Cork, Ireland

Blarney Castle

5th - 7th January, 2017

With the Blarney Castle so close to Cork, we couldn't really pass up the opportunity to visit. The remains of the castle are set within a beautiful green garden - exactly what you think of when you envision the Emerald Isle. The Castle itself is undergoing some significant repairs and restoration - not so much to bring it back to how it was, but rather to prevent further deterioration.

A lookout tower near the castle - no stairs or floors in it any more - just the shell remains

Crows (or similar birds) have made their nests high up thecastle's superstructure - as Jemima and I climbed up to the top (to kiss the Blarney stone), we watched them fly into their nests and out again - their nexts perched more precariously over a sheer drop than the Blarney stone itself.

Getting to the top of the castle took a bit of effort - only Jemima and I were game.  Sharon and Max both waited for us at ground level. When we finally got to the stone, Jemima decided that she didn't want to kiss the stone after all, so I was the only one of all of us that made the plunge.  There were a couple of locals sitting at the opening over which the Blarney stone is suspened - preventing any visitors from falling to their death I presume.  The chap in the red parka talked me through the process - grip the two bars, shuffle back, kiss the stone then helped with the 'ascent' back up. Jemima had the camera and snapped a few shots, unfortunately for me, I made a poor choice in what to wear that day and too much of my gut is showing in the other photos, so this one will have to suffice as proof that I kissed the stone.

The view from the top of the castle of the grounds.

At the base of the tower, the walls were tremendously think - I'd guess 2.5 metres - this shot illustrates that, but without a size comparison, It's hard to just the scale - you'll need to take my work on this one.

One of the towers on the castle

Some of the original features of the castle

Looking across the open castle towards the Blarney Stone - you can see the chap in the red parka sitting with his legs dangling down the gap between the wall and the stone.

A view of the Blarney stone from below showing the gap over which you have to lean to kiss the stone. Having kissed the stone, apparently I will have the Gift of the Blarney (aka the Gift of the Gab) which is probably not such a bad thing in my line of work.

In the grounds of the castle, they had a Poison Garden - the intent was originally to educate visitors about some of the poisonous plants in the Blarney Castle grounds, but ti's been expanded to include other plants as well - if you think the plant in the big cage above looks like Mary Jane, you'd be right - that is Marijuana.

Some other plans in the garden might be familiar to Harry Potter fans - plants such as Wormwood and Mandrake (which are nowhere near as magical as they appear in the stories.

A small lookout behind the castle - not exactly sure how such a short lookout would have been useful given how high the castle is, but there you go.

Some of the magnificent trees in the gardens.

The orange colour of these trees prompted the kids to call then "fire-wood" - get it?

Throughout the gardens are sculptures - some made from old tree stumps like these owls, and some free standing ...

... like this piece.

I noticed this tree has a horizontal branch that joins both trunks making an Irish Harp shape in the cavity.

Being winter, and with most of the trees deciduous, it was east to spot birds nests where there were clumps of sticks bundled together high in the branches - I suspect something different is happening with these trees though; but it did look like giant nests.

Sharon's favourite sheep (black faced white wool) were contained in a field on the grounds.

Kinsale

After the Blarney Castle, we drove down to a small village called Kinsale (South of Cork). While the weather could have been clearer, it was certainly a picturesque township - for some reason many of the shops were painted in bright colours, yet the normal homes were not.  I'm not sure what's going on there but it made the town centre stand out. We stopped to have lunch in a seafood cafe - easily the best Fish and Chips while we were in either England or Ireland.

Some of the bright shop colours

Guinness gives you strength apparently - I tested the theory, but am yet to see a substantial change in my strength. :(

More bright shops in the centre of town.

Cobh

After lunch, we visited another seaside town - Cobh. Obviously, fishing is key to their income, but I get the feeling that tourism is pretty important too over the summer months. Cobh is famous for being the last port of call for the Titanic before she sunk on her maiden Atlantic crossing.  I'm guessing that she pulled up in deep water and tenders loaded passengers and goods before she set sail that final time.  Also in town were tributes to the Lusitania - the predecessor ship of the Titanic (the Titanic was a larger Olympic class ship) that was sunk by a torpedo from the German U-boat U-20 on Friday 7 May 1915. The wreck lies approximately 18 km off the Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse.

The memorial to the Lusitania and all those that lost their lives.

The Cunard Steamship Company still have a building in Cobh.

Some of the boats in the harbour

I was struck by the size of the church - almost a cathedral in this small town.  It may not look that big here, but the church is set quite a long way back behind the main street along the shore line - this church is HUGE!

The main street along the shoreline.

Some of the row houses overlooking the waterways around Cobh.