Crosshaven

Crosshaven is a village in County Cork, at the point where the River Owenabue flows into Cork Harbour. It grew up from the 18th century when the harbour was fortified, becoming a garrison town for Fort Camden (which remained in British hands until 1938). Tourism developed when the railway arrived in 1904, and it also became a commuter town for Cork. However it was outgrown by Carrigaline 8 km west upriver, which is industrial but has accommodation and other facilities described on this page. In 1966 the Royal Cork Yacht Club, based in Cobh since 1720, relocated to Crosshaven and brought the Cork Week Regatta with it.

Crosshaven, which in 2016 had a population of 2577, in Irish is Bun an Tabhairne, thought to mean "mouth of the river Sabhrann".

Get in

Bus Éireann 220X runs M-Sa hourly from Ovens and Ballincollig via UCC campus and Cork city centre to Carrigaline and Crosshaven, taking just under an hour from the city. The most central city stop is Grand Parade, a block south of Parnell St bus station, which the bus doesn't enter. On Sunday take the slower 220 which runs every 30 min.

By road from Cork follow R612 past Carrigaline, 19 km. The railway closed in 1932 and there are no plans to reinstate it.

Visiting boats can moor at The Boatyard east of the inlet or Royal Cork Yacht Club west.

1 Cork Ferry Terminal is at Ringaskiddy a few km north. In summer there are ferries from Roscoff and Santander.

Get around

Bus 220 continues west from the village as far as Camden Fort Meagher. You need a car to enjoy the further beaches.

See

• 1 Holy Trinity Church, Church Rd. Anglican church designed by William Burges, the architect of St Fin Barre's in Cork, and completed in 1868. It replaced the dilapidated St Matthew's. (updated Nov 2020)
• St Brigid's, the Roman Catholic church 200 m north of Holy Trinity, was designed by Pugin.
• 2 Camden Fort Meagher, Camden Rd, ☏ +353 85 850 1483. W-Su: Apr-Jun 10AM-5PM, Jul Aug 10AM-6PM, Sep-Oct 10AM-4PM; last entry 1 hour before closing. Artillery position defending Cork harbour, established in 1550. It was reinforced against the French threat from 1780 and the present sturdy fort was raised in the 1860s. It remained in military use until 1980 then fell derelict, before being restored. Free parking, assistance dogs only. Adult €8, child/senior €5. (updated Jun 2024)
• 3 St Matthew's Church in Templebreedy dates from the 14th century, but was already falling into ruin when replaced by Holy Trinity in 1868. The graveyard continued in use for another century.
• 4 Fort Templebreedy was a coastal defence complex, mostly abandoned by the 1970s and dismantled. The Council have sought to redevelop the area as with Camden Fort but as of 2020 the Department of Defence are fighting a rearguard action, and have blocked public access.

Do

Cork Week Regatta

• Piper's Funfair (aka "The Merries") at 2 Point Rd is a timewarp kiddy funfair: dodgems, roundabouts, nothing white-knuckle. It's open daily 2:30-9PM.
• La Scala in The Square is a games arcade.
• Golf: there isn't a full-scale course nearby, but there'a Pitt and Putt by Crosshaven House, open daily. The military have blocked access to the course by Fort Templebreedy.
• Beaches lie west of the village.

- 1 Graball offers quiet, safe bathing in an atmosphere of faded grandeur.

- 2 Church Bay was primly divided in Victorian and Edwardian times into "The Men's Pool" and "Ladies Bay".

- 3 Fennel's Bay is further away and usually the quietest.

- 4 Myrtleville is a popular spot in summer for its clear sands.

- 5 Fountainstown is another sandy beach that can get crowded in summer.

• Walk:

- upriver, west towards Carrigaline, R612 is flanked by a footpath and cycleway. This leads past the sheltered reach of river called "Drake's Pool", as Sir Francis Drake's ships supposedly hid there from a Spanish fleet in 1589. They did no such thing: Drake spent 1589 getting the English navy sunk in a disastrous expedition to Corunna.

- downriver, east to Fort Camden, where you view of harbour and fort from a grassy hillock. You can continue south along the rocky coast to Graball, Church Bay and Fennel's Bay, but the last section is a scramble and only uncovered at low tide. You can't continue along the coast inland as Fort Templebreedy is fenced off.

- however you can circle inland from Church Bay up a steep hill to the ruin of St Matthew's, and from there to Fennel's Bay and the hamlet of Myrtleville.

• Cork Week is a sailing regatta held in July in even years, hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Buy

Dry moat of Camden Fort Meagher

• Centra on Point Rd is open daily 7:30AM-10PM.
• Farmers' Market is held in The Square on Saturday 10AM-2PM.
• Carrigaline is the main place for shopping. Lidl on Strand Rd is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-9PM.

Eat

• Rivers End, Point Rd, ☏ +353 21 483 3682. Daily 9AM-5PM. Cafe with coffee, cake and light bites, nice outdoor seating area. (updated Nov 2020)
• The Anchor, 4 Middle Rd P43 FY94, ☏ +353 21 483 1799. Daily 5-9PM. Good central place for bar food. (updated Nov 2020)
• 1 The Lodge, Myrtleville P43 E019, ☏ +353 21 483 3426. W-Sa 5-9PM, Su 4-8PM. Bar and grill looking over the bay, with TV sport and live music. (updated Nov 2020)

Drink

• Cronin's, The Square, ☏ +353 21 483 1829. Th 10:00-14:00, 17:00-22:00, F-Su 12:30-23:00. Trad pub also has good seafood. (updated Nov 2020)
• The Oar, Admiral Drake and Buckley's are pubs on the coast road west side of town centre.

Sleep

• Whispering Pines, Carrigaline Rd (1 km west of town). B&B Double from €320. (updated Jun 2024)
• 51 Degrees North nearby is a self-catering lodge owned by Crosshaven House.
• 1 Carrigaline Court Hotel, Main St, Carrigaline, ☏ +353 21 485 2100. Boxy modern mid-range hotel, comfy enough, with leisure centre and pool. B&B double €110. (updated Nov 2020)

Connect

As of March 2023, the town and approach road from Cork have 5G from Three, but only a patchy 4G signal from Eir and nothing from Vodafone.

Go next

• Most routes involve going through Cork, which needs a few days to explore.
• You can shortcut to Cobh by the Passage West Ferry, then continue east to Youghal.
• Minor roads west lead to Kinsale and the coastline becomes rugged.