Cork - Day 1 - Jameson Heritage Centre, Butter Museum and Blarney Castle

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After another scrumptious breakfast we packed the cars to head south towards Cork but more specifically this morning to the Jameson Heritage Centre at Midleton. The SatNavs were programmed, and it looked like we were going to take the N24 across to the M8 and then rocket down the motorway. Ahem, we were driving around Limerick again on the N18 expecting to flow onto the M7 and then head off onto the N24 at Junction 29 but, that’s not what happened. At Junction 1/30 where the N18 and M7 intersect we were directed off into Limerick.

Whaaaat?! After negotiating a number of busy roads in Limerick we found that Apple Maps had decided to redirect us onto R512, R514 and R513 to Mitchelstown before setting us on the motorway (M8) heading south to Cork. And we were stuck behind a truck the whole way! It was marvellous to merge onto the M8 where Bernie could put his foot down to get the Škoda up to 120/kph. Totally worth the toll charge.

When we reached the N25 we were directed east towards Middleton. Arriving in town we find it quite congested making our way around to the Jameson Heritage Centre. Arriving at the gates we drove in … not actually sure if it was visitor parking or for staff only? There were no signs to say that it was staff parking, so Bernie backed the Škoda into a space and we ventured into the buildings. Steve had sent a Message to say that they had been delayed by a road closure. That might be why Syri redirected us?

We sent a Message back to ask if we should go ahead and book the Midleton Distillery Experience for noon for the four of us. We cheekily booked four Seniors even though we were supposed to be 65+ for this experience. Although the video screen indicated the next tour available as noon, we made it onto the 11.30am tour. Lucky Cathy and Steve were not delayed any more than they were.

While we waited the 20 minutes until tour time, we photographed the wall of whiskey and browsed the gift shop. Soon it was time to be taken through the hidden doorway in the wall of whiskey and into the old Bow Street Distillery where the whiskey was distilled between 1780 and 1970 when a new state-of-the-art distillery was opened next door. The old distillery makes the perfect setting for a detailed and informative tour learning about Irish Whiskey.

Our guide, Marion, took us through all the stages of production from malting to barrel aging. The only thing we didn’t see was the bottling process. The most interesting things we learnt:

· Before it is distilled whiskey is the same as beer, but without the hops

· The difference between Scotch Whiskey and Irish Whiskey is the malting process. In Scotland the barley is malted over a smoky fire (usually peat) but in Ireland the barley is malted without smoke

· When making Irish whiskey no new barrels are used. All of the barrels are sourced from either the US where they have been used for bourbon or Spain where they have been used for sherry. The Irish whiskey makers like the different flavours they have to work with when blending their whiskeys. And the life cycle of the barrels doesn’t end after their three uses here. From Midleton they are shipped to Cuba to be filled with rum.

At our last stop on the tour participants were offered three whiskeys to taste: Jameson, Powers and Green Spot. I gave each of them a sniff and that was enough for me. Cathy knew she wouldn’t like them but gave them a go anyway and … didn’t like them! Not being a whiskey drinker Bernie also had a tiny sip of each and … was not converted to being a whiskey connoisseur. Steve revelled in the whole experience.

At the end of the tour, we were taken to the bar where we could redeem the stub of our tickets for a free drink. Steve had a Jameson with ginger ale and lime, Bernie and I had the same but without the whiskey in it and Cathy opted for plain sparkling water as she was desperate to wash the taste of the whiskey out of her mouth! From the bar we adjourned to the café to have our lunch before heading to Cork.

Out to our cars and back onto the N25 this time heading west to the city of Cork to visit the Butter Museum. After so many castles, churches and cathedrals it has been refreshing to mix it up a bit with a couple of different activities. The Butter Museum was quite small and quickly explored. It was interesting to learn how Ór Nua (New Gold) - basically Ireland’s Dairy Industry Board - has grown Ireland’s dairy industry since 1961 into the globally recognized ‘Kerrygold’ brand.

Then it off to Blarney Castle via the N20. There has been a structure on this site since the 10th century, but the present castle was built by Dermot MacCarthy in 1446. The castle is of course famous for its Blarney Stone said to bestow the gift of eloquence upon those who kiss it … after they have climbed the 100 steps up the tower! It was quite late in the afternoon when we arrived, but it was still half an hour to queue up to kiss the Blarney Stone! Thank goodness it wasn’t the height of summer. There are signs outside the castle that advise when you are at the 30-minutes, 60-minutes and 90-minutes to go points in the queue. A bit like queueing for a ride at Disneyland!

With it being a Bucket List item of Steve’s, he and Cathy joined the queue at the bottom of the stairs. Seeing as we kissed the stone back in 1993, we decided to head out into the gardens instead. We strolled down into the Rock Close to view the waterfall, dolmen and the Seven Sisters. After about half an hour we wandered back towards the castle thinking that Cathy and Steve would be back downstairs. We arrived just as they sent a Message to say they were out of the castle.

The four of us wandered along to the Poison Garden. Unlike the one we visited at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland last year this Poison Garden was not under lock and key and only accessible as part of a guided tour, we were free to wander amongst the poison plants unsupervised!

With a little time available to us before closing time we did a very small part of the Woodland Walk. Just far enough to be able to view Blarney House then we looped back towards the castle to make our way to the exit. Phew, it’s been a lot to fit in today and we probably didn’t do the castle and gardens justice, but Steve is happy to have ticked an item off his Bucket List … and has the photo to prove it.

We drove back to Cork on some narrow local roads to the N22 before looping around to the N40 to the suburb of Douglas where we will be staying at Belvedere House for two nights. We had an email full of instructions about accessing keys from lock boxes to get into our rooms. It is always such a relief when the codes work, and you have the keys in your hand. We had been allocated Rooms 5 and 9. One is in the house and one is in an annex out the back. We’re in the house in one of the upstairs front rooms with a busy road out the front. Cathy and Steve have the quiet room out the back.

This stay is room only so when we walked down the hill to find a restaurant for dinner, we were on the lookout for somewhere to have breakfast in the morning. Hmmn, none of the cafés open until 9.00am in the morning. That’s frustrating. Anyhow dinner was easy, there were plenty of options to choose from. We decided on the Japanese restaurant ‘Okura’ which was delicious. Bernie and I popped into Aldi to buy some fruit so we can at least have a couple of pieces of fruit before we venture out looking for something more substantial to eat in the morning.



Steps: 12,682 (8.30kms)

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