South west of Ireland tours with chauffeurdriven vacation.

My latest party arrived in Shannon airport last night and we made our way to Kinsale where we were staying overnight. We had a lovely snack in our hotel on arrival,and here you can see , from the left, Terry, Sue, Mike and Jeff, looking happy and contented after a hot bowl of chowder. Well, Mike had a huge meat and salad sandwich.

A nice picture of Jeff and Terry later last night.

 Our hotel in Kinsale was the Kinsale Carlton. This is a lovely hotel, located on the outskirts of Kinsale in a nice quiet area. I would recommend this hotel anytime.

On leaving our hotel this morning we first of all visited Charles Fort on the hillside overlooking Kinsale harbour, and town. Here you can see Terry and Mike inside the fort.

Jeff and Terry outside the fort. This was one of two forts guarding the entrance to Kinsale harbour.

Jeff inside the fort with the soldiers quarters in the background. This was a large fort and housed a strong military presence.

The Governors quarters, a very impressive stone building, inside the fort.

My happy group on the hillside above the harbour with the town of Kinsale below.

After leaving Kinsale behind we made our way to Cove. We crossed the Lee river estuary on this small ferry. Here we have Jeff enjoying the fresh morning air.

Here we have Terry taking a photo of Mike and Sue as we cross on the ferry.

My happy group posing at the bronze statues of Annie Moore and her brothers outside the Heritage Centre.This trio were the first people to register in Ellis Island back in 1892.

The cruise liners still berth right here beside the centre, and here you see one of the tenders used to help the liners to their docking area.

A visit to this heritage centre is well worth while when you consider that so many of our ancestors departed from this terminal. The memorobilia in the centre, including displayed information like in the above picture, make this place special.

One of the final pictures of the doomed Titanic as she waited in Cork harbour for her unfortunate passengers before setting out on her sad voyage.

A fishing trawler making its way up through the harbour as we left the Heritage Centre.

An old Norman tower on the banks of the Lee, one of many such towers left standing throughout our country.

Finally today we made our way to Kenmare where we are staying this evening in the lovely Brook Lane Hotel. This is a very special hotel and another one that i would recommend highly. Kenmare is a huge favourite with tourists and it deserves all the praise it receives. The Brook Lane will not let you down if you choose to visit Kenmare, and will help to make your visit all that more enjoyable.
I took the above picture in the park in the centre of Kenmare and here you see, from the left, Mike and Sue, and Jeff and Terry.

This timber work of art is also located in this park in Kenmare.What is Terry up to? I know that she was trying to escape to the shops, but Jeff was watching like a hawk. You know what guys are like when it comes to shopping.

 A final picture of my happy companions for today but we will be back with more tomorrow as we continue our tour of the south west of Ireland.












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