These were still in evidence at Waterville in 1998. Home owners occasionally
uncover one in gardening and they are visible going out to sea in at least one of the two locations where they came
ashore.
The cable "jetty" on the shore in front of the Huntsman's Lodge restaurant.
Seven cables are visible here of the total of twelve. Others landed in front of the golf course.
Cables still emerging from ports in the concrete "jetty". I assume that these were
originally below the shingle level.
The cables
emerging from the ports. Seven in all.
At one time there were 10 cables at this point [DeCogan]
but three were diverted to the new landing more directly in front of the cable station at the same time as the two
new cables connecting with Le Havre and the Azores came in there. Oddly the new cable to Weston-super-Mare of the
same year went to the old landing. (The diverted cables were numbers 1, 2, and 3 on the cable
blueprint from the museum.)
These are all shore end cables which are more heavily armoured to protect
against storm damage than the deep sea cables would be.
(The pictures below can be seen at a larger size by clicking on them)
The cables still disappear into the sea!
To the side of the jetty cables are exposed. Whether these are one or more cables
on their way to the jetty or earlier ones that did not go through it is not easy to tell. They may also represent
one or more cables for the unfilled ports in the jetty.
One cable that has been cut or two?
At least the souvenir hunter who cut this one allowed us a close up of the construction.
The two inner conductors (just visible) would be (a) the actual cable and (b) a connection for a "sea-earth" usually
placed a mile or more out to sea. The deep water cable would only have one conductor. [John Packer.]
Two men nearby told us they were discussing bulldozing the area the
next day so what remains now? (1998)
I could find no sign at all of the cable landing despite having an accurate map reference
and a GPS to confirm it. But the foreshore work that reburied the cables at the main landing was very much in evidence
here as well and the only possible clues I could find were some old concrete broken up amongst the boulders that
certainly could be of the required vintage. The view is looking towards Ballinskelligs
(site of the Direct Cable Company cable).
Nearby there was this interesting relic (by the estuary of the river
Inny)
(I am still baffled why the CCC started using this location, further
from the cable station, in the 1920s - especially as some new cables were still taken to the old site).