For reference, my mother lives near this strip of woods and a little creek bed. From the ages of 11 to 14, I would spend everyday amongst those trees. My friends and I would chart every inch of the woods, making pathways between all the interesting deposits of litter and creating stories surrounding their origins. We’d slide down the hillside onto the creek bed and wade through in our Crocs – or jump from rock to rock if we weren’t wearing waterproof shoes. We once followed the creek all the way to the road and on our way we came across a whole Razor scooter, fully embedded in the mud, which we carried home and hosed off in the backyard.
I can’t pinpoint exactly why I stopped going out there – I’m sure it was a culmination of things including getting busier with school, being more afraid – but for whatever reason I don’t go out in the woods much anymore.
However, this past weekend I went to Blarney Castle as one of my “mandatory” touristy destinations while here in Ireland. I didn’t really know much about the place beyond the castle and the stone, but my ticket also included access to the surrounding grounds and gardens.
When I arrived I made a beeline for the castle, which was surprisingly well intact, and climbed the authentic spiral stone stairs all the way to the top. Now, you’d have to pay me a pretty penny to kiss the Blarney Stone. Not only is it a wasteland of germs but in order to kiss it you have to lay on your back at the top of this castle and stick your head and shoulders out of this hole. Now, two random attendants are there – one to take your photo for purchase, rollercoaster style, and another to hold your legs as a last security to keep you from sliding off the top of the castle. But, anyway, stone aside the view was beautiful, but even that doesn’t prepare you for the expansiveness of the grounds.
After descending, I took off in a random direction and came across the poison garden, which is exactly what it sounds like. From there I wondered along a path through beautiful woods, made especially nice since all the leaves had changed and only just started falling. I kept walking until I stumbled upon a waterfall. Then I found some awesome trees – super old and almost prop-like. I immediately climbed into one, only a bit, but enough that after I’d taken some pictures I fell out.
As I kept walking I passed by the Blarney House, which was unfortunately closed, but on the other side I found palm trees, bamboo, and more waterfalls – one of which was home to the wishing steps, cramped little stairs that if you descend backwards with your eyes closed, your wish will come true. Further ambling led me to a bunch of natural stone structures such as the witch’s kitchen and the druid’s cave.
I know I’m not explaining this experience very well, but I don’t know how many times I can say I walked through the woods in a random direction until I came across a landmark. Technically, I had a map in my pocket, but I didn’t really use it beyond seeing how far from the castle I’d gotten. I only had two hours at Blarney and I definitely spent over half in those woods.
As it got closer to when I’d have to leave, I made my way back to Blarney Castle at the front. There I saw a sign that said ‘Caves —>’ and I followed it without hesitation. The caves in question are just open to the public in all their low-ceiling, waterlogged glory. I crawled through them as far as I could before I bonked my head and decided to call it quits.
I spent my last fifteen minutes at Blarney walking through the woods along the river, reflecting (as cheesy as that sounds). Even though I often go on walks through the woods at the public park with my mom or friends, I hadn’t been in the woods like this since I was in a kid. I’m not as adventurous as I used to be, don’t go as all in. I try to keep from touching anything unless necessary because of the germs, which never stopped me before. I’m a lot more neurotic than I was, but walking around the Blarney grounds was so calming. I had a great time – and I didn’t even get to see everything! – and wish I could have stayed there all day, wish I could go every weekend. If you’re ever in Ireland, go to Blarney Castle, you probably will anyway, but give it a whole day to itself. Walk the grounds – if you do it right you’ll hardly run into anyone else – and just take a moment, a breath, and take it all in. Walking those grounds was one of the best days I’ve spent in Ireland, I was just so thoughtlessly happy.