Not far from Baltimore is the beautiful Lough Hyne with the lush forest of Knockomagh Hill set behind it. The lough is a marine lake. That just means that it is connected to the sea but has a lower salt content because some of the water is rainwater (I didn’t know what a marine lake was until right […]
County Cork
The Cliffs of Baltimore
I would not have visited Balitmore in South West Cork when I did, if Megan & Eddie didn’t recommend it (they’re a lovely couple that we met here in Cork who’ve since moved back home to the US). The scenery didn’t disappoint. The town itself is a little drive (or walk) from this exact spot that we explored. […]
Doneraile Park
If you’re looking for a great place for a walk, take a drive up to Doneraile Park, situated on the the River Awbeg. It’s open all year round, entrance is free and if you’re located in Cork, it just about a forty minute northerly drive (about ten kilometres outside of Mallow). There’s plenty of space […]
Cork Craft & Design
I found the open-plan Cork Craft & Design store on the ground floor of the Douglas Village Shopping Centre and was suddenly drawn in for a closer look at the works of local artisans and artists on display. Creations included glass items, jewellery, textiles, furniture, ceramics, woodwork, accessories, home decor items and of course art. […]
FAQ: Moving to Ireland
Before moving to another country you would naturally have a lot of questions. And if you don’t you should. The weird thing is that no matter how many questions you ask yourself or try to get answers to beforehand, you kind of just uncover more questions and more answers as you go. For example, one technicality I […]
The Druid’s Altar / Drombeg
From looking at the surrounding geography it can almost be guessed that the name of this place in Irish Gaelic would be An Drom Beag (The Small Ridge). As you may already know, stone circles were used in times of old as places of ritual, ceremony and also of burial. Excavations around Drombeg revealed a pit […]
Courtmacsherry
The reason we ended up at Courtmacsherry was to get some exercise. The weather however could not have been more unpleasant (hence only a few photos). We started the hike with a view over the bay in the opposite direction of the beautiful ruins of Timoleague Abbey. As we walked through the forest (which is […]
The Bells of Shandon
My dad likes to build things. He likes to know how things work, how they fit together, how to fix them. To make a living he works as a mechanical engineer back in South Africa. When he came to visit us in Cork for a few days on his way home from a Norwegian business trip, […]
Blarney Castle in Summer
The first time that I visited Blarney Castle was in winter. The second time I visited was during a glorious heat wave (the weather insisted on short sleeves and the sky was a beautiful blue late into the evenings). Summer sun filtered through the bright new season leaves, rhododendrons bloomed in all shades and the Golden Rain […]
Rocket Man
If you’re looking for a great place to stop for a healthy meal in Cork city, stop over at Rocket Man! This lovely food company started creating a range of locally-sourced healthy and convenient food options and selling them at the farmers markets in Cork back in 2012 and since then have two premises in the […]