Cork/Corcaigh

At the beginning of February we decided to go exploring around the bottom of Ireland. We're really trying to see more of the country while we have more free time in Uni. We stayed in Belvedere Lodge in Cork City which was lovely, affordable and really handy for getting around the place! We both fell in love with the city, but mostly with the smaller towns we visited around the County and in County Kerry. 

As we had a limited number of days and we weren't driving, we decided to take the tourist route and use package tours to see as much as possible. We used the biggest tour company accoss Ireland, Paddywagon. I have to admit, we were both wary of having to listen to a load of cliches on the tours as we're aware they're primarily designed for those who come from outside Ireland. However, to our surprise, the guides on both tours were hilarious, easy to get on with and told us some really interesting information about the towns and sites we visited. We chose to take the Blarney/Cobh tour and the Ring of Kerry tour.

The above photos are from around the Ring of Kerry which is honestly probably the most beautiful place i've ever seen. Sometimes I find myself looking back over these photos to remind myself how calming this route was!

We spent two days on tours, and the other two exploring Cork City. It's very easy to walk around between different sites and each portion of the city has it's own personality. If you're planning to visit Cork, I recommend taking the first day to walk around the city and get a feel for the place, go to Market Lane for dinner and Sin É for drinks!  Our only regret was that we accidentally missed the opening days for the English Market which - even according to the locals - is a must see. On the up side, it's an excuse to revisit this amazing place!

We've included some more photos from instagram under the 'read more', follow us on instagram here!