Cork; Thursday, 15 August, 2002

Thursday and it must be Kinsale.

This pretty harbour town about 45 minutes from Cork is well worth a visit. One of the most strategic ports until it started silting up.

As tour guides of the town will tell you Kinsale has a large part to play in why English and not Spanish is not the language of such a large number of people. The best way to get an idea of the town is to go on the walking tour that takes you round the old medieval centre of the town and gives you a full history of the site.

After the walking tour I had a look around the small museum that is in the town showing artifacts from the history of the town. Then in the afternoon I went on the Roadrunners bus tour of the town and surrounding area.

The tour is very interesting taking you out to the Atlantic coast at Garretstown and the Old head of Kinsale, back past the Charles fort the defended the harbour entrance for spectacular views of the town before finally returning to the town.

Before leaving I had a look around the Desmond Castle and Wine museum. The castle itself was used as a prison and the display depicts life in the castle when it was a prison. The wine museum charts Kinsale's relationship with the wine industry.