Blarney Castle Tour
Blarney Stone – Medieval Castle – Cork, Ireland
Blarney Castle Tour is located about 10km Northwest from the city centre of Cork, Ireland near the River Martin. The castle is considered to originally date from before 1200 when it was first constructed as a timber house and then was replaced by stone around 1210. The castle has changed ownership several times over hundreds of years dating back.
A mansion known as The Blarney House was built near the castle in 1874 overlooking a nearby lake. The castle is considered a partial ruin with battlements and some accessible rooms.
The top of the castle is where the Blarney Stone is located, also known as the Stone of Eloquence. Many tourists will take advantage of laying down on a blanket and hanging upside down and kissing the stone while holding onto the bars adjacent to the castle wall.
The Blackrock Castle Tour will kick off with meeting up with your assigned Cork local tour guide in the Cork city centre at the Parnell Place bus station at 9:00am. From there, you will board a local bus with your tour guide and head off to Blarney Castle. When you arrive to the castle, you will have time to walk around outside the castle grounds and have opportunities to take photos of the castle from outside and the surrounding area before entering the castle. Also, your tour guide will be there to accommodate you and your group of taking any photos or group photos needed with your camera or cellular phone.
Next, you will enter the Blarney Castle grounds and have the opportunity to tour the castle, the baronial mansion, kiss the Blarney Stone at the top of the castle. Once you are done taking photos and touring all the castle grounds, your tour guide will escort you just outside the grounds where their is a gift shop so you can take advantage of purchasing some souvenirs like t-shirts, post cards, and other Blarney Castle and Irish precious items.
The Muskerry Arms Pub and Restaurant
The Muskerry Arms Pub and Restaurant was first established as a small public house in 1838. It was named after the Muskerry Tramline which operated for the village of Blarney until the 1930s era.
Once lunch is finished, you and your local tour guide will then proceed to the nearest bus stop and head back to Parnell Place bus station in the Cork City Centre where you originally met up.
The Blarney Castle Tour is considered a full day tour, which means it can run anywhere from 7 to 9 hours depending on traffic, lines, weather conditions, and other obstacles. Since Ireland is not considered a warm climate, we always recommend wearing or bringing along a coat, scarf, gloves, umbrella and comfortable shoes since you might do a bit of walking.
Once you have returned back to the original meeting point at the Parnell Place bus station, it will be time to say goodbye to your assigned Cork Local Tour Guide and this is the perfect time to show your appreciation and tip your tour guide. Tips are not required, but highly recommended, especially if you felt you have had exceptional service and you feel this tour was something you are gonna take home as a special memory from your holiday or vacation.
If this full day tour sounds like something you definitely want to do when you are visiting Cork, Ireland, then take a few minutes and fill out our price quote form so we can obtain a price for you and your guests to make this experience a reality.