We had a short exchange in Cork city in April 2024. The house was close to the city but we didn't actually go into Cork city. We went to Blarney Castle and gardens. I'm sure people think you go to Blarney Castle just to kiss the Blarney stone but, in fact, it is a wonderful place to spend a day. The grounds are wonderful and the gardens beautiful.
There were lots of interesting sculptures.
Having spent hours in Blarney we returned to the area of our exchange and then went to Blackrock Castle Observatory where it is difficult to get parking. We sussed out the Castle Cafe with a view to eating lunch there one of the days.
Then on to Kinsale where we hadn't been since our honeymoon. Being off-season the town was really really quiet. We wandered about and then ended up in Fishy Fishy for an early evening meal.
Next day, 19th April, we went to Fota Wildlife Park where we enjoyed seeing the various animals and birds.
From there we went to Charles Fort. Charles Fort is a star-shaped structure of the late 17th century. The view from the ramparts over Kinsale harbour is panoramic.
We walked downhill into the edge of Kinsale and had lunch in The Bulman - a very busy and popular pub restaurant.
The following day we went back to Fota, this time to the arboretum and gardens. We didn't go into the house.
We had only a short time in this exchange. We went home via Athlone staying in the Shamrock Lodge. The purpose of the visit was to have a meal in the Lebanese restaurant which we really like. Jim decided to take the car to the restaurant but we couldn't get parking so we returned to the Shamrock Lodge and then walked. The following day was Sunday, if I remember rightly. We decided to go to Fernhill Garden Centre, owned by Roisin's Partner's (Shane's) aunt and have breakfast there before our trip home. It's an enormous garden centre with a huge restaurant. It was packed. Before going to the Shamrock Lodge the previous day we took a detour and ended up in a very popular and so very busy spot on the river Shannon.
