Irlanda: River Blarney - Badgers Cave - Blarney Castle - Poison Garden - Blarney House - The Rock Close
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 1.71 mi
- Elevation gain
- 49 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 49 ft
- Max elevation
- 174 ft
- TrailRank
- 47
- Min elevation
- 106 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- one hour 45 minutes
- Coordinates
- 488
- Uploaded
- August 25, 2023
- Recorded
- August 2023
near Blarney, Munster (Ireland)
Viewed 20 times, downloaded 0 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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Beautiful walk around Blarney Castle , including a visit to the castle, a cave, some dungeons and the lush surrounding gardens, with a curious garden of poisonous plants ( Poison Garden ).
It is an ideal route to do with the family.
Above the castle we will find the Eloquence Stone , Blarney Stone or Blarney Stone . According to legend, kissing the stone from the bottom gives you the gift of eloquence. The stone was embedded in the tribute tower in 1446.
To kiss her, you need to lie face up on the floor, hold two iron bars with your hands and turn your head towards the rock wall. It makes a bit of an impression because below us is a hole with a lot of yard used in the past to repel invading attacks by throwing rocks or hot liquids into it, so we are half suspended in the void. One person helps to do this exercise.
Entrance to the site is for a fee.
___________________________
REVIEW:
After leaving the vehicle in a parking lot next to the entrance to the grounds, we pay the entrance fee and enter the gardens.
We walk through a picnic area following the Martin River , which we cross a little later on a bridge.
We continue walking through the beautiful park until we reach the Blarney River , which we cross over a wooden bridge. Near us, in front, rises the imposing figure of the castle.
When we reach the foot of the castle, we turn right to enter the Badgers cave , a cave which, according to the story, was used as an escape route by the inhabitants of the castle during the attack by the army of Cromwell. The ceiling of the cave is low and you have to be careful not to hit your head.
Next, we access The Dungeon , a small dungeon located at the foot of the castle.
We continue around the foot of the castle until we find some stone steps on the right. We go up these steps and access a courtyard of the castle through a secondary entrance . Here we also find a round tower .
The passage from this courtyard to the interior of the castle is closed, therefore, we go down the steps and continue around the castle until we reach the main entrance of the castle .
Blarney Castle was founded in the early 13th century, destroyed in 1446 and later rebuilt by Cormac MacCarthy of Muskerry, of the minor dynasty of the Kings of Desmond. It is partially destroyed, leaving the tribute tower and some rooms standing.
We enter the castle. We visit different rooms of the castle and climb the spiral stairs of a tower. We find different rooms with explanations of what was the use of each of them.
We arrive at the top of the tower, where we enjoy magnificent views of the surroundings.
Then we access the upper part of the castle. Here we can see the so-called "Machicolations" , openings at the bottom of the battlements of the defensive walls. Through these openings, the defenders threw rocks (of suitable size) or hot liquids to drive away the enemy.
We arrive at the Blarney Stone of Eloquence , located right in one of these "machicolations". We lie face up, hold hands to two iron bars and, half-suspended in space, kiss the stone wall.
Then, we go down a tower, visit some more rooms of the castle and go outside the castle.
We visit the Poison Garden , a curious garden of poisonous plants and carnivorous plants, and the remains of one of the castle walls.
We enter the immense and beautiful gardens around the castle. We enter the Lookout Tower , a small watchtower. Then we cross the gardens, finding magnificent trees, among them an amazing white eucalyptus.
We approach the fence that surrounds Blarney House , a mansion renovated in 1874 in the Scottish stately style, home of the Colthurst family.
We follow a paved path that crosses the gardens and enter the old stables , now converted with tables into a cafe-bar.
We follow a beautiful path between the gardens and make a small round trip to see a small and beautiful canal .
Then, the path takes us through a tunnel at the foot of The Rock Close , a mystical place, which is said to have been a Druidic settlement. Shaded by a leafy canopy of century-old yews, this part of the garden has a magical feel to it.
We access a small pond, fed by a beautiful waterfall , which we can cross through a wooden walkway.
A few meters later, we reach a new waterfall and pond , in an idyllic setting.
