Kinsale

Charles Fort is a massive structure, with walls up to 6m thick and five defensive bastions around its perimeter. Its star shape provided better defenses than earlier round forts, and was a common style of fort throughout Europe and beyond.

Although much of it is in poor enough condition, battered by generations of battles, it is one of the best remaining examples of a star-shaped fort in Europe.

Built around 1500, and a typical urban tower house of that time, Desmond Castle has had a varied, if not always illustrious, serving variously as a home, a prison, a workhouse, a tollhouse and now a museum.

It now houses a Wine Museum, documenting Ireland’s surprisingly extensive involvement in European wine making since as early as 1412.

Sporting and driven clay pigeon shooting, with instruction available for beginners, in a lovely setting near Kinsale.

The centre also offers other country pursuits such as archery, falconry and ferret racing, so you could easily spend a whole day here.