Saturday October 10
We’re now starting a slow return to the north, along the east side of Ireland. We cross over from Dingle to Cobh which is close to Cork, but is more waterfront like, and less of a city. It is considered a harbor to Cork but it doesn’t show signs of heavy shipping and containers. Maybe they were somewhere else
We opted to bypass the Blarney Castle. Seemed likely to be crowded and feel very touristy. The weather on the way was not all that great to go and see a garden in early October. Preferred to keep on going…
We passed through Cork and made a stop to visit the English Market. It was a great stop. One of those big, old, markets selling amazing fish, meat, poultry, cheese, fresh produce, and all sorts of other things. We enjoyed the sights and had a lunch in the café upstairs. We love visiting these types of city markets. If we lived here we’d spend a lot of time here.
The trip to Cobh was a short and pretty drive with views of rivers and vast estuaries. The Commodore Hotel is right across from the waterside promenade. It’s a lovely old building with the original part built in the 1850s. It initially was called the Queen’s Hotel as it was where Queen Victoria stayed during her first visit to Ireland. Of course in subsequent years, things English related were changed.
Cobh was the last stop for the Titanic before she set sail across the Atlantic. About 123 passengers boarded. A small number of First class, some 2nd class and mostly 3rd class, or steerage. I think it was 4 days later that the ship was lost.
In 1915 the ship, RMS Lusitania, a ship in the Cunard Line, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. Many of the survivors were brought to the Queen’s Hotel, which served as a hospital at the time of the sinking.
There are monuments to those lost and a small Titanic museum. There is also a statue of a female Olympian and International champion, Sonia O’Sullivan.
We had a great walk around the waterfront of Cobh. I found a little ice cream shop and enjoyed some while sitting overlooking the water. We were able to find a nice restaurant for dinner. The weather today turned out to be really nice!
