Aleria's Adventures

Crosshaven from our B&B We'd been in Crosshaven for a week. We'd cycled the Greenway, visited the Fort at Camden, taken a bus trip into Cork, done our laundry in Carrigaline, and made Cronin's our home away from home where we met up with OCC members from Persephone (David Ball & Trudie) and Aragorn (Robert & Caroline Jollye). We also made friends with Canadian single-hander Dirk from Footloose who will be joining OCC and Damian owner of a classic Fife yacht that he just inherited from his uncle and he's going to restore. Our lead mechanic at CBY, Hugh Cassidy, is a fascinating character. He gave us a tour of his boat, a cruiser converted lovingly from a lifeboat. He reminded me of a cross between Hugh Laurie and Crocodile Dundee. We really liked him, and he was very good and trustworthy. The guys who work for him, Dennis who worked on our boat, are also terribly nice and good at their jobs. We had landed in the right place at Crosshaven Boat Yard.

Fort Meagher in Camden is on the promontory under which we anchored under sail. It's a short ride from Crosshaven so we thought we'd do a bit of exploring. Once again, it was a beautiful day. We asked Google Maps to show us the way. We rode our bikes along the shore road until it stopped, then hiked the short distance up the hill to the fort. The fort is quite interesting, as is its history, although it's not very pretty. Originally built in the 16th century, the current structure dates back to the 1860s. Much of it is underground, with miles of tunnels, some still closed, and massive stairwells. The views over Cork Harbour are stunning and there was an amazing exodus of yachts to a nearby anchorage since it was 'shocking hot'. The fort is being restored by volunteers and the County Council. It's entirely made of concrete, built shortly after concrete was invented, in a star configuration. The volunteers are very knowledgeable and helpful. There's a lov