Chapter 2 - Day 13 - Limerick to Killarney

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BUNRATTY CASTLE

Today started with a visit to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in north Munster. It was just a short journey from our Hotel – in fact right next to Durty Nelly’s . Bunratty Castle was built in 1425 and after falling to ruin from the early 1800s when it was abandoned by its owners in favour of a more conventional dwelling. It was completely restored in 1954 and is now the most complete and authentically restored castle in Ireland. We had a guided tour of the main rooms and an excellent explanation of how the castle functioned in its prime. The initial introduction was done in a room which had the original floor dating back to the 1400s-amazing!

We were then free to roam, we climbed up to the turrets at the top of the Castle where there were sweeping views of the countryside. The stairs were spiralled extremely narrow and we had to be a bit careful to ensure we kept our footing. This was because even if the lower level defences were breached only one person could climb the stairs at a time, making it easier for a few to defend against many. It was great to be able to explore a castle in its original condition.

There were also a number of thatched cottages on display, and again you could go in and have a good poke around. There was a small street which was a mixture of commercial businesses and ‘museum’ displays – school, doctors rooms etc. In all a must see visit for anyone in the area.
After a couple of hours at Bunratty we jumped into the coach and headed for Killarney (two day stop YAA!-we are having a wonderful time but packing and moving every day is pretty demanding so nice to be in one place even for just a couple of days).

KILLARNEY
On the way we stopped at a really beautiful little village (yes another one) of Adare. It had thatched cottages and a stream which featured flat rocks were women used to do their washing in the old days. The sign for the Pub we had lunch in boldly stated “the last pub before Dublin”. Given Dublin is 135 miles away and every block in every street has any number of pubs - a blatant lie, or just some Irish blarney! But a great Pub lunch – the portions are absolutely huge!
We arrived in Killarney at about 2pm and had the rest of the afternoon free to look around and do a bit of shopping. Killarney is a major tourist town with fishing and golfing being the major attractions. So there were plenty of touristy type shops.
For dinner we had a choice of 3 local restaurants so we went off in smaller groups, we went to a really nice family owned restaurant in the centre of town-Treywaud’s and then back to the Hotel for an early night. We are staying at the Killarney Towers, it is really good quality (4 star) and in the centre of the city.

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Photos

Bunratty Castle
The most complete and authentically restored castle in Ireland

Top of the Castle
Having a rest after the big and tricky climb to the castle turrets

A Tui Moment
No Pubs in Ireland for 135 miles -Yeah Right!