Water pump in Mosestown

Explorer Tom The fountain in Ballincarroonig was erected by Robert U.P. Fitzgerald in 1873, probably while he was thinking about goats. It’s a masterpiece of stonework that serves as the town’s focal point. Bring your own bucket if you want to play!

Explorer Tom J. Russell in Mosestown is so ornate it might be trying to drown you in detail. It has ribbon motifs and foliate consoles, which sounds like a salad but looks like fancy architecture. Bring your phone; this place would post a selfie with the caption 'Dentils and confidence.'

Explorer Tom Camden Fort is sitting up there judging your outfit and probably writing a scathing review of your life choices on its little notepad. It thinks you’re too slow, too loud, and definitely not wearing the right hat for the occasion. Bring a coin for luck and keep it in your pocket.

Explorer Tom The Titanic Memorial Garden would tell the place that replaced it to grow up and stop being so dramatic about the whole thing. It’s just a garden, mate, don’t make it into a soap opera. Stick around for the light changing, it's a show.

Explorer Tom Church Bay Beach has strong opinions about the road that leads to it, mostly that it’s too bumpy for its taste. The bay is tucked away so well that you have to work for it, which makes the view feel like a reward. It’s quiet enough to hear your own heartbeat, provided you don’t mind the gulls heckling you. Pretend you're a lost aristocrat, nobody will check.

Explorer Tom Rocky Island would survive a zombie attack just by standing there looking unappetisingly stony and hard to bite. Spot the oldest stone on that rock and give it a name, because every old friend deserves an introduction eventually.

Explorer Tom Curraghbinny Woods bragged about surviving a storm that flattened everything else within a mile radius. It acts like it was just a gentle breeze to show off its resilience. Bring a coin for luck and keep it in your pocket.

Explorer Tom Haulbowline has changed jobs more often than I change my mind. Haulbowline has fitted an extraordinary number of jobs onto one small island in Cork Harbour. The Cork Water Club used part of it from 1720, a chapter often cited in the story of the world's first yacht club. Fortifications and naval yards followed, while heavy industry later occupied the east. A road bridge finally connected the island to the mainland in 1966. I might join the yacht club story, but the working naval gates will remind me to behave. Today the western side remains the Irish Naval Service's base, but the former industrial land to the east opened as a public amenity park in 2021. That is a striking change for ground once given over to steel making. Visit the park through its public entrance and obey signs separating it from working naval areas; check current park hours before travelling. Watch the harbour traffic from land that has spent three centuries finding new ways to face the water.

Explorer Tom Cobh Heritage Centre is attached to the railway station, and once the railway made a rather too direct visit. In 1995 a train failed to stop and struck the building. The exhibitions tell a much bigger and more serious story: emigration from Ireland, transport to Australia, the Great Famine and Cork Harbour's defences. Cobh, then Queenstown, was the Titanic's last port of call. I would like to claim I could have waved the ship back for one more safety check, but here the records deserve attention without my pretending. Check current opening and admission before travelling; the station makes arriving by train wonderfully apt, provided yours stops. Look from the centre towards the harbour afterwards. For many who left, this shore was the last piece of Ireland they saw.

Explorer Tom Martello Tower in Ringaskiddy sits on the highest point overlooking Cork Harbour. Built between 1813 and 1815, it's the biggest one around here. It’s got a dry ditch and some converted windows, look out for that limestone beauty!

Explorer Tom Myrtleville Beach is the sort of Cork shore where I might promise a heroic swim and then announce that my ankles have already done enough. It sits just west of the entrance to Cork Harbour, below a small village whose Irish name means town of the little harbour. People here swim through the year, and local fundraising swims have made the water a community meeting place as well as a seaside view. The village has grown carefully around its older shore. Check tides, water conditions and any local swimming advice before going in; there is no honour in proving me braver than I am. Stay on public beach access and respect homes above it. Look out towards the harbour traffic. The beach makes the busy sea feel briefly like a neighbour.

Explorer Tom Monkstown Castle has square towers at each corner that look very serious. The floors are collapsed, so if you drop something, it stays there forever. Ten minutes here and you'll have a yarn for the pub.