Off To Ireland: Part 5!

 Where did we visit next on our trip in Ireland?  Here's a hint!

What is the most famous castle in Ireland?  Yes!  Blarney Castle!  We walked up from the parking area and were mesmerized by beauty of this castle.  From the official brochure:  "Blarney Castle is the third structure to have been erected on this site.  In the tenth century there was a wooden hunting lodge here.  Around 1210, this was replaced by a stone structure with its entrance some twenty feet above the ground on the north face.  This building was demolished for foundation of the third castle built by Dermot MacCarthy in 1446.  It is the tower house, or fortress residence of this that we know today as Blarney Castle."

Yes, that is a crocheted afghan hanging from the iron bars in the window.  No, I don't know why.

I know your next question is going to be, "Where are the photos of the Blarney Stone and you kissing it?"  Well... we didn't want to wait in line for more than an hour, so we opted to explore some of the more than sixty acres of grounds surrounding the castle.  So we headed to the Poison Garden because Eleanor was so curious about that.  Don't worry!  All the plants were sealed off and protected.

After I dragged her away from all the scary plants, we decided to walk through the grounds to look for the vegetable garden.  You know by now that we can be somewhat adventurous in our wanderings.

Finally, we found the door into the kitchen garden.  But.  It was locked.

There was one place where we could stand on a platform and sneak a peak in to the area where the bee hives are.

Oh well.  There were still so many acres to explore.  As we walked up a paved driveway, we came across this amazing place.

Blarney House.  Built in 1871 by Sir George Conawy Colthurst, 5th Baronet.  He decided he wanted a new family home.  The gardens are still being lovingly cared for.

We continued on our way meandering through more woods and gardens to find our way back to the castle.

We proceeded out of the castle walls down the drive and across the stream to Blarney Woolen Mills.

Now, before you get too excited about visiting a woolen mill, stop.  It's not a working mill anymore.  It's a shopping center.  But at least it still had a mill wheel.  I might have been a bit disappointed to find out it wasn't a running mill...

But at least there was coffee.

We said goodbye to Blarney and County Cork and drove an hour to County Kerry and the village of Killarney where we checked in to a beautiful hotel for two nights.  Great Southern Hotel.

The two evenings we were in Killarney we explored this sweet village, walking the streets, finding amazing buildings.  But this post is getting too long.  Come back and read and see more about Killarney!