houses”), in Kinsale were built and endowed in 1682 by Sir Robert Southwell.  He was born in Kinsale and was one of the most famous and powerful Irishmen of his time.  To learn more about him, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Robert_Southwell_(diplomat).

Kinsale’s Almshouses were originally built to accommodate 8 aged and destitute people from the town and they continued in that role until recently.  These ‘historic protected properties’ were last refurbished in the late 1960s.  I noted that the Supervisor’s House (shown) and 4 detached cottages with .3 acres of land were up for sale back in 2015…and someone apparently purchased them.  To see more about this property, including an aerial view go to https://www.cdacork.com/contentFiles/propertyBrochures/ALMS-HOUSE-KINSALE.pdf.

Onward down the path and stairs to harbor level… I took this photo of our group on its little trek.  I liked the look of that beautiful white 3-story home too.  

The real story though was the ‘walk’/aka ‘climb’ back up the hill to our car after dark!  I was really sucking wind… So much for our bed and breakfast host’s claim that it was a “short and easy walk” to town!  He even suggested that we could walk down from and back to his property high on the bluff… Yikes!

Checking out restaurants for dinner later in the day, we explored a couple of the streets up the hill from the main road along the harbor side.  The sidewalks barely exist so we spent a fair amount of time in the street.

After we’d checked out a couple of dinner possibilities, we headed down to the waterfront along Pier Road. (R600) Although it wasn’t evident in this picture, there was a lot of traffic and many tourists, (Irish and foreign) exploring the area.  It was after all a Sunday afternoon in September…with amazing weather to boot!

The “Spirit of Kinsale’ docked while I was walking along the waterfront.  She cruises the Kinsale Harbor taking visitors for a waterborne tour of the area.  This harbor cruise operates from the first week in March until the last week in October.  Fares are 13E/$15.60 US for adults and 5E/$6.00 for children 14 or younger.  The tour takes passengers past the various marinas, both forts and much more…

Our timing was off so we were unable to go on this boat ride.  Learn more about Kinsale Harbour Cruises at http://www.kinsaleharbourcruises.com/. 

Sorry about all the boat photos…but I’m into boats, trains, old cars, airplanes, etc.  This is the fishing trawler “Wayfinder” based out of Waterford Ireland, a bit further east up the south coast of Ireland from Kinsale.  She weighs in at 34.56 tons and she’s about 43.5 feet long. 

…yet another view of the harbor and the Bandon River.  

For a couple of beautiful high quality aerial views of Kinsale, its’ harbor, marinas and the river, you can just go to https://marinas.com/view/harbor/lxte8w_Kinsale_Harbor_Kinsale_County_Cork_Ireland.   

I ‘cleverly’ blocked out the name of this fishing trawler when I was taking these photos…so I was unsure of her name and couldn’t check her out on the Internet.  She looked sleek, clean and ready to go!

Under the European Union, fisheries are tightly controlled.  Ireland’s fishing quota for 2017 was 233,500 metric tonnes/257,000+ US tons.  The limits are closely set and even monitored by the type of fish (cod, haddock, plaice, herring, ling, hake, etc.), and their perceived availability/scarcity. 

What…!  Another fishing trawler?!  Not this time… This is the Embarr.  She is an ex Royal Navy Fleet Tender based in Kinsale.  The Embarr is a 78’ “Liveaboard” dive boat with 4 twin cabins, 3 bathrooms, a ‘kitting up’ room and a nitrox compressor.  The owners provide bed and breakfast and lunch on diving days as well as tanks, weights and gas, including nitrox for qualified divers.   Divers can explore WWI and WWII wrecks and others along the southern coast of Ireland.  

To learn more about the Embarr and what the owners offer, just go to http://oceanaddicts.ie/liveaboard.  FYI…’embarr’ is an old Irish word meaning ‘imagination’.  It’s also the name of a mythical horse that could run on the waves…

No…not a ship!  The Galleon Mast on Pier Road in Kinsale, commemorates the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 when a combined force of Spaniards and Irish challenged the growing power of England.  This was the ultimate battle in England’s conquest of Gaelic Ireland.  It took place near the end of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign. 

King Phillip III sent a force of 6,000 troops to Ireland to tie up British forces and assist the Irish in their efforts for independence.  Bad weather forced the ships with the most experienced Spanish soldiers to abort their landing and they turned back.  Still, 4,000 troops did disembark at Kinsale where they occupied the fortification along with the Irish forces.  The British were more organized and had better resources and they won the battle and the war.

 

The Galleon Mast memorial (a copy of a Spanish galleon mast) was dedicated in 2001, exactly 400 years following the landing of King Phillip’s forces…

To learn more about this pivotal battle for the control of Ireland, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kinsale.

As in Scotland…there were flowers everywhere in Ireland, even in late September! 

In my next post, we will begin exploring our dining experiences in Kinsale.  One fact is certain, we didn’t have enough time to really take advantage of all this beautiful area has to offer…

Just click on any of the photographs to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave