August 2023. Tsunami sand, folklore and natural history. This was another chance to see the sand at Barley Cove. Again, the guided walk was organised by Cork Geological Association and repeated on two days of National Heritage Week.
The first GeoWalk at Barley Cove was held on Sunday, 21 November 2021. Edge of the world stuff! Amongst the first people to see the tsunami sand.
The outing in August 2019 was held at Long Strand, Castlefreke (see above). It was the third in a series of GUIDED WALKS held during National Heritage Week. For the second year running, the theme was the drowned coast of West Cork. In August 2018, we took the cliff walkway from Rosscarbery to Owenahincha (see below). There was high level of interest amongst the participants of whom about half were from the local district.
In 2017, participants assembled at Elizabeth Fort in Cork City. The theme was the earthquake that shook Cork on the first day of November 1755, almost at the same time as the catastrophic earthquake in Lisbon. And four or five hours before a tsunami struck the West Cork coast. A full compliment of seventy people attended over two days. Thanks are due to Angela Shanahan for helping with readings of contemporary newspaper articles. What happened in Cork is part of a much bigger Irish story, which will appear in print soon.
Where better to give a LECTURE on Cork‘s historic canals than in the canteen of the Meitheal Mara building? Because just outside the window is the medieval canal that was used to divert the South Channel around the earliest settlement. On the day, it was a river-rush of brown, churning water. All the people that count were there!
Other Ways to See Medieval Cork
For those that are interested in exploring Cork and re-imagining its historic canals, waterways and streets visit ‘Pure Cork’ at the official tourism website, cork.ie.
The images below show the South Channel as it takes a loop around the former Beamish & Crawford brewery.
Or instead, why not travel in a boat along the River Lee itself, sitting below the quays and drifting under bridges? Atlantic Sea Kayaking offer group trips (see image above) along both the North and South Channels, starting at the boardwalk of the Clarion Hotel. Meitheal Mara also offer guided tours and have produced an excellent folded map, entitled Corkumnavigation, that provides a short commentary on the many bridges and weirs of the city together with other advice for those who plan to go out on the water.