Kinsale has long since established itself as one of Ireland’s gourmet hot spots, making it an ideal long weekend getaway for foodies. However, there’s more to Kinsale than great restaurants. There are great pubs too, beautiful scenery and an almost Mediterranean feel that ties up nicely with its storied history.
What to do
Take one of the many guided walks. There is so much history to the town that it makes the whole experience richer to know who did what, where and why. Tours run from the Tourist Office (kinsaleheritage.com and historicstrollkinsale.com) and are informative and entertaining, linking the town with everything from the Armada to Robinson Crusoe, the sinking of the Lusitania and the Pirates of the Caribbean .
Check out the museum to see the gargantuan boots of the Kinsale Giant. Born in 1760, Patrick Cotter stood at 8ft 3in. See the incongruously tiny house, handily named “Giant’s Cottage”, in which he grew up, just around the corner on Chairman’s Lane – so called because businessmen were ferried along it in sedan chairs to visit Desmond’s Castle at the top, where they paid import duties.
A replica sedan chair is housed in the castle, which doubled as a prison for centuries and is now the Wine Museum, the place to find out about the Wild Geese, who fled the country from the 17th century on, many of whom established vineyards in France.
Visit St Multose Church, too. It was built in the 12th century – you can still see inscriptions in Norman French – and has been in continuous use ever since. The oldest building in Kinsale, some of the victims from the Lusitania are buried in its grounds.
Walk up through Scilly and Summer Cove to Charles Fort, the 17th-century star-shaped military base just outside the town. It is here that the White Lady, daughter of one of the fort’s Governors, threw herself into the sea on discovering her father had shot her fiancé. It’s complicated.
While here, fact fiends, there's an opportunity for yet another guided tour (heritageireland.ie) and it is also well worth taking, if only to discover that the object of a star- shaped fort was to ensure anyone scaling any wall could be shot in the back.
See the fort at its most impressive with a harbour cruise (kinsaleharbourcruises. com) which takes just under an hour and brings you under the walls of the fort and out to sea before heading back up the Bandon river, with a recorded commentary to fill you in on what you're seeing.
You can check out the whale- and dolphin-watching tours from Whale of a Time (whaleofatime.ie), with coastal tours from Kinsale to Cork Harbour. Paddle your own canoe with a sea kayaking day trip around the harbour from Kinsale Outdoor Education (kinsaleoutdoors.com).
Back on land, make the most of the 20- acre Actionpak paintball park (actionpak.ie) just out of town or explore on horseback with Kinsale Equestrian Centre (kinsale-equestrian.ie).
There are three golf clubs in Kinsale, including the spectacular Old Head (oldhead.com – green fees €220 for 18 holes in high season) with another five within an hour’s drive.
If you don't fancy doing anything too physical, how about cerebral ceramics? Sign up for classes and workshops at Kinsale Pottery and Arts Centre (kinsaleceramics.com), in Ballinacurra.
WHERE TO STAY Acton's Hotel was refurbished in recent years and reborn as a boutique hotel perfectly poised over the harbour. Three nights' B&B with dinner each evening from €138 per night for a double. actonshotelkinsale.com. Across the harbour and looking like something from Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Perryville House opens its doors from April to October and also has a gift shop and tea room. Standard doubles from €130 a night. perryvillehouse.com. The Carlton Hotel overlooks Oysterhaven Bay, with a spa and leisure centre. Dinner, B&B offers starting from €59pps in Spring. carltonkinsalehotel.com
WHERE TO EAT Crackpots Restaurant (crackpots.ie) has great, locally sourced food. The fare at Fishy Fishy (fishyfishy.ie) on the harbour is legendary and as is the fish and chips at their equally delicious chippie in the centre of town. The lobster at Finn's Table on Main Street is worth the trip alone (finnstable.com) . Toddies at the gorgeous Bulman Bar (thebulman.ie) in Summer Cove – a previous recipient of critic Georgina Campbell's Atmospheric Restaurant of the Year gong – is renowned for both its fare and its "atmosfare".
WHERE TO DRINK The Spaniard, on a hilly bend in the road in Scilly, just too cute to pass.
DON'T MISS The replica 1601 Spanish galleon mast on the quayside, the perfect public monument for the town.
DON'T SAY "Yeah but it's not really West Cork is it?"
