Page 50 - The Driver's Guide to the Wild Atlantic

The Driver's Guide
ST. PATRICK’S STREET
CORK CITY CENTRE
St. Patrick’s Street is the main road in Cork City. As the heart of the city and the main shopping district, visitors can find plenty to do. It is a great place to find local bars, department stores, and great places to eat. Close by is the River Lee, the heart of the city, flowing its final few kilometres to Cork Harbour and the Ocean.
TOP HIGHLIGHT
CORK CITY GAOL
CORK CITY CENTRE
At this former prison, visitors get a look at what prisoners and guards were like a century ago. After the prison closed, it was the house of Cork’s first radio station for a period of time. After remodeling and restoration, the prison reopened in 1993 as a popular visitor attraction.
When it opened in 1824, it was reported as being “the finest in 3 kingdoms”. It originally housed both male and female prisoners, but was later converted to an all women’s prison while the men were transferred to Cork County Goal. It is fascinating, and at times frightening, to learn about the history in the prison, including how convicts were treated and what they were convicted for. Many prisoners were incarcerated for stealing bread to feed themselves or their families, with Cork hard hit by poverty and deprivation in times past.
ENGLISH MARKET
CORK CITY CENTRE
One of the great bustling attractions of Cork City centre, the English Market has served locals, visitors and in 2011 even visiting Royalty from its elegant purpose built location since 1788. In the words of travel writer Rick Stein ‘it’s the finest covered market in the UK and Ireland.’ Developed and owned by Cork City Council, the English Market is one of the oldest municipal markets of its kind still trading.
The mix of stalls and wares in the English Market represents a dazzling spectrum of diversity, quality and quantity.
Small stalls sit alongside larger businesses, with up and coming food producers working beside long- established family businesses which have been passed down in the tradition
of the English market from one generation to the next. Meats and fish, herbs and spices, fruit and vegetables, sauces and oils, chocolates and cakes, cheeses and pastas – the Market caters for all culinary tastes and occasions! At the English Market there’s plenty of places to unwind and sip or nibble on the delightful produce. Visitors can also find crockery, t-shirts, novelty items, clothes alterations and art.
Find out more at www.englishmarket.ie
FOTA WILDLIFE PARK
N25 (R624 EXIT) TOWARDS BELLVUE 5 min from exit
Considered a ‘hidden gem’, Fota Wildlife Park is not just a typical zoo. Animals are allowed to roam freely in a large environment. Sometimes, some species even inhabit the same area like the giraffes, zebras, and ostriches. Monkeys have their own little islands where visitors can see them swinging around on the vines.
Visitors can even get within feet of cheetahs and spot freely roaming kangaroos and lemurs running around the park. The park exhibited a new feature, the Cheetah Run, where they showcase the speed of a cheetah as they run after their food.
The park is planning on developing an extra 27 acres that focus on Asian animals like Antelopes and the Sumatran Tiger. They already have a variety of animals from lions, rhinos, penguins, tigers, to many different species of monkeys.
draws on Ireland’s maritime past and present. It was at Cobh that the doomed passenger liner, the RMS Titanic, made its final stop before sailing into tragedy and history. The story of the Titanic is told at a well curated interactive exhibition in the centre of the town.
Today, Cobh acts as the HQ of the Irish Naval Service and the history and paraphernalia of the sea is everywhere in the town, which itself is fronted by tiers of colourful houses and shop fronts which rise up towards the towering spire of St Colman’s Cathedral which looks down on Cork Harbour and its centuries old seafaring traditions.
CHARLES FORT
N27 (R600 EXIT) FROM CORK CITY
23 min from exit
Built in the early years of the 1600’s in the wake of the Spanish assault on Kinsale, this fort was built to resist attack by cannon and named after King Charles II, who sat on the throne at the time. It was designed by William Robinson, who also designed the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham Dublin, and the fort was considered one of the largest military instillations in Ireland.
Charles Fort played a part in many events in Irish history including Williamite War and the Irish Civil War. Kinsale occupies a hugely strategic location and was the site of the 1601 Spanish invasion of Kinsale, in response to pleas for help from Irish rebel leaders.
Although eventually defeated the Spanish troops left a lasting legacy in the area as a result of their bravery in holding out for 100 days against overwhelming Crown forces.
KINSALE
N27 (R600 EXIT) FROM CORK CITY
One of Ireland’s culinary capitals the bustling, colourful town of Kinsale is about 30 minutes from Cork City and mixes the best of Ireland past and present.
Its small cobbled streets and welcoming harbour are home to many of Ireland’s best restaurants and pubs, with delicious oysters, pints of stout and pots of mussels a firm favourite.
50 WILD ATLANTIC
COBH
N25 (R624 EXIT) TO COBH 15 min from exit
Your final stop on the Wild Atlantic Way is a vibrant maritime town that