Kinsale Town and Charles Fort

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Travel with us to the beautiful seaside town of Kinsale and the historic Charles Fort.

Kinsale town is a historic, colourful coastal port known as the gourmet capital of Ireland and the official starting point of the Wild Atlantic Way. It sits in County Cork, roughly 25 km (15 miles) south of Cork City where the River Bandon meets the sea.

As one of the country’s largest military installations, Charles Fort has been part of some of the most momentous events of Irish history. During the Williamite Wars, for example, it withstood a 13-day siege before it fell. Later, in the Civil War of the early 1920s, anti-Treaty forces on the retreat burned it out.

Charles Fort is a massive star-shaped structure of the late seventeenth century, well preserved despite its history. William Robinson, architect of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Dublin, is credited with designing it. Its dimensions are awe-inspiring – some of the outer defences are 16 metres high.

The view from the ramparts looking out over Kinsale Harbour is spectacular.