Blarney Castle is a beautiful medieval castle only a short distance from Cork, Ireland…9km (5.5 miles) to be exact. While staying in Cork, Blarney Castle was high on my bucket list! You can easily take a public bus to Blarney Castle from Cork but as I only had a few hours to spare, I decided on a taxi.
I visited Blarney Castle in March and arrived around 8:45am to wait in line. Luckily there was only two other people waiting when I arrived. I only had an hour to visit the entirety of Blarney Castle, which is definitely not enough time!
Tip: I would HIGHLY recommend getting to Blarney Castle before it opens at 9:00am because of the potential lines to kiss the Blarney Stone!
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Blarney Stone
The first thing I wanted to do was kiss the Blarney Stone. I am deathly afraid of heights and so the hike up the veryyyy narrow, windy stairs was a breeze with literally no one around me. I took my time walking through the castle and made it to the top and WOW the castle is high! I was the second one to kiss the Blarney Stone for the day (someone beat me!) and the attendants are very good about cleaning between each person. Like I said I am deathly afraid of heights so for me to lie on my back…bend my head upside down…and stare down 90 feet below to kiss the stone was a huge achievement for me. I literally asked the attendant to hold on to me tight and not drop me! You can probably see my death grip holding onto the bars.
Gardens
After kissing the Blarney Stone, I walked the gorgeous castle grounds! I know everyone visits this attraction to kiss the stone but I would highly encourage everyone to spend some time wandering the gardens. Walking through the uncrowded grounds was so peaceful and one of my favorite things about the castle. I honestly wish I had more than 1 hour because everything was so peaceful and serene.
I was able to spend some time in the Bog garden and The Seven Sisters before I had to leave. I wish I had time to go to the Poison Garden, Fern Garden, and Herbaceous Border.
The Bog Garden featured two stunning waterfalls and a raised wood boardwalk over the bog. Some of the oldest trees at Blarney Castle can be found here. The Yews trees are over 600 years old and sit together on the island in the Bog.
The Seven Sisters kinda creeped me out but the story was so sad. The legend tells of a famous King of Munster who once ruled the land and he had seven daughters and two sons. One fateful day during a battle he lost his two sons and, in his grief, he had two of the nine stones pushed over to forever commemorate his two fallen sons.
By the time 10:00am – 10:15am came around the castle grounds were so crowded (even in March)! I am glad I was able to enjoy the Blarney Stone and gardens with literally zero people around. It made the experience so much better!
Until next time,
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