( Overview
/ Two Bullocks on a Boat in Eire
Lovely to be greeted by James and his dog, Riley, at Cork Harbour Marina.
Once again we spied Puffin amongst the other boats. She is berthed here whilst John and Wendy have returned home for a few weeks.
Liebherr port cranes being manufactured on the opposite bank of the River Lee.
Monkstown Castle was built in 1636 by Anastasia Archdeacon as a present for her husband whilst he was on a campaign in Spain. On his return, seeing the newly erected structure as he entered Cork harbour he thought the enemy had taken the headland, fired cannonballs and hit one of the battlements.
Over the years the castle has been used and cared for by various people, but by 2000 was in a very poor state. It has since been restored by Niall Fitzgerald, and converted into 3 apartments. Not sure whether the conversion is complete; it looks quite sad and uninhabited.
The woods and grounds of the houses surrounding it, however, are lovely.
Some arches remain…
…as do parts of the walls…
…and a gate.
Looking back at Avalon on her pontoon as we walked into town.
Monkstown Railway platform was opened in 1902. Now disused, it is a rite of passage for children to ‘walk the wall’. No way could I climb up there, so we decided to sit on it!
Looking over to the outskirts of Cobh.
More ships coming from Cork City which is further up the river.
The ‘Cut and Cover’, so called because the short tunnel entering Monkstown of the Glenbrook to Monkstown stretch of the railway was constructed by using a process called cut and cover. A trench was cut, an arch was built over and then covered with the evacuated material.
We sat outside The Ensign, and when Kevin went in to ask for the Wi-Fi password, the barmaid decided it was too complicated to explain, so wrote it down. This made us giggle; how did she guess Kevin is not a techy?
Kevin reunited with a Guinness at The Ensign Bar on the front. This was after some discussion with the barmaid and tasting of other stouts, including Murphy’s Island Edge, as this is brewed in Cork.
A sunny, calm evening.
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