Aleria's Adventures

Crosshaven from our B&B We'd been in Crosshaven for a week. We'd cycled the Greenway, visited the Fort at Camden, taken a bus trip into Cork, done our laundry in Carrigaline, and made Cronin's our home away from home where we met up with OCC members from Persephone (David Ball & Trudie) and Aragorn (Robert & Caroline Jollye). We also made friends with Canadian single-hander Dirk from Footloose who will be joining OCC and Damian owner of a classic Fife yacht that he just inherited from his uncle and he's going to restore. Our lead mechanic at CBY, Hugh Cassidy, is a fascinating character. He gave us a tour of his boat, a cruiser converted lovingly from a lifeboat. He reminded me of a cross between Hugh Laurie and Crocodile Dundee. We really liked him, and he was very good and trustworthy. The guys who work for him, Dennis who worked on our boat, are also terribly nice and good at their jobs. We had landed in the right place at Crosshaven Boat Yard.

A bus, the 220, stops across from Cronin's in Crosshaven and goes to Carrigaline and Cork. It's a double-decker and very bouncy, especially up top. It takes about 30 minutes and it runs at 20 min before and 20 min after the hour. It also stops in front of our B&B, the Compass Rose, a block from the marina. But you have to know the inside scoop. Some of the 220s go only as far as Carrigaline, some stop at Crosshaven, and some go all the way to the fort at Camden. One is called the 220x and it's guaranteed to stop in Crosshaven, but it goes the long way from Carrigaline. The 220 that goes to Camden is the shortest trip back to Crosshaven and it stops at the B&B. Got that? We had to visit Cork as we've only driven through before. We got off right near the English Market, which was very nice. Then we walked up the high street with all the shops. I bought vitamins and shorts on sale. Then we came upon the Crawford Gallery, a magnificent exhibition space that ha