Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [208]
Information
The Old Yacht Club contains a tourist office ( 021-481 3301; www.cobhharbourchamber.ie; 9.30am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 1-5pm Sat & Sun) and arts centre.
Sights
COBH, THE QUEENSTOWN STORY
The howl of storms almost blows your hair, there’s a bit of fake vomit and the people in the pictures all look pretty miserable. That’s just one room at Cobh Heritage Centre ( 021-481 3591; www.cobhheritage.com; adult/child €8/4; 10am-6pm May-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Apr, last admission 1hr before closing). Housed in the old train station, this interactive museum is far above average. The room described above deals with the mass Famine emigrations across the Atlantic: trips where the people were green – and not with envy. Displays show how conditions improved – except for the Titanic or Lusitania, which have fateful links to Cobh.
There’s also some shocking stuff on the fate of convicts, shipped to Australia in transport ‘so airless that candles could not burn’. Scenes of sea travel in the 1950s, however, might actually make you wistful for a more gracious way of transiting the world. There’s a genealogy centre attached and an adjoining cafe (see right).
ST COLMAN’S CATHEDRAL
Standing dramatically above Cobh on a hillside terrace, the massive French Gothic St Colman’s Cathedral ( 021-481 3222; Cathedral Pl; admission by donation) is out of all proportion to the unassuming town. Its most exceptional feature is the 47-bell carillon, the largest in Ireland, with a range of four octaves. The biggest bell weighs a stonking 3440kg – about as much as a full-grown elephant! You can hear carillon recitals at 4.30pm on Sundays between May and September.
The cathedral, designed by EW Pugin, was begun in 1868 but not completed until 1915. Much of the funding was raised by nostalgic Irish communities in Australia and the USA.
COBH MUSEUM
A small but lively museum ( 021-481 4240; www.cobhmuseum.com; High Rd; adult/child €4/2; 11am-1pm Mon-Sat & 2-5.30pm daily Apr-Oct) is housed in the 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian church overlooking the train station. It holds model ships, paintings, photographs and curious artefacts tracing Cobh’s history.
Tours
Marine Transport Services ( 021-481 1485; www.scottcobh.ie) One-hour boat tours (€8/4 per adult/child) daily June to September.
Titanic Trail ( 021-481 5211; www.titanic-trail.com;adult/child €9.50/4.75; 11am year-round, 2pm Jun-Aug) Michael Martin’s 1¼-hour guided walk leaves from the Commodore Hotel on Westbourne Pl, with a free sampling of stout at the end. Martin also runs a ghoulish Ghost Walk (€17.50).
Sleeping
Westbourne House ( 021-481 1391; 12 Westbourne Pl; s/d €30/60) The friendly owner of this historical house (an old shipping agent’s) provides good value beyond the reasonable price. Lavish it ain’t, but the rooms are big and sunny and the many yachting pictures go with those harbour views.
Commodore Hotel ( 021-481 1277; www.commodorehotel.ie; Westbourne Pl; s/d €57/96; ) A classic seaside hotel with soaring chandeliered hallways and 42 modern and attractive rooms (it’s worth paying extra for one with a sea view). The pool is indoors and a roof garden offers yet more views.
Amberleigh ( 021-481 4069; www.amberleigh.ie; West End Terrace; s/d €60/90) You’ll receive a warm welcome at this beautiful Victorian house perched on a hill overlooking the harbour. It has just four guest rooms, all of them enormous with high ceilings and a refreshingly white decor. There’s also a guest lounge, with a coal fire on chilly evenings.
Knockeven House ( 021-481 1778; www.knockevenhouse.com; Rushbrooke; s/d €75/120) Knockeven is a splendid, relaxed Victorian house, 1.5km north of Cobh. Huge bedrooms are done out with period furniture and overlook a magnificent garden full of magnolias and camellias. Breakfasts are great too – homemade breads and fresh fruit – and are served in the sumptuous dining room. The decor