I am so excited to share new Ireland adventures with you! I recently got back from 12 days in Ireland. In all honesty I actually didn’t want to return at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that I didn’t want to overstay my welcome at my friend’s flat, I would have changed my flight and stayed a few extra days. It’s probably for the best I didn’t anyway because I am so sick. I am not sure what I caught over there, but it was when I woke up in Kinsale that I noticed this wasn’t my normal sniffles from the chilly weather. That didn’t stop me from enjoying the beautiful Kinsale though.
My friend and I wanted to spend a long weekend somewhere new, which is how we ended up with visiting Kinsale and Cobh. We were discussing places to go. She wanted to visit Kerry, but that is hard without a car and I had been there before. We talked about Dublin and Wicklow but still weren’t sure about the public transportation there. We even thought about Belfast, but what we really wanted was a spring holiday destination which is how we decided on seeing the South’s colorful small towns. We knew it was possible as well because there is a bus that goes from Galway to Cork and we could could take a bus to Kinsale and a train to Cobh from Cork City. We wanted to spend a couple nights in Kinsale so we booked a B&B there and then added on a night in Cobh. Now here is how our time in Kinsale went. It was nothing short of magical!
Day 1
Our bus from Galway to Cork left at 8:30 am from Galway Coach Station. It was going to be about 3 hours to Cork because this City Link Bus route also makes a stop in Limerick. I was happy that no one sat next to me the whole ride because I slept through nearly the entire thing. I swear some of my best naps have been on the Citylink bus. We were dropped off at Anderson Quay in Cork. At this point we were nearing noon and we both were getting a bit hungry so we decided that instead of heading to Kinsale right away we would stop for some food in the city. We ended up at this really small but cute cafe called Greenwich. I ordered the Creamy Irish Mushrooms on Toast with of course the addition of poached eggs. It was quite easily the best breakfast (or maybe lunch) I have ever had.
From here we made our way to the Bus Éireann Station to take the bus to Kinsale. This bus was about an hour, so it definitely is a bit of a day of travel to get to Kinsale from Galway, but breaking it up in Cork City really helped. It also is a pretty drive into Kinsale. Between the little villages, rolling hills, and bay view, there was always something to look at. Just remember when taking these more regional buses you have to pay in cash to the driver and don’t forget to mention where you are going (yeah I forgot that, oops). It was no more than 8 euro for this ride though. It dropped us off right in town and from there everything was walkable.
Even though it wasn’t quite check in time, we thought we could head to our B&B and see if we could at least drop our stuff off there. We were staying at the Danabel. It was no more than a 10 minute walk from where we were dropped off, but I did start to question my decision making skills when we were faced with what looked like one really steep hill. On the top was our B&B. In the end it turned out to be not that bad and it probably was good for me to get the exercise, but at times I did not enjoy it.
We popped in and were greeted with the owner Phil. She had our room ready for us so we were able to head upstairs and get settled for a moment before heading back into town. It wasn’t the nicest of days, so we didn’t wander too far but we did explore what we could of the city. We started in the most picturesque part of the town at Bookstór and Stone Mad.
We went inside Stone Mad as we were lured in by the fairy doors and whimsy decor. It was such an adorable boutique. The front part had lots of jewelry and I had to talk myself out of getting something since it was a bit more on the pricy side. We would come back the next day for Honoria to get a necklace though. In the back of the store there is the clothing portion of the shop that had cute pieces for women of all ages. It was really fun to look through the pieces. It’s stuff you wouldn’t necessarily see anywhere else.
From here we walked around this main part of town and then towards the water. We really wanted some ice cream to complete our seaside holiday, but all the ice cream places were closed. We couldn’t figure out if it was a seasonal closing (since it was March), the day of the week they were closed (Thursdays?), or the timing (I guess it was nearing 4 pm). In the end we ended up getting some ice cream from Spar, even though it wasn’t as fun as getting a 99 cone. I got a Cadbury mint chocolate ice cream bar. Then we sat at a spot near the water.
Afterward we found a direction to walk and went with it. Honoria saw a building that looked like a church that she wanted to see so we walked over to the right side of the town and then went up! We immediately stopped into a gourment chocolate shop and each got a truffle. I got a Bailey’s one that was so good, although I didn’t end up eating in until later since we just had ice cream. Then we continued on our way. Along the way we saw cute homes and one which we thought had to be that of the owner of Stone Mad because it was nearly identical.
