Yesterday, the roommates and I took yet another Paddywagon Tour. This time we went to Kinsale and West Cork. I cannot believe all of the awesome sites we saw on the tour and, even though the day was very long, I had a wonderful time!
After we first departed from Cork City, we headed towards Kinsale and stopped at Charles Fort on the way. This is a star-shaped fort formerly used to protect the
port at Kinsale from unwanted entries. We began by receiving a 20-minute introduction from a guide and then were free to roam around the remains of the
historic landmark. And when I say roam, I mean find all good picture opportunities and take them.
To live in the Fort in the 17th-19th centuries, you either had to be a soldier, an officer, the governor, or a family member on one of those three. The guide kept saying how cramped the conditions would be because the soldiers' quarters would have up to twelve men staying in a small room all together. 6% of the men living in the fort could have their families live with them. This was decided by a lottery system after a soldier had served a certain amount of time. However, the family would just move into a room with the other twelve men and the only privacy they could get would be an extra sheet hanging from the ceiling.
The soldiers, after joining the army between the ages of 16 and 45, would then be members of the army for life. The only way to make it to higher ranks was to buy one's title so poor men were never able to progress. While the cramped soldiers' room would be a bit small, I rather liked the officers' rooms as they all were of decent size and had fireplaces. If I lived in the fort, I could have happily been an officer, except I am female and that never would have worked out...
The fort also had a hospital, but only barbers and butchers had the appropriate tools to amputate, cauterize, and blood-let, so they performed the surgeries. Also, soldier punishment was another busy area for the hospital, as soldiers were publicly shamed with a cat-tail whips and would then have to go to the hospital to recover.
After the interesting fort, we got back on the boat and headed to the close town of Kinsale, Co. Cork. This is an idyllic coastal town with quaint shops and restaurants, that looks like it could be found in France.There were many beautiful views of the harbor, and we got lunch and did some shopping during our 2-hour break.
After the stop in Kinsale, the driver continued on to Old Head, a beautiful Cliff area, which is best known for its seaside golf course. We had great picture opportunities in this area, and were facinated by the picturesque and windy area.
After Old Head, we made a brief stop at Timoleague Abbey and got to stretch our legs and check out the ruins of the old building.
And finally, to conclude our day, the tour took us back to my favorite location from my music field trip, Inchydoney Beach! I loved hurling (the sport) at this location and walking around in the sand. This time, because the stop was short, me, Lindsey and Emily wandered down to the water and went into the luxury hotel overlooking the scenic area. The whole day, as we were driving around, I kept wondering if we would be close to this location and when the driver said we would stop I was so pleased and excited. One week later after my initial time there, it was just as beautiful as I remembered!
Another good Irish day! I am very grateful for this, another remarkable adventure, and excited for even more to come!
Yours,
The Opinionated Lassie
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