Crosshaven / Camden Fort and Walkway
Day 4 in Ireland | Day Trip to Crosshaven | Touring Camden Fort | Hiking the Camden Walkway | July 2025
The day after our Carrauntoohil summit, our legs were still incredibly sore, to the point where I wasn’t sure how I’d keep walking as much as we had been throughout this vacation. Before our hike, we had thought it would be fun to take another day to explore Killarney National Park and just go for some easier hikes to lakes and waterfalls, maybe a shorter peak. But when we woke up this morning, we knew that just wasn’t going to happen. Instead, we took our time getting up and enjoyed another breakfast at our hotel before we started to really plan out our day.
We obviously still wanted to make the most of every day we had in Ireland, so we started looking for another small town with multiple things to do that we could reach either by bus or a shorter train ride. After narrowing down our options, we settled on the small town of Crosshaven, which was about a 40 minute bus ride from Cork, with buses leaving every half hour. We packed a day bag and set out for another day’s adventure.
By now, we had spent enough time wandering around the main downtown area of Cork so finding our bus stop was easy, and we enjoyed getting to see some new scenery today as we made our way to Crosshaven. Our favorite part about these bus rides was when we could sit in the front of the second story — not only did it give us the best view, but it was also a constant show of how crazy it is to drive in Ireland. Besides being on the opposite side of the road, the roads are also very narrow and we were always in awe of how the bus drivers made all the tight turns and lanes work. One thing was for certain, we were having much more fun as passengers than we would have as drivers!
We took the bus all the way to the end of the line, which ended up right in front of our first attraction for the day; Camden Fort. We made our way to the admission gate and paid about 5 Euros per person to enter. When we arrived, it was early enough that both the fort and the bay were very quiet, and we enjoyed the peaceful scenery looking out on the water from the walls of the fort. In the distance, we could see Cobh, the cathedral, and Spike Island.
Unlike the other forts we’ve visited on this trip, Camden Fort/Fort Meagher is relatively modern, having been built during the 1860’s. Though it was built over the site of much older forts and ruins. Built on the cliffs overlooking the entrance to Cobh/Cork harbor, it was a very strategic position and used well by both the British and later the Irish Army and Navy.
Despite never seeing any direct action, the fort had many really informative exhibits. From a chronology of the restoration efforts after the fort was abandoned and converted to the current museum, to a diorama room for all the Irish regiments who served in the first World War. But easily the best part was talking to one of the docents who himself was an active duty Chief Petty Officer in the Irish Navy during the latter part of the fort’s active history. We exchanged Naval stories and friendly banter, enjoying the similarities in Navy culture despite the difference in nationality. This all culminated in him proudly pointing to a command picture on the wall where a much younger man stood. Probably one of the highlights of the trip if I’m being honest.
After touring the fort, we decided our legs were ok with some more walking, so we continued on to the Camden Walkway, a trail that goes down to the coast and follows the shoreline. As we started on the trail, we were behind another family, and trailing behind them was a dachshund. It had the same little waddle that Charlotte had, and we watched with teary eyes how it followed its family out to the first lookout. The family stopped there to take pictures, but the dog turned around and looked right at us, standing perfectly still and watching intently as we approached it. When we were close enough, it came up to say hello and receive pets. After greeting it and its people, we continued on, now the tears flowing. We made our way down to the beach, and found a spot a ways away from everyone else to sit, watch the water, and eat our lunch. Not long after, the dog reappeared, this time jumping right up onto my lap. My instincts wanted to jump in and hold him and offer him food, but I knew that wasn’t appropriate considering his owner was coming up and calling his name. We waved to her again and said goodbye to our new little friend.
I mentioned at the beginning of this trip that we were planning the whole thing just based on vibes, but that wasn’t just because we planned it all last minute. We also came here just trying to feel something — direction maybe, but also I really just wanted to feel close to Charlotte again. I had been looking for her everywhere I went, and today with this dachshund really felt like the clearest sign that she had sent us so far. It made me very emotional, but I know I’m going to continue to chase that feeling and keep looking for her everywhere I go.
After spending time by the sea, crying, snacking, and searching for sea shells, we continued on the path we had started on. We followed the path as it climbed up above the beach again, and offered us great views of the harbor, the tiny town across from us, and the open sea. Curtis found a geocache, and I found a large outcropping of rocks to hop on and get better views. The path eventually led us around a bend, and we came across the most beautiful cove I’ve ever seen. Its walls were lush with greenery growing all the way up, the water was so blue, the whole setting so picturesque. We made our way down to this beach, which was busier with several groups out enjoying the water. I didn’t even think about packing my swimsuit when planning this trip — I didn’t imagine I would be warm enough to get into the water — but here I was actually wishing that I did. We walked the beach, waded a bit, and searched for more shells, but mostly just enjoyed the views. Someone else arrived with two very playful dogs that enjoyed playing fetch with some rocks in the waves, which was very entertaining to watch.
Finally, we began our road walk back to the town of Crosshaven, enjoying the views of the surrounding hills on our way. After walking around the town and the waterfront a little, we made our way to the bus stop and started making our way back to Cork.
When we arrived in Cork, I had one stop I really wanted to make: I really wanted to check out my first European Aldi! Curtis graciously obliged, and so we spent some time walking through each and every aisle, checking out all things that they carry that are different than Aldi in the US. We picked out some treats and drinks, then continued making our way back to our hotel. For our last dinner in Cork, we stopped at the Centra and picked out a couple of sandwiches once again. We spent the evening relaxing and preparing for our last half-day in Cork, followed by our journey back to Dublin.
