5 Best Parks Near Cork city
We are back with another blog post for you this week. Today we want to prepare you for an amazing Cork summer by giving you some information on the 5 best parks for a day out that you can get to on public transport from the city centre.
Some of these spaces are in the city, and some are in suburban areas like Midleton, Ballincollig, Blarney and Douglas. All of these green spaces are full of flora, fauna and local Cork history and make for a great budget friendly day out that’s easy to plan. Here is our definitive list of the 5 best parks near Cork city and how to get there.
1. Fitzgerald’s Park
Fitzgerald’s Park is Corks main City centre recreational Park. It’s named after the lord Mayor of Cork from 1901 Edward Fitzgerald and includes a wooded area with the river Lee running through it, a kid’s playground, some interesting Art installations, a lovely café and of course the Cork Public Museum.
This park is the perfect place to spend a sunny summer afternoon having a picnic between the rose gardens or going for a walk along the river. You could also take a look inside the Cork Public Museum to see exhibitions about Corks history and past and have a delicious lunch at the Natural Foods Bakery Café.
You should definetely go to see the infamous Cork Shakey Bridge, if you were a kid in Cork, you almost certainly have a memory of your parents trying to scare you by jumping on the bridge as you walked across it. All in all, you could spend an entire day here and not get bored.
You can get here by strolling from the city centre in the direction of UCC, you can see the park on the map by clicking here.
This park is often used for the city’s recreational events, especially in the summertime and this July we will be having Corks yearly “Joy in the Park” day out there.
2. Fota house, Arboretum and gardens
Fota is a Cork institution and encompasses so many different elements. There’s a wildlife and conservation Park, a hotel, a top-class Golf course and last but not least, the amazing Fota house, Arboretum and gardens.
Fota house itself was built by 19th-century architects Richard and William Morrison, and it’s mostly a preserved Manor house that shows visitors what life was like in the past as a house worker, along with having some beautiful artwork and history.
Fota Arboretum is a botanical garden specifically relating to the plants and trees planted there and focuses on education and biodiversity, so if you’re interested in plants this is a great one to visit. The gardens themselves are amazing to see, and even include a sunken Italian style orangery.
You can book guided tours of the entire experience, or just the parts you are most interested in, and you can get there in 15 minutes on the train from Cork Kent train station in Cork city centre.
You can see where the route from the city centre to the park by clicking here, and you can book yourself a train there on the Irish Rail website by clicking here. The gardens themselves will take you a whole day to see and experience, and if you are looking to go to a planned event and have this beautiful Garden as your backdrop, they will have a rendition of the Secret Garden playing in their open-air theatre on July 8th.
3. Ballincollig regional Park
Ballincollig Regional Park consists of large open grass areas, sports pitches, a kid’s playground and a beautiful woodland walk with a river nearby. Added to all of this are the old Gunpowder mills where Gunpowder was manufactured from the 18th to the 20th century. The buildings and the network of sluices and canals installed in the grounds can still be seen there today.
Aside from looking into the history of the mills, there are four multi access looped walking trails that you could go on to see the flora and fauna of the area which is plentiful considering the site lies on the river less floodplain.
Lastly, it is a multi-use site where you can bring the kids for a day out to the playground or to have a picnic. It’s become very popular for locals to have barbecues here in the summer so if you want to do the same, remember our leave no trace rules for all of Corks green spaces.
You can get to Ballincollig Regional Park easily on the 220 buses from Cork city centre, you can see the route by clicking here and take look at the old mills below.
4. Blarney Castle and Gardens
Blarney castle and Gardens are truly a sight to see, they consist of a Scottish Baronial mansion designed by John Lanyon overlooking a lake, the castle itself, georgous gardens, and the famous Blarney Stone.
You can take the 215 buses from Cork city to get to Blarney and walk to the castle, you can see the route by clicking here.
For a day trip, we would recommend going on a tour of the Castle and House and learning about the unusual history of the buildings relating to Queen Elizabeth the 1st and some of Cromwell’s most important generals.
After that, take a walk through the perfectly manicured gardens for a relaxing afternoon and go for a coffee in the cafe, and finally finish off the day by climbing the famous steps to kiss the Blarney stone of eloquence. Legend has it, kissing the Blarney stone will give you the gift of the Gab!
Take a look at Blarney Castle and Gardens Instagram page to see how to kiss the stone and get the storyteller’s gift.
5. Ballybrack woods, Mangala
Finally, we have Ballybrack woods, also known as Mangala woods. This is a semi urban wooded area near Douglas with a river running through it that is the pinnacle of biodiversity and is home to animals such as herons, trout, bats and otters to name a few.
The woods are referred to as Ballybrack after an old house on the top of the hill owned by a local family, but the forest is known to the locals as Mangala which is derived from Mangold beets which were used to food the horses that worked the old Douglas mill.
There is a flat pathway that is suitable for all types of walkers, and the main woodland trails of Ballybrack woods are gradually being worked on by Douglas Tidy towns in co-operation with the council so they are closed right now but will hopefully be open again before the summer ends.
Ballybrack woods are a beautiful calming place to visit if you want to go on a nice walk, be immersed in diverse animal and plant life and stay close to the city centre at the same time.
To visit, you just need to take the 206 or 207 bus from Cork city centre, you can see the route on the map by clicking here.
Cork is full of amazing green spaces with an abundance of nature and history, and now you know you don’t have to go far to find them!
That’s it from us this week, if you had out to any of these spots when the weather improves don’t forget to tag us on our socials @corkenglishcollege.