We continue along the wooden walkway, which leads to a gravel path covered by a beautiful arch of vegetation .
We cross a bridge over the Blarney River and continue along the gravel path until we reach the picnic area and the Martin River .
From here we climb the exit road and arrive at the place where we parked the vehicle.
It is an ideal route to do with the family.
Above the castle we will find the Eloquence Stone , Blarney Stone or Blarney Stone . According to legend, kissing the stone from the bottom gives you the gift of eloquence. The stone was embedded in the tribute tower in 1446.
To kiss her, you need to lie face up on the floor, hold two iron bars with your hands and turn your head towards the rock wall. It makes a bit of an impression because below us is a hole with a lot of yard used in the past to repel invading attacks by throwing rocks or hot liquids into it, so we are half suspended in the void. One person helps to do this exercise.
Entrance to the site is for a fee.
___________________________
REVIEW:
After leaving the vehicle in a parking lot next to the entrance to the grounds, we pay the entrance fee and enter the gardens.
We walk through a picnic area following the Martin River , which we cross a little later on a bridge.
We continue walking through the beautiful park until we reach the Blarney River , which we cross over a wooden bridge. Near us, in front, rises the imposing figure of the castle.
When we reach the foot of the castle, we turn right to enter the Badgers cave , a cave which, according to the story, was used as an escape route by the inhabitants of the castle during the attack by the army of Cromwell. The ceiling of the cave is low and you have to be careful not to hit your head.
Next, we access The Dungeon , a small dungeon located at the foot of the castle.
We continue around the foot of the castle until we find some stone steps on the right. We go up these steps and access a courtyard of the castle through a secondary entrance . Here we also find a round tower .
The passage from this courtyard to the interior of the castle is closed, therefore, we go down the steps and continue around the castle until we reach the main entrance of the castle .
Blarney Castle was founded in the early 13th century, destroyed in 1446 and later rebuilt by Cormac MacCarthy of Muskerry, of the minor dynasty of the Kings of Desmond. It is partially destroyed, leaving the tribute tower and some rooms standing.
We enter the castle. We visit different rooms of the castle and climb the spiral stairs of a tower. We find different rooms with explanations of what was the use of each of them.
We arrive at the top of the tower, where we enjoy magnificent views of the surroundings.
Then we access the upper part of the castle. Here we can see the so-called "Machicolations" , openings at the bottom of the battlements of the defensive walls. Through these openings, the defenders threw rocks (of suitable size) or hot liquids to drive away the enemy.
We arrive at the Blarney Stone of Eloquence , located right in one of these "machicolations". We lie face up, hold hands to two iron bars and, half-suspended in space, kiss the stone wall.
Then, we go down a tower, visit some more rooms of the castle and go outside the castle.
We visit the Poison Garden , a curious garden of poisonous plants and carnivorous plants, and the remains of one of the castle walls.
We enter the immense and beautiful gardens around the castle. We enter the Lookout Tower , a small watchtower. Then we cross the gardens, finding magnificent trees, among them an amazing white eucalyptus.
We approach the fence that surrounds Blarney House , a mansion renovated in 1874 in the Scottish stately style, home of the Colthurst family.
We follow a paved path that crosses the gardens and enter the old stables , now converted with tables into a cafe-bar.
We follow a beautiful path between the gardens and make a small round trip to see a small and beautiful canal .
Then, the path takes us through a tunnel at the foot of The Rock Close , a mystical place, which is said to have been a Druidic settlement. Shaded by a leafy canopy of century-old yews, this part of the garden has a magical feel to it.
We access a small pond, fed by a beautiful waterfall , which we can cross through a wooden walkway.
A few meters later, we reach a new waterfall and pond , in an idyllic setting.
We continue along the wooden walkway, which leads to a gravel path covered by a beautiful arch of vegetation .
We cross a bridge over the Blarney River and continue along the gravel path until we reach the picnic area and the Martin River .
From here we climb the exit road and arrive at the place where we parked the vehicle.
Waypoints
Car park
Bridge
Cave
Castle
Flora
Tree
Waypoint
140 ft
Stables. Estables
River
Tunnel
Waterfall
Lake
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