I can’t say enough about the accommodations during this trip. Vienna Woods, despite being actually in the woods and outside the City of Cork proper, is a charming place and the meal last night was at least 4 star. If you wanted to be treated to a treat this tour company is the way to go.
We’re on the bus at our typical hour of 09:00 and off south of Cork to the seaside village of Kinsale. It’s Wednesday and the market is just getting set up and we have an hour or so before our tour guide comes by to walk us about the town.
Kinsale was formerly a walled city but there is very little evidence of the original walls. It has a well protected harbour but there is a very long sail to get out to the open ocean, which in this southern part of Ireland is called the Celtic Sea. In the early days nothing went in or out that wasn’t born by the tide.
The extent of the previous nights festivities are obvious around the front entrance of some of the pubs.
It’s a very colourful town but the notion of colour coordination seems to have passed by this way without stopping.
This fellow has decided to brighten up things on his rather drab wall.
And the new shade of green should go very well with his neighbours version of decoration.
I found the “paupers well” and I suspect that the wee bit of wall behind it is part of the original city wall…it just has that look about it…he said as if he knew what he was talking about.
There is a museum here that appears to be dedicated to the fishing industry but I didn’t have time to explore that in any detail.
There is also a lovely old church, The Church of St Multose, which was built in 1190. When I walked up the hill the church was closed so I had to be content with a walk through the cemetery and enjoy the views as the church sits a bit above the town.
Later on during our guided tour we were told that the church was now open and well worth the visit. I took a look at the climb back up the hill and opted to forgo the interior pleasures.
On the way out of town we stopped at the overview at Charles Fort on the east side of the harbour entrance. A similar defensive fort, the James Fort had been built opposite on the west side, the two effectively blocking any unwanted access to the harbour. The Charles Fort is often called the new fort because it was built in 1682, much later than the James Fort which was built in 1609.
This spot gave us a lovely view looking back toward Kinsale and it’s harbour.
We were on the road again heading to Middleton, home of the Jamieson Distillery, makers of some very fine Irish whisky but before we got to the distillery we stopped briefly in Middleton at this very tiny park with a very odd sculpture.
Here’s the backstory.
In the early 1830’s in the United States, the 5 Civilized Nations, Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and relocated to Oklahoma, quite a way further west and north. The move became known as the Trail of Tears and the Choctaw Nation were the first to go in 1831.
Sixteen years later and several thousand miles away the Irish, in 1847, were in the midst of the potato famine and starvation was rampant. The Choctaw Nation heard of this and having just endured their own set of trials, somehow gathered together $170.00 (today’s equivalent would be $5,000) and sent it to the town of Middleton in Ireland. This monument commemorates that incredible gift from an unknown nation friend across miles of land and ocean.
The Irish have never forgotten this amazing gesture. In 2018 an Irish delegation travelled to the Choctaw Nation to announce the establishment of a scholarship for young Choctaw students who wish to study in Ireland. The link between these two peoples remains strong to this day.
The next stop is the Jamieson Distillery and I think a number of my pals have been looking forward to this…especially since we’ve done some previous experimentation with the “water of life”.
Lots of advertising as to be expected, including this duo which gladdened my heart. I’m a big fan of the green spot and the yellow spot but I was very pleased to see that there were two more spots before my eyes.
The grounds are quite extensive and, of course, everything is very old. Including the original iron water wheel.
Our tour guide was quite informative although there was one area where we prohibited from taking photos or touching anything. Not exactly sure what was going on with that equipment although it did look like a warp drive from Star Wars.
As we move through the “caskings” part of the tour I know that we are getting much closer to the important part. I already know how they make the stuff…now please let me have a wee sip.
At the tasting table there was a fine selection including my favourite green spot. Sadly a couple of our pals did not drink and I had to help out with and additional dram (or was that two) of green spot…Oh well.
A couple of other shots to round out the distillery site, then it’s time to leave.
These guys look pretty happy as we head to the bus and a return trip to Vienna Woods. I have a funny feeling that the bar in Vienna Woods will see some additional “whisky nosings” this evening.
Feel free to…stand down.