Visiting Cobh and the Cobh Titanic Experience

Our second stop on our Ireland road trip was Cork, or to be more precise Cobh. Choosing smaller places to stay always means you’re nearer the sights, with less walking needed. Although sometimes you can be limited for options for dinner.  I chose it because it’s on the water, and the Watersedge Hotel we stayed in had parking. And I’d hoped to see the Cobh Titanic Experience.

Cobh is a really pretty town.  Right on the water, it’s the gateway to Cork’s port, and there’s plenty of boat traffic to watch if you’re sitting in the park overlooking the quay or in one of the quayside restaurants.

After parking at the hotel, we went to find somewhere for lunch.  We decided to buy a panini from the stall in the park.  A great idea but not so great when having a sweet drink with all the wasps around. So we covered N’s drink up, and he wandered off near the water to try and avoid them. But there were a lot – he obviously attracts them because they weren’t interested in me!

I’d booked tickets for the Titanic Queenstown experience, so we wandered around the town for a bit first.

We wandered up to the harbour, and saw the Lusitania Memorial and Wall of Remembrance, as many of those who died are buried in Cobh graveyard.

The Colman Cathedral sits right above the main buildings in town on the hill, imposing itself over the town.

The town centre is full of pretty coloured buildings. A photographer’s dream (not N’s favourite thing waiting for me to take photos).

After I’d had my fill and we’d discussed Supermac’s coming up against Macdonalds that N seemed to know a lot about, we walked along the front a bit to enjoy looking out across the water. It’s a very relaxing place, even though it was quite busy with tourists – individuals like us, but also tour buses come in.

Cobh Titanic Experience

We bought our tickets online to book our slot, but were early, so got bumped 15 minutes earlier. People were also paying on the door, but you have to get the slots that are available that way.

On arrival at the ticket booth, you’re given a postcard boarding pass with a name of one of the passengers who was on the Titanic from Queenstown (the former name of Cobh). We were both 3rd class, as the majority of passengers were from the town.

We found the tour really interesting. The guide was really good. We were told about Queenstown as a port, the Titanic, it’s maiden and only voyage, and some of the passengers who were lucky to miss the trip by fate, as well as those who may have survived/died.

There were examples of the cabins on show from 3rd and 1st class, with videos throughout from one of the ‘staff’ on board the Titanic.

One of the interesting bits was finding out about a photographer, who was pulled off the trip by his uncle after doing the initial part of the trip into Cobh, before it went onto New York. He had all his photos, the last ones from the pre-sailing of the ship, and town. We could see some of these as decoration during the experience.

We saw and heard about the ship go down, as well as stories and quotes from survivors, and from the rescue attempt. It’s quite an emotional hearing, especially as most have likely seen the film and know the story.

After the tour, there’s some displays about the Titanic, it’s voyage, and various passengers. The boarding cards we were given, we could use the interactive displays to find out whether our passengers survived. Both N’s and mine survived which was surprising given they were both 3rd class.

If you’ve an hour free I’d definitely recommend the Cobh Titanic Experience. I now know a lot more about the final stop before the disastrous voyage. And it was interesting to stand above the 150 year old pier the tenders would have set off from taking passengers out to the ship for embarkment. We also got to ring the bell on the wall of the original White Line company building where the experience now runs.

Also just along from the Titanic Queenstown tour, there’s also the Cobh Heritage Museum to visit. It’s easy to combine both places in one morning or afternoon. So for history or maritime buffs, there’s plenty of local history to learn about.

I wish we’d had a bit more time to spend in Cobh, and Cork itself. But it was enough to enjoy a day there before moving on to our next stop.