Walking the Scilly Walk to Charles Fort and Summercove

The best short walk in Kinsale starts at the edge of the town and follows the water out to a seventeenth-century fort, with a pint or a bowl of chowder waiting at the far end. It is called the Scilly Walk, after the little waterside district of Scilly that it runs through, and most people can do the whole thing there and back in a morning or an afternoon without breaking a sweat.

The route

From the centre of Kinsale you walk around the inner harbour towards Scilly, and the waymarked path picks up along the water's edge. For a good stretch it runs on a path that is closed to cars, with the harbour on one side and gardens and trees on the other, looking back at the painted town stacked above the marina. It is mostly level, with some boardwalk and steps, and it brings you round to the village of Summercove and then up to Charles Fort.

Distances quoted for it vary depending on exactly where you start and whether you loop back by road, but reckon on roughly an hour each way at an easy pace, somewhere in the region of three kilometres out. Many people walk out along the water and come back the same way; you can also return by the higher road through Summercove if you want a slightly different view. It is rated easy and suits most levels of fitness, but the ground is uneven in places and there are steps, so it is not fully wheelchair accessible along its whole length, and you will want proper shoes rather than sandals.

Summercove

Summercove is the small harbourside village just below Charles Fort, and it is the natural turning point of the walk. The Bulman is the pub on the water here, and a stop in Summercove, looking back across the harbour mouth, is half the reason to do the walk in the first place. Time it for lunch or an early evening drink and the walk plans itself.

Charles Fort

Charles Fort is the reward at the top. It is a huge star-shaped artillery fort built in the 1680s, one of the best-preserved of its kind in Ireland, credited to the architect William Robinson, who also designed the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham in Dublin. It was a working military barracks right up until 1922, so what you are walking around is centuries of soldiers' quarters, magazines and ramparts as much as a single dramatic fortification. It is run by the Office of Public Works, and there is a visitor centre and guided tours in season.

Opening hours run year-round but change with the season. Through the main season, roughly mid-March to the end of October, it opens daily 10:00 to 18:00 with last admission around 17:00; in winter it closes earlier, around 17:00 with last admission about 16:00. Adult admission is modest, in the region of five euro, and it is free if you hold an OPW Heritage Card. Check the current hours and price before you go, as they are reviewed each year.

The view across to James Fort

From the ramparts of Charles Fort you look straight across the narrow harbour mouth to James Fort on the far shore. The two were built to cover the entrance between them, James Fort the older of the pair, begun in the early 1600s, and Charles Fort the larger "new fort" thrown up later in the century. James Fort is a ruin and free to wander, but it is on the other side of the water, so reaching it on foot is a separate trip by road rather than something you tack onto the Scilly Walk.

Practicalities

There are no facilities along the path itself, so carry water, and Summercove and the fort are where you will find a toilet, a coffee or a pint. The walk is exposed to the weather in places and the harbour can be blowy even when the town feels sheltered, so bring a layer. Parking in central Kinsale fills early on fine days, so the walk is one of the better reasons to leave the car in the Pier Road car park and go on foot. And if you only have time for one thing in Kinsale beyond eating, this is the one to do: it ties together the harbour, the history and a decent lunch in a single easy loop.