Blarney Gardens

Yesterday I shared with you our walk through Blarney Castle. Today, I am focusing on the second part of our stop- Blarney Gardens. If you're going to take the time to visit the castle, you really should save some time to walk the grounds, which is included in the price of the castle admission. Initially, we were only going to explore the Blarney Castle, kiss the stone, then head out. Thankfully, we did have a little amount of time to spare to walk the grounds, but not nearly as much as I would have liked. I'd say add at least an extra hour or so to your visit so you don't feel rushed, but have time to really soak in all the beauty that the grounds have to offer.

The first thing that caught our eye was this magnificent tree. Of course, Allison couldn't resist hopping on for a quick photo opp since it looks like it's straight from a fairy tale. I could imagine myself lazing there killing a few hours with a good book in hand.

I'm sure it takes a lot of work to keep the grounds clean and mowed, but they were definitely on top of it because everywhere you turned, you just saw well manicured grounds.

After a little walking, we came upon the Blarney House. We didn't purchase tickets to go inside, but thought is was quite lovely to come across with its beautiful gardens. We did take a quick peek inside the windows though, and thought it looked rather interesting. If we do go back some day, I'll spend the extra money to take a tour through.

 

We also came upon a smaller house, and the garden there was stunning as well. I've always wanted a little cottage surrounded by hoards of flowers, so I could see myself moving right in and living the rest of my days out in happiness.

 

Allison found this bean shaped concrete seat and couldn't resist grabbing another photo in the gardens before we left.

There was still another whole section to explore, but Jason was rushing me along so I had to skip out on the remainder of touring the grounds. From what I did get to walk though, I was thoroughly impressed. We were there in July, but I bet it's even prettier to walk in April or May when the spring flowers are in full bloom.

Overall, I'm glad we didn't skip out on walking the gardens. My photos don't do them justice, so I'd highly recommend scheduling a trip to Blarney Castle and Gardens if you've got a trip to Ireland in your future to see them for yourself.

 

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Do you ever explore your own hometown community gardens? If so, which one is your favorite?