spend a day at blarney castle

kissing the blarney stone is something everyone wants to do when they go to ireland. what a lot of people don’t realize is the effort that goes into kissing the stone. during our 10 day trip of ireland we stopped to kiss the blarney stone, get the gift of gab, and see what else there is to do and we weren’t disappointed!

it is pretty easy to spend a day, or at least most of one, at blarney castle exploring the grounds in addition to kissing the blarney stone.

blarney castle

the blarney castle is similar to many in ireland including ross castle in killarney national park. it is more of a fortress than a decorative castle one might picture when thinking european castle.

you are free to explore this castle including the dungeon and cave underneath it. be careful as the stones are slippery when wet, and were wet even though it hadn’t rained while we were there. some of the passages get very short and narrow, and we didn’t explore past where we would have had to really squeeze, but i could see an adventure if you were so inclined.

part of kissing the blarney stone is touring the castle including climbing a lot of stairs in the castle to reach the stone at the top. along the climb they have some rooms with informative signs about the past use just a few steps off the stairs both on the way up and on the way down. we were there on a wednesday morning and had no line to wait in so we were free to explore at our own pace, but i’ve heard the line to climb the blarney stone can be an hour or longer. if you are in line as you climb the stairs, be sure to take a few steps out of line to see and read about the castle’s history as well.

blarney stone

once you’ve braved the steep and uneven stairs you are welcomed to the top of the castle for a view of the grounds.

when you reach the blarney stone there are two workers there to help keep you safe and take your picture. you lay down on your back and scootch to the edge of the castle, lean your head way back and kiss the blarney stone! that guy actually has a pretty strong grip so i wasn’t worried about falling.

i don’t really have an issue with germs, but for some that might be a problem with kissing the blarney stone. there was a bottle of disinfectant spray next to the guy holding everyone. the lady in front of us asked how often they disinfect the stone and his answer was whenever they have time. as we both looked around at us being the only six people on top of the castle she hesitated thinking now would be a good time before she kissed the blarney stone, but he didn’t even reach for it. she ended up letting her husband go, but skipped kissing the stone herself.

blarney house

the blarney house wasn’t open for tours during out day at blarney castle since we were there in october, but we did take a look around the outside. this house is massive!

this house isn’t too far from the castle and has a walled off private garden as well as a large green yard behind it. you can see my parents in the picture to get the full effect of how big this house it!

gardens and grounds

there is a lot more to do in the blarney castle than just kiss the blarney stone. there are a lot of gardens on the grounds as well. there is a fern garden, a poison garden, small water features, a sculpture garden, and a place to eat.

blarney castle garden
blarney castle garden fall colors
blarney castle garden fall colors

there are a lot of unique plants throughout the grounds. the poison garden was especially cool because it had some plants from harry potter! the grounds look really big on the map, but we were able to explore a lot of the grounds as well as kiss the blarney stone and eat a quick lunch in a little more than half a day. since we were there in october there weren’t many flowers, but he fall colors of the ivy were beautiful.

visiting the blarney castle and kissing the blarney stone is a great way to spend a day in ireland. with nice weather the gardens and grounds offer a lot of beautiful sights and walks.

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