You should go to Blarney Castle

Blarney Castle and Gardens was the highlight of my Ireland trip. It was built nearly 600 years ago and millions still come to see it today. I didn’t know much about it, but I always like visiting historic buildings and castles in particular. I’ve been staying at Cork for a few days as it’s my stepdad’s birthday. His dad was born in this city, so it’s a close place to his heart. I hadn’t been to Ireland since I was 7 on a ferry trip to Dublin.

The actual castle itself in Blarney is only a fraction of the facilities and sights there are to see. It’s well laid out and there’s directions everywhere and the maps were easy to follow. If you love history, myths and magic stuff, this would be up your street.

Ireland itself, is such a magical country with tales of the leprechauns and fairies. Celtic sceneries and four-leafed-clovers. What’s nice about Ireland is the feeling of mixing in with the locals. So I was looking forward to going back and exploring an new area.

The three days in Ireland was eventful. We did a lot of walking, pub crawling and bus trips. The highlights were the Titanic museum, finding a great bubble tea place and going to Blarney Castle. One of the best things about being in Cork was that everybody was super friendly and wanted to help you. Everything was easy to find with the help of Google Maps and locals. Prices seemed to be reasonable and the weather was great.

I didn’t know what to expect with Blarney Castle, but when I saw leaflets at the hotel, I knew I had to go. I had a feeling I would have enjoyed it. I would say it was the highlight of my trip. The castle and the grounds were way bigger than what I had expected. So we spent a good couple of hours there. I was impressed at how many things there were to do.

After a short walk from the bus station to the castle entrance there was the path to the castle. Because of the historic nature of the building there are some steep steps. There was a small plaque warning people of this and to take care when using the stairs. I managed to climb the stairs okay, but I know a lot of others struggled. I think the views and the experiance of kissing the Blarney Stone were worth it though.

Legend has it that if you kiss the stone of eloquence, you’ll never again be at a loss for words. Only time will tell if that tale is true or not.

Climbing the stairs to the castle and back down had a one way system so you don’t have to worry about traffic. Every couple of steps had detours and things to explore. A lot of the castle remains have been untouched and unfurnished, but they told you what the rooms where used for in their prime. What I thought was a really nice touch as well was that the bins were shaped as wooden barrels, it helped keep the place tidy but also didn’t ruin the immersion.

There was a lot of places to explore like the gardens, the lakes and the woods that housed different trees from all over the world, but there were also some places that were private like this manor house.

The lake and grounds had a variety of wildlife and animals roaming. On our way to find the lake, we found a lot of cows roaming around freely. We also saw a duck that appeared as if she was nesting.

More highlights included the wishing steps and the water fountain. And if you’re looking for souvenirs, the gift shops have a variety of products to suit all budgets. I picked up some nifty magnets that also served as little cookbooks, and also two books that I thought looked really interesting. Which were Irish Ghost Stories and Wild Irish Women.