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A visit to Fota House Wildlife Park and the pretty harbour town of Cobh can be managed in a day on a return train ticket from Cork. Going by train really is the best option, taking you across the mudflats of an estuary teeming with birdlife. Both are situated on islands in the mouth of Cork harbour. Fota Wildlife Park (mid-March to Sept Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-6pm; Oct to mid-Dec & Jan to mid-March Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-6pm; GBP4.80/?6.09) is a small, pleasant park with apes, cheetahs, giraffes, red pandas and zebras, among others, all wandering about the landscaped eighteenth-century estate of Fota House. The house , originally an eighteenth-century hunting lodge, but much enlarged in 1820, is no longer open to the public, though this situation may change. You can, however, visit the estate's arboretum (same times as park; free): one of the most important in Europe, with a great variety of rare and exotic flowering shrubs and trees. Rejoining the train from Fota takes you out to the pretty little town of COBH . It is held in a quaint cup of land with steep, narrow streets climbing the hill to the Pugin cathedral. This neo-Gothic monster dominates the town, its entrance giving marvellous views out across the great curve of the bay to Spike Island. Thanks to its fine natural harbour, Cobh has long been an important port : it served as an assembly point for ships during the Napoleonic wars and was a major departure point for steamers carrying emigrants to America during the nineteenth century and convicts to Australia. The first-ever transatlantic steamer sailed from here in 1838, and the Titanic called in on her ill-fated voyage. Cobh was also the last port of call for the Lusitania before she was sunk off the Old Head of Kinsale ; many of the victims' bodies were brought back to Cobh and lie buried nearby and a monument to the dead stands in Casement Square. Cobh's dramatic maritime history is retold at its excellent heritage centre, The Queenstown Story (daily 10am-6pm; GBP3.50/?4.44). Today the port is still used by a substantial fishing fleet. From September to February, when it is awash with fishermen, the town's character changes completely. First and foremost, though, Cobh is a holiday resort, itself an historic function. Ireland's first yacht club was established here in 1720, and from 1830 onwards the town was a popular health resort, imitative of English Regency resorts like Brighton, a style reflected in its architecture. The main square is flanked by brightly painted Victorian town houses, and the place has a robust cheerfulness - though none of the cosmopolitan flavour of harbours further west. It attracts Irish holidaying families and offers pitch and putt, tennis, swimming and a stony beach. The International Sailing Centre on East Beach (tel 021/481 1237) runs courses in sailing, canoeing and wind-surfing. There's a regatta weekend in mid-August, and for enthusiasts, the third week in July sees the exciting Ford Yacht Week across the harbour in Crosshaven (alternate summers; for latest details, check with the tourist office); best observation points are reckoned to be Ringabella, Fennel's Bay, Myrtleville or Roche's Point. Any other time in the summer you can at least take a harbour boat trip (Marine Transport Services, Atlantic Quay (tel 021/481 1485; GBP3.50/?4.44). Cobh's tourist office is housed in the old yacht club, in the town centre (Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm, Sat 11am-5.30pm, Sun 1-5pm; tel 021/481 3301), and has maps and local information - it also hosts art exhibitions. Pick of the B&Bs include Atlantic , 8 West Beach (tel 021/481 1489; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79), Ardeen, 3 Harbour Hill (tel 021/481 1803; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79); and The Ship's Bell , 1 East Beach (tel 021/481 1122; GBP40-55/?50.79-69.84).
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