March 6, 2020 – Cork Spring

We’ve been busy again for the past week. Blarney, Crosshaven, the Ring of Kerry, and Kinsale on alternating days. Fewer than 4 weeks remain until we leave Cork, and make our way to Portugal and Spain. We’ll spend one of those weekends in Dublin, and another in Paris, external conditions allowing.

Although most of our time here is spent on quotidian affairs, we’re not averse to being tourists when the occasion warrants. Earlier this week we hopped a tour bus and went round the Ring of Kerry. The bus departs about 6 blocks from our apartment, and this guy saw us off.

Passed through a couple of small towns on the way from Cork to Killarney, where we picked up a couple of additional passengers. Of those, I thought Macroom might be worth a standalone visit in the next couple of weeks.

Killarney was picturesque in theme park kind of way. The scone i had there was disappointing, though. Bland and bready. (Don’t worry, the one I had later in the week at the Poet’s Corner in Kinsale made up for it.) But on the way, we passed the far-famed Cork and Kerry Mountains, where once upon a time a young highwayman robbed the English Captain Farrell, and all whack for the daddyo broke out.

I like the sight of snow, off in the distance.

The advantage of touring the Ring in early March is that we were virtually the only tour bus on the road. I hear that during the summer months it can be bumper to bumper with them. So not only are the roads more pleasant to be on, but the stops are empty as well, which means more time to enjoy them.

Glenbeigh is the first, strictly photo opportunity stop of the tour. I took advantage.

We also stopped for lunch in Waterville, where Charlie Chaplin had a house for much of his life. It’s now owned by one of the local golf clubs, and for a super premium price, you and your group can stay there for a couple of nights while you play some of the local courses. They also honor Chaplin with a film festival and look-alike contest. Our bus driver told us that towards the end of his life, Chaplin entered the contest, and placed 12th. I have my doubts.

We also had a pretty nice lunch at The Lobster, which was one of the few restaurants open on a weekday this time of year. I’m finding the Irish know how to smoke a salmon.

After lunch, we had another photo opportunity in Castlecove. I took advantage again.

Our next stop was in the charmingly named village of Sneem, where I’m sure that J.R.R. Tolkien must have spent at least one night of his life. We bought some post cards, which gives me the chance to remind you that if you’d like a postcard from us on our travels, you can email me your postal address at corkspringblog at gmail dot com, and I’ll get one out to you.

We were detoured on our return to Killarney by a road closure, so we didn’t get an opportunity to pass through Killarney National Park, nor to see the Torc Waterfall. We did get to stop for a bit at the road closure, and chat with some of the locals, who were curious about us since they don’t seem to get many visitors.

*The markings, according to our unreliable narrator of a driver, are to indicate which herd the sheep belong to. I believed him on this one.*

And then we were home. Next post – Kinsale.

Blarney Gardens…oh, and there’s a castle there, too

When we toured Ireland in 2017, our favorite city was Cork. One of the reasons we liked it so much is that it’s not really much of a tourist town. It’s scenic and there’s lots to do, and there are a few shops where you can buy souvenirs, but doesn’t have that Tourist Trap feel of summer in downtown Galway or parts of Dublin.

Outside of town, though, there’s Blarney Castle, site of the famed Blarney Stone, one of the biggest tourist destinations in Ireland. Fortunately for us, (1) it’s a short ride on public transit, so less than €2 each way, and (2) it’s way off-season, so it wasn’t crowded at all.

This sign was a fair distance from the castle, indicating how long the lines can be in the summer. We did not wait on any lines.

The real surprise of the trip was how large and lovely the gardens are. We didn’t even walk all the paths, as there are some that extend outward through the fields and forests and along the river, and around a lake that we didn’t even see. Even so, we spent more time walking through the gardens than we did in the castle itself.

Daffodils and crocuses at the base of the castle.

We followed this trail along the river to the Fern Garden, but we could have continued on a nearly 2-hour hike through the forest and around a lake.

An unexpected find, and an unidentified flower.

There are also a number of impressive trees throughout the arboreteums. I thought they some looked familiar, and indeed, they were not native, but were cedars from Northern California.

In addition to the castle, there is a much newer (1874) building on the property, a mansion that was currently closed for renovations. That is one downside to touring in the off-season…sometimes things are simply closed.

There are a cluster of gardens on the other side of the castle with whimsical names — Wishing Steps, Witches Kitchen, Druids Circle. They all sort of blend together though, in fact, we got a bit lost trying to figure out what was where. Is that the Sacrificial Altar? Or just a tree stump? Is that big tree the Irish Tree of the Year, or some other big tree?

There was also a “Pinetum”, essentially an arboretum focusing on pine trees, that struck me more like a rock garden. Also, another waterfall, and a pond.

Then there was the Fairy Glade. I wish our grandkids had been with us, because I’m sure they would have had better luck spotting the fairies than we did!

So after several hours touring the gardens, we finally went up to the castle.

Unlike other castles we’ve seen, which have essentially been military fortresses, people actually lived here. But it was also a fortress. So, instead of having a coat rack in the front hall so you could hang up guests’ coats, there was a “murder hole” so you could pouring boiling oil on their heads.

Some parts are in better repair than others. There was also a tower similar to the one on the right that was surrounded by scaffolding as repairs were being made.

There were a few other people around, but really, we had the place almost to ourselves. The rooms are cold and mostly dark, and except for the main hall, small, with claustrophobia-inducing doorways and stairwells. You could really get a sense of how bleak life must have felt even for those who could afford the fancy real estate of the time. I don’t think you would really be able to get a good sense of the space crammed in hundreds of people, cranky from being on line for over an hour, just wanting to kiss the damn stone and get back to the bus to the cruise ship.

No, the ceiling isn’t that high…the floor is missing. There would have been another floor, so the fireplace would be in a normal position, not halfway up the wall. It did allow for a nice shot looking down at the entryway, though.

It’s a long walk up a very winding staircase to get to the top. In some places the ceiling is quite low. Once at the top, though, you’re rewarded by fresh air and a lovely view.

The castle grounds, and the village of Blarney.

We had the ramparts to ourselves except for two very bored looking workers who are there specifically to help lower people down to kiss the Blarney Stone. I was glad to see they had a bottle of disinfectant spray nearby. There are some odd traditions in this world, but this one strikes me as one of the dumbest. Even if there weren’t a pandemic going on, no way am I going to kiss some stupid rock.

After this we poked around in some shops, but most of the restaurants were closed, so we caught the bus back into town.

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