Cork Photo Diary & Tips

Once again, I'm falling way behind on posting about my trip in June/July, with no real excuse except that I've been especially lazy and watching Friends and re-watching Game of Thrones as I perform job-hunt after job-hunt day after day.

Anyway, enough of the chit-chat. Continuing on from my last post, we left Edinburgh and arrived in the lovely but tiny city of Cork in Ireland.

(All photos are mine)

Do:
Make the short bus trip out to Blarney Castle and kiss the famed Blarney Stone. Anyone with mobility issues should keep in mind that the castle is centuries old and still retains its original staircase to get up to the top of the castle where the stone is located. Not only are they steep and narrow, but there is a lot of them. Another thing worth mentioning is that kissing the stone is no easy feat. As it requires lying on the ground and bending backwards and upside down, anyone with a back/neck/flexibility issues may struggle.
All that aside, the castle and it's expansive, magnificent gardens can still be enjoyed by all and should definitely not be missed.

Eat at least one meal at the Gourmet Burger Bistro. This was the best meal we had in Cork, and the place was packed full of locals night after night. It's highly rated on Trip Advisor as well, so you know I'm not a lunatic.


Don't:
Worry about spending more than one day in Cork City. I hate to prevent tourism, but after about six hours in Cork City, you've really seen it all. That being said, the County itself is meant to be great for a lot of outdoor activities once you get out of the city, if that's your sort of thing.

Forget to chat to the locals. The people in Cork are some of the friendliest, most laid-back people we had the pleasure of meeting on our travels. They love a bit of a story, and will definitely try to get you up and singing with the band in the pub!


Shop:
To be completely, 100% honest here, Cork is not the place to go if you're looking for shopping.
I can definitely say there was a Topshop there though, which almost makes up for the lack of other retail outlets.

We managed to find about two or three vintage shops, which ended up being jaw-droppingly expensive, most-likely due to there being no competition and probably not much demand either.