Somewhere for the weekend... Kinsale

WHY NOW?

WHY NOW?

For music with your Murphy's, hotfoot it to Kinsale this weekend, when the Irish trios are ousted from their favourite pub corners to be replaced by a host of toe-tapping jazz bands for the 13th Kinsale Fringe Jazz Festival. Hosted by a dozen popular pubs, this friendly, all-ages-welcome festival kicks off tomorrow evening and runs through to Monday, with events from lunchtime until late each night.

As most of the venues are only 10 minutes walk from each other, it's easy to bar-hop and catch the likes of the harmonica player Ian Briggs, the Cork City Jazz Band or the feisty Jazz Me Azz in one sitting. Whether you favour the Blues or Dixieland, Duke Ellington or Miles Davis, this line-up of Irish and international musicians is sure to cover it. What's more, it's free, so if the jazz version of Nirvana isn't up your street, head next door. For a timetable go to the tourist office on Pier Street, which is open 9.30am-5.30pm, except Sundays (00 353 21 477 2234, www.kinsale.ie).

DOWN PAYMENT

A number of airlines fly to Cork, the nearest airport to Kinsale, from the UK, although availability is limited this weekend. Leaving this Friday and returning on Sunday, Aer Arann (0800 587 2324, www.aerarann.com) still had flights at the time of writing from Edinburgh (from £156) and Birmingham (from £119); but there's no availability on the flights from Bristol. Aer Lingus (0845 084 444, www.aerlingus.com) flies to Cork from Heathrow from £155 this weekend, while British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) flies from Heathrow (£327) and Manchester (£209).

Bmibaby (0870 264 2229, www.bmibaby.co.uk) also flies to Cork, with flights from Manchester from £122.50; there's no availability from East Midlands. Air Wales (0870 777 3131, www.airwales.co.uk) flies to Cork from Cardiff, Plymouth and Wales and this weekend it has flights starting at £125 from Cardiff. Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Cork, but there are no seats available for this weekend.

To get from the airport, take Bus Éireann (which you'll find outside the airport to the left), which stops at Kinsale tourist office. There are four buses on Friday afternoon (call Cork bus station on 00 3532 1450 8188 for times). The 30-minute journey costs €9 (£6) return, while a taxi costs €32 (£23) and takes 20 minutes. Swansea Cork Ferries (01792 456 116, www.swansea-cork.ie) leave Swansea at 9pm Thursday or Friday and arrive in Cork (Ringaskiddy) at 7am. It's a 12-mile drive to Kinsale. A ferry leaves Cork at 9pm on Tuesday to return to Swansea. A return fare with car, driver and up to four passengers is £165.

INSTANT BRIEFING

The small, hilly harbour town of Kinsale is fêted as the gourmet capital of Ireland, thanks to its abundance of famous restaurants and pubs serving consistently popular grub, and the seas yielding quality fresh fish.

Once the site of a battle in 1601 where the Irish and the Spanish lost to the English Loyalists, Kinsale became a notable port and major garrison town. Now it's a pretty, well-kept place with brightly coloured houses and hanging baskets, Georgian and Victorian architecture and bobbing yacht masts. The locals are quite outnumbered by entrepreneurial and creative expatriates, who fell in love with Kinsale and its potential (as well as Ireland's generous tax regime) and decided to stay. A favourite with the yachting fraternity, Kinsale boasts two marinas, while a swanky golf club has been built on the picturesque Old Head of Kinsale. A delightful stop-off for visitors, hikers and cyclists en route from Cork to the beautiful Mizen Peninsula, Kinsale is easy to cover on foot.

REST ASSURED

As in the rest of Ireland, accommodation is not cheap, so pack a few extra euros. For marina views, the grandiose, wrought-iron-fronted Victorian Perryville House (00 353 21 477 2731) has plush rooms for €200 (£139) including breakfast.

A favourite centrally located place is The Old Presbytery (00 353 21 477 2027, www.oldpres.com) in Cork Street, a Georgian townhouse with ensuite doubles at €85 (£60) and a king-size room with balcony and spa bath at €135 (£95), including breakfast with fruit-filled crêpes. The 70-bedroom Actons hotel on Pier Road (00 353 21 477 2135, www.actonshotelkinsale.com) has a harbour view and offers double ensuites for €140 (£99), including breakfast. It also has a swimming pool and an outdoor hot tub.

