A day at Blarney Castle and Gardens

If you’re from Blarney like myself it’s a rare occurrence that you’ll venture into the Blarney Castle and Gardens. “That place is only for the Americans” me and my friends would say as teenagers. We were dragged here on School Tours or as part of the local Kids Summer Camp but we never really saw the appealing side of it that I’ve fallen in love with recently.

Now that I’m older, I can appreciate The Castle through new eyes. We were mad not to step inside the magical grounds of The Castle all those years ago. It’s amazing how much hard work has gone into beautifying the gardens over the recent years. I may be biased because I’m a Blarney girl, but I have to admit that Blarney Castle and Gardens is one of my favourite places in Cork. I do love taking a road-trip to West Cork too! In fact, walking through Blarney Castle and Gardens has become one of my favourite past-times when I’m  home.

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A view of the Castle from the stone bridge

How best to experience Blarney Castle and gardens

I couldn’t help taking photos all day, the Castle grounds are trully a photographers dream. Tip: if you see a queue of people waiting to kiss the stone, that’s your chance to stroll around the gardens and snap plenty of people-free photographs.

Another from “The Jungle”

Everywhere is so green, it’s no wonder the tourists flock here in their thousands every year. It’s one of the top tourist destinations in all of Ireland. It gets very busy in the Summer months so be prepared for that, you may be queuing for the stone and to enter especially at the weekends. During these busy times, you can easily come across over 5,000 tourists walking through Blarney Castle and Gardens.

Blarney Castle House

Tips for Blarney Castle grounds

If you love to walk, there are numerous routes you can take through the grounds some a lot longer than others. The Castle’s grounds sprawl across 60 acres, so, you can easily spend the whole day here.

Found a cute little cottage for me to live in

The history of the Blarney stone

Did you know? The famous Blarney Stone was originally known as Lia Fáil or the Stone of Destiny, and its mysterious powers were first revealed to the McCarthy family (the family who originally built the Castle) by a witch they had saved from drowning. As you know, it’s said to give anyone who kisses it ‘the gift of the gab’.

The Herbaceous Borders

Ticket prices for Blarney Castle and Gardens

The Castle is open year-round to visitors and cost of entry is 15euro for adults, 6euro for children aged 8-16, children under 8 are free and students/pensioners are 12euro.

The Waterfall at the Bog Garden

The Castle peeking through the trees

Buy an Annual Pass for the Blarney Castle

Did you know? You can purchase an Annual Pass for the Blarney Castle Grounds, the price for an adult for a year pass is €75, a student is €60 and a family pass is €170. Absolute bargain! You can find more pricing information here 

Green everywhere you look

Want to know more? You can find more information about the Blarney Castle and Gardens here

**Also, let me know what you thought about my photos and stories of walking through Blarney Castle and Gardens in the comment section below.

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