Then we came across the Zone 42 shed which was such a hidden gem. It was just a shed in someone’s yard with a sign encouraging visitors to come inside. The inside had an at your honor shop where you could leave change for a book or another of the up-cycled goods. There was a wall of visitors leaving their mark and then another collaged with musical artists. It was the cutest place and we loved it!
Eventually instead of finding ourselves at the intended destination we were back in the town center, but we still found new things to see, like the cafe we would go to for breakfast in the morning and St. Multose Church. We didn’t actually go inside, but we did walk around the Sea Garden and the graveyard. And maybe reminisced about Trap Queen when we saw the year 1738 on a plaque.
We decided that maybe we should start following the signs on the road pointing to the landmarks instead of just wandering, which is how we ended up at the steps of Desmond Castle. We couldn’t go inside because it is normally a wine museum, but it was closed.
We continued on the path up to the Carmelite Friary on the top of the hill. This is what Honoria had been looking at before (we think). It had an amazing view of the water from up there. We walked around the grounds a little bit and then headed inside where, fun fact, there is a public restroom and then into the chapel. There was no one else there so it was very peaceful. It wasn’t your typical Irish stone church, but we loved the dark wood contrasted to the white.
From here we headed back into town. We saw a few new spots and enjoyed the floral artistry. After a stop at the pharmacy we decided maybe we should eat dinner because it was already 6 and if we went back to the B&B now, then it would be pretty late when we would get back into town and who knows how late places serve food. We looked up places to eat and we both wanted pub food. There was one pub that really stood out to us, but we were planning to go there later in the evening for music, Kitty O’Se’s. After no luck looking for anything else we decided we could just go there twice. Who cares anyway? It was a neat place. It probably was a bit touristy, but it had what we were looking for. I ordered Chicken Goujons because I really wanted the chili mayo sauce, even though it was the start of many fried meals on our trip.
Afterwards we went back to the B&B for a bit and then later headed back to the pub around 8:30 pm. I thought we could catch the end of the Ireland v. Czech Republic soccer match that was all anyone was talking about and that we did. It ended up going into over time and then a shoot out. Music was supposed to start at 9 pm, but it was nearly 11 pm when we finally got music. It was a late night for sure and sadly we didn’t get very much music because the pub closed at midnight, but it was fun and that’s all that matters. Although it was a bit awkward when Ireland lost the match and no one seemed to say a thing, but they all came back around when the band started playing the Fields of Athenry. I even saw dancing in an Irish pub for the first time which is crazy given how much time I have spent in Ireland. I guess there is just something about the southern coast.
Day 2
Our next day in Kinsale was a much sunnier day, which means I took a lot of the same pictures a second time so that you can see it at its full glory. The colorful seaside town is not complete without the sun.
We began the day with brunch at the Cozy Cafe, the cute little place we had walked by the day before. I had been craving a full Irish since I had been back. Unfortunately I forgot it was Friday and with it being lent I felt so guilty, but that was my only mishap this year, so I tried not to beat myself up too much. It was also so good. I have always had my full Irish in Ireland at Finnegan’s in Galway so it was nice to try another place’s take and its safe to say I was satisfied, especially when they asked about sauce and I got my cup of brown sauce. It was also nice enough for us to sit outside so that really completed the experience. From here we walked around the most colorful parts of the town again taking in the sunshine before beginning the Scilly Walk.
In town we stopped into Bookstór to see what books they had for sale. I love a good bookstore and can’t go into one without buying a book. In this one I ended up getting two. I found a cute romance novel that takes place in Ireland and who doesn’t like a cute Irish love story ;). I also bought a small version of the Irish Granny’s Bread and Baking Book to inspire some more recipes for my baking business. I have been trying to perfect my scones for awhile now, so I hope this helps. Honoria also bought a book called How to Flirt in Irish. It’s more of a comedic piece than a real translation book, but I swear its quite entertaining and maybe only slightly inappropriate. The cashier got a kick out of us getting it because she told us her tween daughter was looking through it the other day. There are some interesting pictures in it. From here we continued on our way with a stop at the pharmacy because I had woken up sick (and I still haven’t recovered). I needed tissues and cough drops. They were a life saver for sure on our walk.
