Today is departure day from Ireland so I didn’t really have much to do but to ensure that I arrived at Cork Airport by 1:30pm or so so I could return the car and check in for my flight back to England. It’s about 2.5 hours driving so I took a combination of motorways and country roads and found that I’d be passing through Blarney with enough time for a quick stop.

I had read that “kissing the Blarney stone” was one of the top Things to Do in Ireland, and also one of the most over-rated. But, with time on my hands I thought I’d swing by, especially as the castle is set in a beautiful park. Unfortunately many of my photos have disappeared so you’ll just have to take my word for it – it’s glorious! The gardens I mean. Apparently the castle is pretty much an empty shell and it can take hours to climb up to where the Rock is, but the gardens are fantastic. There’s a Poison Garden with all kinds of deliciously harmful plants and herbs, a Herbaceous Border (seen below), and wonderful woodlands and fern gardens, even a Bog Garden! There’s a wooded area with paths leading to sites of past fairy encounters. I highly recommend a visit!

I continued on to the airport with time to spare so I had a lovely fish & chip dinner before my flight to Heathrow. I’m overnighting at an airport hotel as I’ve an early flight back home in the morning.

And that’s been my trip to the Channel Islands and Ireland!

Overnight: Heathrow