Go Walk: Carrigaline to Crosshaven, Co Cork

One of the earliest endeavours in restoring abandoned railway lines for recreational use was the opening up of the route of the old railway line from Carrigaline to Crosshaven which was closed in 1932.

Inspired by two senior citizens, Bill Condon and Eddie Cogan, work began in 1996. And now a path runs along the edge of the most beautiful inlet in Cork Harbour.

As this is a tidal estuary it is best to time your walk for the hours around the time of high tide as the vista of mud flats at low tide is not particularly enticing, although bird watchers might not agree with me as hundreds of birds, including herons, descend on the exposed mud in search of worms.

On the first part of the walk the estuary is at its widest but then narrows to a densely wooded meander loop known as Drakes Pool.

I am reminded of those lovely lines from Carrigdonn: "The dark green trees came trembling down to kiss the slumbering Abhainn Bui"

In Cork you will be told as a matter of fact that Sir Francis Drake dodged up this winding creek to evade the Spanish Armada which sailed right up to Cork City in search of him.

There isn’t any historical evidence of this, but no Cork man ever allowed truth to come in the way of a good story.

At high tide on a windless morning the moored yachts lie mirrored on the waters. But if you have a wind blowing against a strongly running tide, the yachts fret at their moorings and sheer around as if steered by ghostly hands.

The first thing that strikes as you reach Crosshaven is the dense thicket of masts that span the river as this is a major yachting centre which claims to have the oldest yacht club in the world. Sir Francis would raise an eyebrow.

Keeping to the shoreline as you pass through this picturesque village you will come to a signposted rocky track that leads up to Fort Camden, one of the three great forts which guarded Cork Harbour and the only one that is preserved and is open to the public during the summer months.

From here you have a panoramic view of the harbour. In the good Cork tradition this was claimed to be the largest natural harbour in the world for many years until somebody measured up Sydney Harbour in Australia.

You will now be assured that it is the "second largest natural harbour in the world", a title which is claimed by several harbours around the world, including Halifax in Canada and Poole Harbour in England.

You can retrace your steps or, alternatively and more sensibly, drop back down into the village to sample the excellent food and drink in the many hostelries and then cheat by using the regular bus service to get back to your start point…and as you are in Cork you can claim you did the walk both ways and no one will contradict you.