It’s been substantially wetter in Cork, and indeed all of Ireland, this February than normal. So we’ve kept our eye on the forecast for sunny, or at least cloudy days, in order to explore the surrounding areas.
Blarney, or at least the Blarney Stone, wasn’t high on our list. But it is an 800 year old castle, and it does have a nice set of gardens, and, most importantly, it’s a 20 minute bus ride in the local zone, about 2 Euro each way.
Wednesday was our day.
The bus stops adjacent to the Blarney Woolen Mills, which, having been shuttered 45 years ago after a 150 year run, is now a tourist destination where you can purchase all manner of Irish woolen goods and trinkets. And i guess there are some folks who come to Blarney just to buy a sweater, but i assume it’s mostly the kind of thing you do after climbing the castle steps and kissing the stone.
Only 1 restaurant in town, and the one at the mill, were open when we were there. I was having a hankering for sausage rolls, and they weren’t on the menu at either, so we skipped it, and ate when we got back home.
Anyway, from town, you can get your first view of the castle.
Had a nice chat with one of the groundskeepers, who seemed eager for a break, about native species, invasives, both in Ireland and North Carolina, some of the odd ferns growing on the grounds, whether he had given names to the trees he was tending. He had an interesting theory that, after the last Ice Age, almost all of Europe and much of the Americas had been denuded of plant life, so whatever took in the aftermath couldn’t be considered invasive. I told him about kudzu, so maybe that data point will lead him to modify his philosophy.
There is, of course, a lot of history on the grounds. This old lime kiln, where limestone was converted into quicklime to use as fertilizer, fascinated me. On the placard was a reminder that “lime enriches the father, but impoverishes the son.” Referencing that the continued use of lime as a fertilizer ends up depleting the soil in the long run.
This formation of nine rocks, 7 standing and 2 toppled, supposedly dates back centuries. The story is that the king on the land, father of 9 children, led his people to a war in which he lost both his sons and so, in mourning, toppled the two stones representing them.
There was also this fallen dolmen, whose portal i passed through. Perhaps i now have some mystical powers.
On to the castle itself! We obviously were not the first to be here.
Also had some company on the way up.
The view from the top is pretty spectacular.
And, finally, the great stone itself. It’s the smooth, almost bluish thing at the bottom of the wall. And no, i didn’t put my lips on it. But i did tip the two attendants who help contort you into the ridiculous position you need to assume in order to get your face near enough to kiss it.
Cork Spring 