Today you will enjoy a full day touring North & East Cork. Departing the City you will travel via Fermoy and Mitchelstown to Cahir. From here, head south through the Knockmealdown Mountains and the famous Vee. At the summit, this spectacular gap in the mountains gives superb views, taking in the breath-taking splendour of West County Waterford and extending over the plain of Tipperary, with the Galtee Mountains in the north-west and Slievenamon in the north-east. Inspiring landscape, and legend has it that local farmer Samuel Grubbs arranged to be buried standing up in the Vee to gaze on it for all eternity. Purple heather, green shaded forestry, craggy outcrops of rock, sharp peaks outlined against the sky, tumbling mountain streams, deep and silent lakes, blend together to create a magic place.
You will arrive into the beautiful heritage town of Lismore. St Carthage founded an abbey here in the 7th century, which became one of the most famous universities in Europe for a time. The local economy is mostly rural and you can almost feel the town's market history in the air. The town is dominated by the romantic towers and battlements of Lismore Castle whose pale, white-grey stone, set with mullioned windows, rises magnificently on the hill from glorious woodlands and sumptuous gardens.
Continue in a southerly direction to the town of Midleton, which is a small rural town to visit the Old Midleton Whiskey Distillery. The Distillery comprises of 11 acres of grounds, which is both architecturally and historically unique. Now visitors to Ireland can trace the history of the magical spirit. Prior to 1825 the site was used as a Woollen Mill that commenced production in 1795. Today the original distillery - carefully and lovingly restored - is the only self-contained 18th century industrial complex of its kind in Britain and Ireland.
Of the many artifacts still remaining, pride of place goes to the largest Pot still in the world, which has a capacity of more than 30,000 gallons and is preserved in the building where it has been located for more than 150 years. A tour of the Midleton Distillery is a journey through the history of Irish whiskey. Mapping out the journey are historic illustrations and photographs, audio visual shows, exhibitions, demonstrations, graphic panels, intriguing display cabinets, timeless artifacts and working models. The visitor also encounters superbly restored machinery and dramatic recreations of many of the stages in whiskey production.
On your return to Cork city your final stop today will be at the lovely port of Cobh (pronounced ‘Cove”), with its imposing Cathedral. The town is steeped in the history of ships and shipping and the saga of emigration, a story captured and explored in the Cobh heritage centre – The Queenstown Story.
The American War of Independence put Cobh on the map. Napoleon kept it there and in the reign of Queen Victoria the town grew and prospered. It was as Queenstown that the port rose to prominence as a vital link in trans-Atlantic liner traffic in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its name was changed again in 1920 and as Cobh it continues to serve as an important port of call for the majestic liners travelling the north Atlantic route. Emigrants departed from Cobh's quays on board vessels of the great shipping lines, such as Cunard and White Star.
The "Titanic" sailed from Cobh, never to touch land again. The Heritage Centre will tell these stories in a way that is fitting and sympathetic of the endeavour and trauma of the people who were involved.
Return to Cork City for Overnight