"What?", I hear you say... "A chuffing railway station in this part of Cork? You must be off the rails! There's no railway anywhere near here!"
Well, you're right on one account... there's no railway here... Not even the not-so-distant Cork, Bandon and South Coast Railway which closed in 1961. That didn't come this way either...
So what railway and how can there possibly be a railway station out here seemingly in the middle of the countryside? Well, there was once a branch line of the CB&SC called The Cork and Kinsale Junction Railway, which opened in 1863 as a branch off the mainline that ran from Cross Barry to just outside the town of Kinsale. It had two intermediary stations - Ballymartle station (not really that near to Ballymartle to be honest) and our Farrangalway station which you'll see here. It was never profitable and not actually even completed as the original plan was to extend the railway to the quays of Kinsale but that never happened... the railway closed in 1931 with tracks being lifted and station buildings abandoned.
But this is no ordinary "abandoned" station. In 1990, the station's land and buildings were bought by its current owner who has spent a lot of time and effort restoring the land and two buildings that formed the station - the ticket office and a goods building plus the platform itself back near to its original heyday glory of the early 20th century. It is also now a private residence with the goods building converted into a modern home (though this fact is only betrayed from the outside by a television aerial on the roof).
On this note - to find the cache, you will not need to access private land. The cache can easily be retrieved from public property. Also, the owner has asked me to emphasize that going beyond the boundary gates is not allowed without his permission. This whole restoration is a labour of love - but is also a family residence. The land owner is well aware of the cache and its location so don't worry about having to be stealthy if they're around!
Oh, and if you happen to spot Snowflake, the inquisitive station cat, don't forget to say hello!
