The Poison Garden

Arriving in Fishguard, Wales to await our Stenaline ferry to Rosslare, Ireland we stumbled across a local caf and it felt criminal not to sample from the menu...so it was bacon butty’s and cherry pie with custard all around. Soon enough we had boarded the ferry, settled ourselves for the 4 hour journey and it was “see ya” to Wales. The crossing itself was very smooth but the ferry was inundated with marauding children on school holiday excursions. Ferreting ourselves away in a secluded corner we whiled away the journey with several rounds of cards.

Once disembarked in Rosslare, Ireland and with the Volvo revved up and ready to go it was onward to Waterford and our stop for the night. Making decent time we arrived in Waterford and promptly found our waterfront hotel before a quick meal and an early night.

Refreshed and ready for the day our first stop was the Waterford Crystal Factory where we took the hour long tour of the facility. This working factory is a bit “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” as you’re ushered into mirrored rooms containing secret compartments before being thrust into the factory itself. An hour’s tour of the factory shows you everything from the fascinating blowing parade where all the crystals pieces are created to the incredible buffing, sculpting and engraving sections where the pieces are finished ready for sale.

Leaving Waterford behind we made our way down the coast to Cork via Dungavan (and our lunch stop). Our Lonely Planet Ireland guide recommended we stop at Dungavan’s Nude Food (www.nudefood.ie) for a veggie burger and that we did. Fed and happy it was on to Cork and our final stop for the day staying at the lovely B&B Garnish House. Cork is an incredibly confusing city to navigate – with too many quays and one-way streets for a city of this size – and it took us a crazy amount of time to finally arrive at our destination. But on arrival at the cute B&B we were presented with a lovely afternoon tea of coffee, tea, scones (with local preserves) and cake by our host Marcel.

Rant: I know Ireland’s undergoing some tough financial times at the moment but seriously, whatever money you have in the coffers PLEASE invest it in some street signs...a 10 minute journey took us 50 minutes due to the lack of street signage.

After a day in the car it was nice to do a short walking tour of Cork which took in the incredible St Finn Bare’s Cathedral this cities gargoyle-laden highlight. And there was no better way to end this day than with a Guinness at the local pub.

Hats off to Garnish House who provided the most incredible breakfast experience of our trip to date with a staggering 33 options to choose from on the menu...

Tip: If staying at Garnish House you must have the signature house porridge with the Irish Bayley cream. Delicious!

A mere 8km outside of Cork and you arrive in the cute little village of Blarney home of the much-visited Blarney Castle (containing the often-referenced Blarney Stone). After another confusing road-sign detour we happened across the dominating castle and the beautiful manicured grounds.

For only €10 you’re able to access all of the grounds, including an up to 4.5 km woodland walk, and the castle itself. Blarney Castle is a staggering structure – intimidating and dominating the castle stands quietly within a serene garden setting of Daffodil, Azaleas, Oak, Elm and Ash. Having scaled to the height of the castle I found myself on my back, dangling backward over the edge (hanging onto two iron poles) and puckering up to a stone! Truly odd.
What is rarely referenced in much of the “tour” literature is the other elements offered in the grounds of Blarney Castle...like the fascinating Poison Garden which contains growing examples of the British Isles most deadly plants with matching descriptions (where’s Felicity Kendal?). The garden contains Wolfsbane, Foxglove, Oleander and intriguingly Box Hedge (which was used to prevent Witches from entering your property). Other ground highlights included the secreted Fern Garden and Horses Cemetery and the intricate Rock Walk which contains within it the Wishing Steps, a Druid sacrificial alter and the creepy Witches Kitchen...a ruin of an old Witches resident.

The final stop for this day was the fortification of the Rock of Cashel, a castle ruin that sits atop a limestone crag in the village of Cashel. Unfortunately most of this site is covered in scaffolding as much of the ruin is being repaired however it did provide some striking examples of the Celtic cross which sat haphazardly in the graveyard of the grounds.
Next Stop: Limerick and Galway (via the Cliffs of Moher).