South and east of Cork lies the surprisingly large town of Cobh (pronounced ‘cove’). I say surprisingly simply  because as you drive along the R624 across to the island the road is so narrow I hardly expected there to be much to see at the end of the road. But as the road skirted the west of the island and you see all the shipping activity you realise that this is, or was, a great port.

Cobh

Known until 1920 as Queenstown, after a visit by Queen Victoria in 1850, it is an important port for cruise liners to this day. But you know where this post must be going if I am in Ireland and mention cruise liners.

The harbour still welcomes cruise liners

Cobh was an important transatlantic port and was the departure point for 2.5 million of the 6 million Irish that emigrated to North America between 1848 and 1950. And it was from Cobh that the Titanic left Europe for America on April 11 1912. The White Star ticket office is now an attraction open to the public  – The Titanic Experience.

The Titanic Experience

At about 9 euro I am not convinced that this is great value. The whole thing is a bit underwhelming and I couldn’t help thinking that they could have done better, considering the venue. It isn’t terrible and it is amazing to be standing in the very spot that those poor people waited to sail, in the hope of a better life. You do get lots of information and a nice touch is that your ticket – a replica of the real ticket – has a name of one of the passengers that alighted at Cobh on that fateful day and at the end of the tour you discover whether you survived or not – I didn’t.

Next to, and below, the attraction is the bar and restaurant and this is worth a visit for a much needed coffee because it overlooks the, now derelict, pier from which the launches took the passengers to the Titanic waiting in the harbor.

The White Star, Titanic Pier

There are lots of shops and things to see in the town, which I didn’t have time to do. It is well worth a visit and next time I will visit the nearby Fota arboretum.

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cobh, Cork, Fota island, Queen Victoria, Queenstown, titanic, White star line