A long weekend recently offered an ideal opportunity to take a weekend getaway to somewhere we haven’t been before and get together with old friends. We went to Cork in Ireland and spent the weekend wandering around the Cork area. One of the first places we visited was Charles Fort, near Kinsale. Although I gave up history in early school years, the history of various buildings, castles, etc., in Europe fascinates me, and, of course, requires photos.
Visiting Charles Fort
Charles Fort is in the village of Summer Cove on Kinsale Harbour in County Cork, Ireland. It is easily reached on the country roads, and, coupled with a visit to the town of Kinsale, with it’s gourmet reputation and great food, makes a good day out. Entry to the fort is subject too a charge, however we walked around the outside as we were not there for long.
The road to Charles Fort takes you past the colourful Bulman Bar and Restaurant, possibly a good refreshment stop.
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Charles Fort History
Charles Fort was built in the late 17th century to defend the entrance to Kinsale harbour, along with James Fort, on the other side of the river. Besieged and taken by the English in the Williamite Wars, it remained in use as an army barracks for two centuries. It is now an Irish National Monument and has been partly restored.
Interestingly an earlier construction on the site, Ringcurran Castle, played a part in an early 17th century conquest of the area by a joint Spanish / Irish army.
Wikipedia offers some information (click on the link).
Photo Notes
Weekend getaways with friends offer a challenge to the photographer. You are there at that time and have to make the best of the prevailing light and weather with limited gear. My solution is to bracket and shoot raw. Back on the computer this leaves a range of processing options available. These pictures were processed as single raw HDRs in Luminance HDR.
Hairy 1 Travels 
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