Summer Holiday Day 9: Blarney Castle & Gardens

The cloud was low and heavy when we set off from Kerry this morning. Nothing to see at all - it made us appreciate the fact we actually got to see all the awesome scenery yesterday when it was clear. 

Our destination was Cork where we are staying in the Clayton Hotel, but first a stop for an afternoon exploring Blarney Castle & Gardens, not far from Cork. The cloud had lifted by the time we got there. We focused entirely on the gardens, which were very impressive; so many things to see and some enormous trees! Didn't fancy the very long queue to kiss the Blarney Stone in the castle.

The Clayton Hotel is quite nice, with a very impressive atrium. We checked in and relaxed in the family room for a bit before heading out to explore. We walked along Oliver Plunkett Street, lined with buskers. Then visited the English Market but unfortunately it was almost dead at the end of the day. Then the National Monument. We wanted to have dinner in an Irish pub and eventually settled on The Oliver Plunkett pub itself, which was fitting as it turned out that the feast day of this particular saint is July 1st! Mum and Dad both enjoyed a pint of Guiness to mark the occasion.