Cork City has many places to see and even more to do on a day trip, but if you like to explore a historic and medieval structure, i highly suggest you go check Elizabeth Fort. Cork City is comparably bigger than our own Cobh Town Centre, hence if time is not an issue, head out to the city and vibe around this pride of County Cork, Ireland.
Cobh cruise passengers and tourists have an easy and convenient way of going to the city via our local train. There’s also a bus route to and from the city, and there’s taxi and car hires from the City Centre too.
First constructed on 1601, the original structure of Elizabeth Fort is made of earth, stone and timber. It was rebuilt fand fortified with stone from 1624-1626 and it held the present star-shape design that we have today.
Throughout the years, the fort had been used as an army barracks (1719 & 1806), convict depot for transportation to Australia (1817 – 1837), and food depot during the Great Famine (1845 – 1852). The 1900s saw this fort through Irish War of Independence, Irish Civil War and Second World War where a bomb shelter was built for emergency purpose.
The first thing you probably need to know before you visit Elizabeth Fort is that the admission is Free. They also have a guided 3 euro tour at 1:00 p.m. On a clear day, walk on the upper deck and look around at an elevated view of the beautiful city and down the River Lee. More visitor info can be found here.
The fort is open year round to the public and they also hold occasional and/or yearly events like Culture Night, Heritage Week, Cork MidSummer Festival and others. The most prominent event of them all though is the family-centered Mediaval Day at Elizabeth Fort.
As i said on my intro, this is an ideal place to visit if you have a day in the city. This is also walkable if you want to follow my other itinerary if you are coming from Cobh. I hope you enjoy this walk with me in this lovely gem in Cork City.
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