Kinsale October 14th

Kinsale was not a long drive from our B&B so we were able to take our time and really relax here. We walked the town to see the St. Multose Church and the Desmond Castle. We really enjoyed the picturesque harbor while having scones and coffee. Interesting to see the many families with small children all bundled up loading their sail boats for a chilly day of sailing.

We drove up the hill to Charles Fort which overlooks the outer Kinsale Harbor. This is a star shaped fort sitting on 8 acres of land and was built in 1680. Before this,  the space was occupied by James Fort and was the site of  a battle in 1601 called the Seige of Kinsale. According to the booklets, there was a network of fortified towers and signal stations built to ward off invasion.

Kinsale is also where a German U- Boat sunk the Lusitania. The survivors were brought into Kinsale and some sent to Cobh to be cared for there as well.

Being sailors, the bonus for the day was watching all those boats being readied in the harbor raise their sails against beautiful blue skies, line up and cross the start line of their race. We watched for a while from the high above cliffs as they tacked their way out of the Harbor. A perfect way to end another wonderful day along the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland.