Castles · Tour

The Old Streets of Cork No Coach Can Enter, and Blarney House by the Lake

Blarney Castle goes back further than most visitors assume, to before the 12th century. What stands now is stone fortification with rooms and battlements you can walk, inside gardens large enough to be an attraction in their own right, rock formations included. At the top is the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone, and kissing it means lying back over a drop while somebody holds your legs. Paths through the grounds lead to Blarney House, which looks out over the lake. The second half of the day is Cork itself, and the guide takes the older streets, the ones a full-size coach cannot get down.