Crosshaven is a coastal village in County Cork, with a population of 3300 in 2022. It's at the point where the River Owenabue flows into Cork Harbour, and its Irish name is Bun an Tabhairne, "mouth of the river Sabhrann". It grew up from the 18th century when the harbour was fortified, becoming a garrison town for Fort Camden, which remained in British hands until 1938. Tourism developed when the railway arrived in 1904, and it also became a commuter town for Cork. In 1966 the Royal Cork Yacht Club, based in Cobh since 1720, relocated to Crosshaven and brought the Cork Week Regatta with them.
Carrigaline 8 km west upriver is a larger commuter and industrial town, but has accommodation described on this page.
Get in
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By road from Cork follow R612 past Carrigaline, 19 km.
Bus Éireann 220 / 220X runs every 30 min from Ovens and Ballincollig via UCC campus and Cork city centre to Carrigaline and Crosshaven, taking 40 min. The service is every 15 min as far as Carrigaline.
Visiting boats can moor at The Boatyard east of the inlet or Royal Cork Yacht Club west.
1 Cork Ferry Terminal is at Ringaskiddy a few km north. In summer there are ferries from Roscoff and Santander.
Get around
[edit]Bus 220 continues west from the village as far as Camden Fort Meagher. You need a car to enjoy the further beaches.
Taxis are based in Carrigaline: Owenabue (+353 21 437 6666).
See
[edit]- 1 Holy Trinity, Church Rd. Anglican church designed by William Burges, the architect of St Fin Barre's in Cork, and completed in 1868. It replaced the dilapidated St Matthew's.
- St Brigid's, the Roman Catholic church 200 m north of Holy Trinity, was designed by Pugin and completed in 1870.
- 2 Camden Fort Meagher, Camden Rd P43 WY82, ☏ +353 21 229 8558. Apr-Jun & Oct Nov W-Su, July Aug daily 10AM-4PM. Artillery position defending Cork harbour, established in 1550. It was reinforced against the French threat from 1780 and the present sturdy fort was raised in the 1860s. It remained in military use until 1980 then fell derelict, before being restored. Free parking, assistance dogs only. Adult €8, conc or child €5.
- 3 St Matthew's in Templebreedy dates from the 14th century, but was already falling into ruin when replaced by Holy Trinity in 1868. The graveyard continued in use for another century.
- 4 Fort Templebreedy was a coastal artillery position, mostly abandoned by the 1970s and dismantled. However the Department of Defence still own it and public access remains blocked in 2025.
Do
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- Boat trips are run by Cork Sea Safari.
- Piper's Funfair (aka "The Merries") at 2 Point Rd is a time-warp kiddy funfair: dodgems, roundabouts, nothing white-knuckle. It's open daily 2-8PM.
- La Scala in The Square is a video games arcade.
- Golf: there isn't a full-scale course nearby, but there's Pitt and Putt by Crosshaven House, open daily.
- Beaches lie west of the village.
- - 1 Graball offers quiet, safe bathing in an atmosphere of faded grandeur.
- - 2 Church Bay was primly divided in Victorian and Edwardian times into "The Men's Pool" and "Ladies Bay".
- - 3 Fennel's Bay is further away and usually the quietest.
- - 4 Myrtleville is a popular spot in summer for its clear sands.
- - 5 Fountainstown is another sandy beach that can get crowded in summer.
- Walk:
- - upriver, west towards Carrigaline, R612 is flanked by a footpath and cycleway. This leads past the sheltered reach of river called "Drake's Pool", as Sir Francis Drake's ships supposedly hid there from a Spanish fleet in 1589. They did no such thing: Drake spent 1589 getting the English navy sunk in a disastrous expedition to Corunna.
- - downriver, east to Fort Camden, where you get a view of harbour and fort from a grassy hillock. You can continue south along the rocky coast to Graball, Church Bay and Fennel's Bay, but the last section is a scramble and only uncovered at low tide. You can't continue along the coast inland as Fort Templebreedy is fenced off.
- - however you can circle inland from Church Bay up a steep hill to the ruin of St Matthew's, and from there to Fennel's Bay and the hamlet of Myrtleville.
- Cork Week is a sailing regatta held in July in even years, hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club.
Buy
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- Centra on Point Rd is open daily 7AM-10PM.
- Farmers' Market is held in The Square on Saturday 10AM-2PM.
- Carrigaline is the main place for shopping. Lidl on Strand Rd is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-9PM.
Eat
[edit]- Rivers End, Point Rd, ☏ +353 21 483 3682. M-Sa 9AM-5PM, Su 10AM-5PM. Cafe with coffee, cake and light bites, nice outdoor seating area.
- Hong Kong Chef on Lower Rd is open daily 4:30-10PM, sit in or take away.
- The Anchor, 4 Middle Rd P43 FY94, ☏ +353 21 483 1799. Th-Su 5-9PM. Good central place for bar food.
- 1 The Lodge, Myrtleville P43 E019, ☏ +353 21 483 3426. M, W-F 4-11PM, Sa 1PM-midnight, Su 1-11PM. Bar and grill looking over the bay, with TV sport and live music.
Drink
[edit]- Cronin's, 1 Point Rd P43 XD43, ☏ +353 21 483 1829. M-Sa 10:30AM-11:30PM, Su noon-11PM. Trad pub, also has good seafood.
- Buckley's, The Drake and The Oar are pubs on the coast road west of town centre.
Sleep
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- Compass Rose is a nautically-themed B&B at 1 Camden Rd, east side of town.
- Crosshaven House at 1 Church Bay Rd in town centre has 5 self-catering suites plus a basement dorm "51 Degrees North".
- 1 Whispering Pines, Carrigaline Rd P43 EP64, ☏ +353 21 483 1448. Peaceful B&B 1 km west of town. B&B double €180.
- 2 Carrigaline Court Hotel, Main St, Carrigaline P43 RH21, ☏ +353 21 485 2100. Boxy modern mid-range hotel, comfy enough, with leisure centre and pool. B&B double €150.
Connect
[edit]As of August 2025, the town and its approach road from Cork have 5G from Eir and Three, but no signal from Vodafone.
Go next
[edit]- Most routes involve going through Cork, which needs a few days to explore.
- You can shortcut to Cobh by the Passage West Ferry, then continue east to Youghal.
- Minor roads west lead to Kinsale and the coastline becomes rugged.