The town of Cobh (pronounced /kouf/) is a little port situated at the south coast of the irish county Cork. It is only a 40-minute trainride from Cork city.
The bay Cobh sits at, is one of the worlds' natural harbours. Even huge cruise ships can easily berth right at the foot of the town center.
Apart from the fact that Cobh is a very charming little coastal town, it is also known to be the last port of call the RMS TITANIC made, before leaving for her fateful maiden voyage in 1912. Back in those days Cobh was still known as Queenstown (from 1850 until 1920).
THE COBH HERITAGE CENTRE
At the Heritage Centre you don't only learn more about the RMS Titanic and its' last port of call, but also about the huge emigration wave during the 19th century.
Over 3 million irish people emigrated from the port of Queenstown. Either fleeing from the great irish famine or in search of a new life on new land. Also many slave ships left the port of Queenstown and embarked on their journeys (i.e. to Australia) which were quite literally struggles of life and death.
The Centre is a very visual experience. It is located in an old victorian railway station. The second you enter, you feel like you've been transferred into a long gone century. All the different exhibts (Titanic, Lusitania, emigration from Queenstown) are staged as though you were on a ship. The centre did a really great job at capturing each particular atmosphere.
The exhibit about emigration, for example, is a dark room with huge wooden parts of ships, different scenes staged by mannequins and a few screens showing informative videos.
The Cobh Heritage Centre is a great experience to learn about irish maritime history! I recommend it to anybody who is interested in the Titanic and its' passengers, the tragedy of the Lusitania or naval history in general.
Summer opening hours
9.30 am to 6 pm from March 30th
(last admission 5 pm)
Winter opening hours
9.30 am to 5 pm from October 31st
(last admission 4 pm)
PRICES 2016
Adult: €9.50
Seniors & Students: €7.50
Children: €5.00
Families: €25.00
visit: http://www.cobhheritage.com/
A WALK AROUND COBH TOWN
The actual town centre is quite small. Directly on the waterside, there is a large green park with a cute gazebo. From here you can enjoy the view out over the bay. In the streets all around you'll find a variety of pubs, restaurants, cafes and shops. In one of the little cafes directly by the waterside, I had THE BEST panini sandwich ever! Shame on me though for not remembering its' name^^.
The contrast of the colourful waterfront houses and the dark gothic St. Coleman's Cathedral situated directly above, makes for a very picturesque view!
If you should decide to walk up the steep hill all the way to Cobhs Cathedral, you get rewarded with an even greater view! I can tell you, it's worth every step ;) From up here, you can look out over the whole bay with its' two little islands and you can even see as far as the open Atlantic Ocean!
Cobh is not just pretty, but really pretty! Like pretty pretty, if you know what I mean ;). If you stay in Cork City, go jump on that train and visit Cobh. Make a day of it! Take in the history, the beauty and the sea air of former Queenstown and on the way back to Cork, make one more stop at the Fota House & Gardens.
THE FOTA HOUSE & GARDENS
The Fota House is situated just 10 minutes outside of Cobh. You can go there by the same train that takes you back to Cork City. It has got its' own train station so you won't miss it (Fota Railway Station).
Fota House is a great regency style country house. It belonged to the Smith-Barry family and was originally used as a hunting lodge until the family decided to move there perminantly. Nowadays, it belongs to the Irish Heritage Trust who restored it and opened it to the public. The House is surrounded by a huge garden area which includes many rare and exotic trees and plants.
When I visited Cobh, the friend I was with, who knew the area better than me, suggested this little stop at Fota before we went back to Cork. And it was a great suggestion! We leisurely strolled through the vast garden area and sat in the grass enjoying the sun and the view of the grand Fota House. We didn't go inside though as it was already closed for the day. But nevertheless we had a great time on Fota Island. It is unbelievably beautiful!
PS: As you can see from the pictures, the weather changed quite a bit throughout the day. But hey, that's Ireland in late autumn ;)
Have you been to Cobh? If not, maybe I was able to inspire you to plan a trip down there if you should ever find yourself in the south of Ireland ;)
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