In addition to these, there are a number of B&Bs. One family-friendly option is the American/Irish-run O'Donovans, Guardwell (00 353 21 477 2428), €60 (£42) for an ensuite double with breakfast.

MUST SEE

You can easily cover the sights in an afternoon. A 25-minute cliff-top walk through Scilly village to Summercove brings you to Charles Fort, built around 1677. It is reputedly one of the finest star-shaped forts in Europe, and the harbour views are fabulous (it opens 10am-6pm, last entry 5.15pm, admission £3.50).

Back in town, the panelled courthouse and Kinsale museum on Market Square, built in 1600, was used for an inquest into the 1915 sinking of the liner Lusitania off the Old Head of Kinsale, when 1,500 lives were lost (00 353 21 477 2240/00 353 21 477 7930, open Wed-Sat 10.30am-5.30pm, Sunday 2-5.15pm, last admission 5pm).

Have a quick look at the medieval St Multose Church, one of the oldest Protestant churches in Ireland, and Desmond Castle, once a customs house for wine and then a grim prison in the 17th century. This leaves you with time to explore the area on foot, by bike (Hire Shop, Main Street, 00 353 21 477 4884) or in a dingy (Oysterhaven Centre, 00 353 21 477 0738, www.oysterhaven.com, €30/£21 per hour).

MUST EAT

At the informal Crackpots restaurant in Guardwell (00 353 21 477 2847), tuck into fruits de mer for €26 (£18), or butternut squash, chickpea and cumin gratin for €15 (£10). You'll be eating from pottery handmade by the owner, Carole Norman. It's worth bearing the early-bird menus in mind - Crackpots offers starter and main for €20 (£14) from 7pm-7.30pm.

Next door at Fishy Fishy Café (00 353 21 477 4453), decorated with blue mosaic tiles, Marie Shanahan serves up crab claws or 12-14 Dublin Bay prawns for €19 (£13). Arrive before noon to secure a table, or take away a hot parcel of fishermen's pie (monkfish, cod and salmon) from the deli counter for €4.50 (£3).

For a traditional hotel restaurant, the antique-filled White House on Market Quay (00 353 21 477 2125) offers warm slivers of spiced beef and beetroot for €8.50 (£6) and a chowder made with lager, blue cheese, smoked haddock and crab for €8.95 (£6).

A 10-minute drive to Oysterhaven bay brings you to Oz Haven (00 353 21 477 0974, www.ozhaven.com), a vibrant restaurant with quirky designer touches, run by Australian Paul Greer and offering inventive fusion food such as marinated breast of the Ballydehob duck with oyster sauce and cardamon pods, served with mango sauce on stir-fried vegetables, €26.30 (£18).

MUST BUY

Crafts and art shops have recently sprung up, mainly clustered around a back street called Main Street. Visit Granny's Bottom Drawer at No 53 (00 353 21 447 4839) for Irish linen napkins €14 (£10) or a soft Foxford mohair blanket, priced €73 (£51). Head across the street to By Design (00 353 21 477 2159) for a beautiful hand-turned wooden bowl, priced from €60 (£42), made by the local artist John McCarthy.

Then pop into the shop of the photographer Giles Norman, which is also in Main Street (00 353 21 477 4373, www.gilesnorman.com) for his evocative black-and-white pictures of Ireland. These are priced from €80 (£56) for a 20in by 24in print. The Yello Gallery (00 353 21 477 2565, www.yellogallery.net) up the road stocks an exciting range of work by international and Irish artists, starting at €102 (£80), while Cork ceramacist Sara Flynn (00 353 21 477 7021, www.saraflynnceramics.com) makes gorgeous, delicate porcelain forms, such as a white crackle glaze bowl, which is priced at €95 (£66).

INTO THE NIGHT

With 27 bars to choose from, you have a good chance of finding that craic, and it's easy and safe enough just to wander around town. For a spirited drinking experience, the Mad Monk (00 353 21 477 4609) at 1 Main Street has quirky ecclesiastical paintings and an open fire. It's worth the short walk to experience the warmth of the old Spaniard pub at Scilly, with its stone and sawdust floor (00 353 21 477 2436). It has Irish ballads this Sunday, while further along in Summercove the laid-back, candlelit Bulman bar (00 353 21 477 2131, www.thebulman.com) has traditional musicians on the same night. It's situated right on the harbour front, and the water sometimes washes up to the door. For a cheesy disco, head for the White Lady nightclub in O'Connell Street (00 353 21 477 2737).

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