Blarney Castle, Blarney, Co. Cork, Éire
Blarney Castle is one of those iconic places in Ireland, even if some might feel that it is too clichéed for their tastes. It finds its way into this album, not only because of its proximity to Cork city, but also because it is so easy to reach by bus as well. It helps that buses run at least hourly on Sundays, while this is better (the frequency is near enough doubled) on other days of the week.
The entrance fee is not cheap, though, a feature of its being privately owned. Still, there is more to the place than the storied castle, for there is a garden in its vicinity and a longer walk along a circuit rounding nearby Blarney Lake. Refreshments are on offer too, so a lengthy day can be spent to get the most value from the entry fee. The grounds are well worth tarrying a while, as I did despite the frostiness of the day when I was there.
The image that you see above comes from a February visit when I was seeking a new place to buy in Cork city. The outing to the castle and what surrounds it preceded my successful search during a two-week stint in the city. The recreational prelude to all that was an overflow from a previous stay in the city during August 2022. That was to inspire more Irish wandering later in the year.
The more recent visit was not my first encounter with the place, though. That was a family trip when I ascended the castle with my late father. The one way system made the ascent more accessible and the descent more challenging; in fact, I thought we were going down the wrong way! It did not help that my head for heights is not what you might expect for a hill walker.
The route has been reversed since then, a more sensible development, though one does wonder at a descent of spiral staircase that appears to go on forever until the first stopping point is reached. Kissing the Blarney Stone was happily left to others on both occasions, even if I might do with the supposed increase in eloquence at times.
See more photos from this album (Cork City, Castles & Coast)