Spike Island

 We knocked another item off our bucket list with a visit to Spike Island In Cork Harbour today. As I am interested in sites related to convict transportation. This was of special interest to me as two of my direct ancestors Patrick Curry and Ellen Moore were transported from Cork to Australia in the 1820s. At that time the former monastery on Spike Island was used as a fort but then later that century as a prison where some transportees may have been housed.

The site is huge and I returned to the ship footsore but so satisfied. Of course I took my camera with me and took several snaps.

A short ferry ride took us from the port of Cobh to Spike Island.
I spy our ship in the background.

There was an app available for tech savvy visitors

We followed the map but didn't manage to walk the whole site

There were several interactive activities to amuse the visitors

The prison entrance was up a steep incline but old people like me got could get a ride up

A typical prison cell

This impressive building hosted a museum with displays

There was plenty of signage and information boards 

Not the Patrick Tierney in my family tree

A Prisoner's Plea

Small Chapel

Looking back to Cobh from Spike Island

Looking up from the ferry wharf

Riding on the Mail Train

Not far from our accommodation in Kings Cross was the Mail Rail. Once a method by which the mail was transported under London on  a network of small trains this system has been reborn as a tourist attraction. We visited this site yesterday and followed it up with a visit to the Postal Museum across the road. 

I would highly recommend this unique attraction where one has a short train trip complemented by audio-visual and static displays.

Trains stabled ready for action

Audiovisual Display

Audiovisual Display

Original tunnels

A former station where mail was dropped off

It's a cosy ride

Passengers ready for their ride

Not a "Must See Site"

Just around the corner from the pub where we had lunch was a former residence of the Dickens family. We stopped in for a visit.

We found a clean, well maintained property that would have provided a comfortable home for Charles and his family. While it had several interesting artefacts and I didn't regret the visit I wouldn't put this site on my list of "don't miss while in London attractions. "

We walked in (for a fee)

Vanity dinnerware?

Golden Glory

While in London this time we are ticking off  some bucket list items by visiting sites we haven't ever visited or, like the place we visited today, had only previously made a fleeting visit.

We walked from Kings Cross part of the way to our destination, St Paul's Cathedral Cathedral, and as we are avoiding the tube lest we catch Covid, we took a bus the rest of the way.

Entry to the site was ticketed and we felt very safe as we spent a couple of hours exploring the nooks and crannies of this impressive building. On reviewing my photos I noticed how much gold was in evidence in the fixtures and fittings.