When researching things to do in Kinsale the main thing we both wanted to do was do the Scilly Walk to Fort Charles. It is a bit of a walk but on a sunny day just feels like a nice stroll. Its about 5 km total there and back so it was about a 1.5 mile walk to the fort, but it felt longer at times given the few hills. Its totally worth it though. It has an amazing view of the bay, beautiful wildlife growing along the path, and fun views of homes. You even get to walk right through someone’s yard where they have a garden for passersby to enjoy. If you start at the center of Kinsale you’ll even get to walk by the harbor where you can see the boats docked at the town. Anyway, it is not a super busy path. We definitely came across others, but many visitors have cars they use to get from the town to the fort.
The fort rests on the top of a hill looking over the water. Its really cool and definitely worth paying the 5 euro it is to go inside to check out the exhibit and tour the run down facilities. This fort was built by the British in the 1600s to protect one of the island’s most southern harbors. It was used in the Williamite War surviving a siege as well as into the Irish Civil War in the 1920s. Now it looks more like some ruins than a military fort, but I think that’s what makes it so cool, especially if you know your 1600s Irish history. We walked around the fort and exhibit until the weather started to turn. We found it a bit difficult to follow the map to figure out what we were looking at, so we mostly just wandered. We did start with the exhibit so we knew something about what we were looking at, especially why it was built in its star shape.
We got caught on our way out in a wedding photoshoot so we awkwardly had to wait in a little indent in the wall for 10 minutes until they were done. Of course it was a bit annoying, but I could understand why they would want their photos there. The bridge leading into the fort with the water in the background was very picturesque. I even took a picture of it on my way in.
Before heading back we stopped at one of the food trucks parked outside the fort and got a warm drink and a cookie. We braved the wind and sat on a picnic table for a bit. Barry’s tea tastes its best on a cool day outside anyway. We had planned to sit here and do watercolor, but the graying sky told us that it wasn’t a great idea, so we headed back along the Scilly Walk once again until we were back in the town center. We stopped into Stone Mad for Honoria to get her necklace and then headed back to our B&B to rest for a bit.
Once it hit 8 pm and we decided we probably should go get some food, so we headed to Dino’s for fish and chips. We had been wanting to go there after I said something about there being a Dino restaurant (pronouncing it like Dinosaur). They were very good fish and chips. My only complaint is there wasn’t enough tarter sauce for the fish, but that’s a minor issue.
We thought about going to a pub, but both were just tired and ready for a night in. We stopped to check out a beer garden that looked cute, but there was no one there so we could justify heading back to the B&B to watch a movie. It was a very chill night, which gave me a chance to look through my new baking book!
Day 3
We didn’t really spend much time in Kinsale this day. We checked out of our B&B around 10 am and then headed to a cafe Honoria wanted to check out for coffee called Wild and Tame. It was a female owned cafe with amazing coffee and a little boutique. They had some pastries as well but they were a bit expensive and nothing was really sticking out to me for breakfast so we stopped at Centra for some scones and then sat at a bench outside the bus stop until our 11 am bus back to Cork.
I had realized I only had a 20 euro for the bus and the bus driver wouldn’t like that so I went back into Centra to exchange it for some smaller notes. The guy gave me a ten and two fives which was perfect, except that one of the fives was literally half a bill, so I couldn’t use it, but oh well. I made it work. It’ll make a nice souvenir I guess. From here we began our journey back to Cork so that we could take the train to Cobh. And that I will write about in another post!
Kinsale is definitely one of my favorite towns in Ireland. On a sunny day the vibes can’t be beat. I suppose my only complaint was that it was hard to get a gauge of the atmosphere there. Were we surrounded by locals or tourists? We didn’t really get to interact a lot with either, just our hostess. Anyway that is not a reason to dislike the town. It was such a happy place and it was great to be able to be around nature and water. I would easily plan another holiday to Kinsale, except I have so many other places to visit, but I think its a wonderful destination in Ireland that should not be overlooked. I loved it for sure.
Hope you enjoyed reading about Kinsale. Stay tuned for Cobh or get more Ireland stories on my Ireland page. Until then, Slan!
The Journal of Wanderlust 