Things to do in Cork

[chrisw]

We're off to Cork tomorrow for 3 nights and I'm looking for things to see and do. My wife is 5 months pregnant, so nothing too crazy or strenuous can be included (unless I go off on my own!). We have a hire car and are willing to travel a fair bit.

Any tips, advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Ta

Chris

[Razor]

Screw..... Sorry I couldn't resist that one.



Try this site, I always use this for my travels.

Things to Do in Cork - Cork Attractions - TripAdvisor

[chrisw]

Thanks for that Razor, never noticed that this was a feature of Trip Advisor...

[Razor]

No worries mate, I hope you and your wife have a good time away.

[Magslad]

We were in that area last summer Chris, loads of stuff to do in Cork and the surrounding area. Some initial thoughts for you:

- Cork itself is nice to walk around (pretty flat so not too strenuous). Lots of shops (I'm thinking of your wife here not you!), attractions like the gaol/cathedral, and some good restaurants: we went to a fantastic tapas place near the river.
- The obvious tourist attraction a few miles to the North of Cork is Blarney Castle (and a chance to kiss the Blarney stone!). It is quite a few steps to climb up the castle (but lots of stopping points on the way), although to kiss the stone itself you have to lie on your back and lean backwards so might not be a good idea for your wife. But we found the castle and grounds really interesting, and we went later in the day so wasn't too busy
- Also near Cork, we really enjoyed the area around Great Island (just to the East of Cork). It's really nice to drive around, lots of stopping points by the waters edge and great views. Cobh (pronounced Cove), which is on Great Island, is a lovely little town although quite steep in points for walking, and the historical point where people boarded the ships to emigrate to America, and also was the last port of call for the Titanic. I seem to remember there's also quite a big wildlife park on the island if this is your sort of thing
- Although it's a full day out with quite a bit of driving, if you have a car I can't recommend enough doing the Ring of Kerry (out to the West of Cork, Killarney is the starting point). It was one of our highlights of the holiday, and the scenery is simply stunning - you basically drive round the Kerry headland and the road follows the coast with lots of places to stop and admire the views. If you do this, best way to do it is anticlockwise, and you end up back in Killarney which has loads of restaurants for an evening meal before driving back to Cork. Also well worth doing the Skellig Ring (you get to it whilst doing the Ring of Kerry, it's right on the tip and is completely unspoilt, none of the tourist coaches can get onto it - plus there's a really nice chocolate factory on the coast there)

That's just a few thoughts, if you want any more detailed info on any of this just let me know, if not then have a fantastic time.

[chrisw]

Thanks Magslad - that's really excellent info... just hope the weather holds up for us now!