The morning began grey and heavy, before the clouds cleared allowing the sunshine to beam down on the wonderful, colourful town of Cobh. St. Colman’s Cathedral is the dominant feature and towers over the town. Its grey granite spire contrasted sharply with the multi-coloured houses and shops which are nestled snugly into the steep hillside overlooking the sea. An early start meant that we witnessed the town waking from its slumber and before long it was bustling with activity with the brightly coloured boats to-ing and fro-ing between the islands in Cork Harbour. We visited monuments which pay tribute to victims of the many tragic maritime events associated with the town, and the Heritage Centre vividly recounted the famine-time emigration of over a million people to the USA and Canada. During our stroll around the town we encountered the pier from which tenders started passengers on an ill-fated journey on board Titanic – Cobh (formerly Queenstown) was the final port of call.

During the afternoon, we headed west to Kinsale; another coastal town in County Cork, steeped in history including the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 in which the English defeated Irish resistance, setting the scene for  centuries of conflict which continued until recent times (The Troubles). The afternoon spent in Kinsale was a rich culinary, historic and cultural experience as we sampled local artisan food (such as smoked fish) and listened to traditional music in the Kinsale Yacht Club. The meandering streets and colourful shops of Kinsale invited us to explore, and between the soft showers of mist rolling in off the Atlantic, we dipped in and out of book shops, cafes and pubs. As dusk descended, we left the sheltered waters of Kinsale Harbour: bound for the west of Ireland.