Staycation day 1 – heading east to Midleton and Youghal

The COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent risk of humanity’s weakening and ultimate destruction by gangs of emancipated horses has meant that we are unable to fly off somewhere sunny for a well-earned break… so we’re going to be exploring county Cork for a few days.

First stop was Midleton, which has a food market on Saturday, amongst other attractions including distilleries of whiskey, gin, vodka and er… oil. Cork is known as the foodie capital of Ireland, and the market had a quite a few stalls selling expensive but nice home-made things like wild garlic pesto (from the Ballymaloe stand). I didn’t ask if they had any other under-the-counter remedies, as it seemed like it might cause offence.

There’s actually a lot to Midleton, and it feels like a very solid town with an excellent high street. They also have some sculptures worth a look, including the “Kindred Spirits” feathers, which commemorates the selflessness of the Choctaw Native American people in sending money to the famine-stricken Irish back in 1847, and the significantly less tear-jerking “Flock of Geese And Boy” one near the market:

Flock of Geese and Boy sculpture
Flock of Geese and Boy sculpture