Gallery B&B Kinsale

A Day Trip: Kinsale to Clonakilty .......allow up to 5 hours to explore at your leisure.

The Gallery B&B is ideally located for day trips by car along the south coast, here is one suggestion.Start at the Gallery B&B Kinsale and take the R 600 along the pier in the direction of the Old Head of Kinsale. Look out for the spectacular cliffs which are similar to the Cliffs of Moher and the striking scenic views of the coastline. Sit on the heather for 15 minutes and take it all in ! Double back and follow the R 600 to Garretstown and Garrylucas beaches, which are popular with swimmers and surfers. Allow 45 minutes to walk these two sandy yet windy beaches. Continue on ,through the village of Ballinspittle and in the direction of Timoleague. Stop at Timoleague abbey and wander through the grounds of this atmospheric Franciscan abbey which dates from 1240. Cross the bridge in the direction of Courtmacsherry to this seaside village and walk along the seafront and breath in the pure sea air. Double back and take the road to Clonakilty which takes less than a half hour.

Clonakilty is a truly characterful and traditional Irish town ,which is well worth exploring thoroughly. There is an abundance of privately owned shops that have a diversity of surnames over the shop facia's. Many business's indeed have hand painted signs as neon signs are not permitted. There is an interesting Georgian square called Emmet Square where you can visit the home of Michael Collins the Irish political leader, which is now open to the public. Allow up to an hour for refreshments and something to eat in Clonakilty, then take a 10 minute drive to Inchydonney where there are two magnificent sandy beaches and a hotel overlooking the sea. If time is short the beach near the apartments is preferable for walking. To conclude follow the N71 from Clonakilty to Kinsale, allowing 45 minutes by car.

A Second Day Trip suggestion: Kinsale to Cork City.

Begin your journey at the Gallery B&B and take the R 600 for Cork City. After you pass Cork Airport on your left you will come to a major roundabout where you take the second left hand turn for the city. As you enter the city on the South Link road take a left hand turn and you will see an imposing building on your left which is called Cork City Hall. Keep straight and then cross the bridge on your right. This will lead you to Merchants Quay car park which is the most central car park for shopping and the easiest to leave when returning later to Kinsale. Cork city has a central thoroughfare called Patrick street and all the interesting streets are either to the left or right of Patrick street.

Visit the English market which is just off Patrick street. This is a vibrant and atmospheric market where you will get a real sense of Ireland. There is a great variety of stalls to catch your attention and particularly a fountain in the middle that dates back more than 150 years. When you leave the market cross over to the other side of Patrick St. Here you will come to the pedestrianised streets such as French Church Street & Carey's Lane where there is a great selection of keenly priced restaurants. Nearby you should visit the Crawford Art Gallery on Emmet Place where many of the exhibits are by distinguished Irish Artists and include paintings with Irish themes. This is an ideal place to take a break and go for a coffee in the characterful coffee dock. On leaving the Crawford you will see directly in front of you a perfectly preserved Queen Anne house which dates back to circa 1700. For those who are interested in researching their roots a visit to the Cork Public library on the Grand Parade, is recommended. The library houses an extensive collection of books and contains a reference library on the first where you can peruse old newspapers and newspapers on microfilm. When you leave the library you can see the tourist office across the street where you can get a Visitors Guide to Cork City and Guides to other interesting places such as Blarney Castle, Cobh and the Jameson Distillery.