Theresa's Mixed Nuts: Visiting Bunratty Castle

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Visiting Bunratty Castle

After our stop at the Cliffs of Moher, we initially had plans to head up towards Galway for a day, then make our trek back towards Dublin. Thankfully, we didn't have anything set in stone for the last leg of our trip, so we decided on a whim to backtrack towards Cork and Cobh since there were a few castles and towns we missed during our first few days that I really wanted to see, one being Bunratty Castle.

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Unlike most of the other castles we visited in Ireland, which were mostly quick stops of less than an hour needed for exploring, you'll want to carve out several hours to tour this 15th-century tower house and grounds. The castle tour is self-guided, so you can go from room to room at your own pace. We arrived late-morning, but thankfully there weren't huge crowds or long lines to compete with, but I think it's because the castle is so big and there are many things to explore on the grounds, it really helped with congestion. Before you even reach the castle, you'll pass through a little village with small homes to walk through, all fully decorated with pieces fitting of the time period.

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle
Bunratty Castle

A caretaker was walking the grounds with these Irish Wolfhounds, but we didn't stop to pet them.

Bunratty Castle Irish Wolfhounds

We did take about a half hour to walk through the castle though.

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

As we made our way out, our next stop was through a more modern, 19th century folk park. Here you'll find charming little houses, a school, post office, hardware shop, and Jason's favorite, a pub.

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Jason grabbed himself a beer and the girls an ice cream cone, then we headed off to the Fairy Village.

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle


Bunratty Castle

Honestly, while I found the the fairy village charming, I think it's geared more towards young children. Cute to walk through if you have time, but we could have skipped this part and been fine. We ended our tour with a walk through the Bunratty House, built in 1804, which if I'm not mistaken, the family moved into before letting the castle fall into ruins.

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

 For those with little children, you'll get a kick out of the the animals on the grounds too. The girls chased around some chickens (you're never too old for chicken chasing!) and couldn't leave without making friends with a few donkeys.

Bunratty Castle
Bunratty Castle
Bunratty Castle

We did pay roughly $20 USD each for entrance to Bunratty Castle and grounds, but Mariah had her student i.d. which took about $4 off of her admission price, so if you have a student in the family, make sure they bring their i.d. for a discount. Bunratty is located in County Clare, Ireland and is open to the public from 9am to 5:30pm daily.



Do you stick to your itinerary 100%, or do you prefer to leave it open sometimes and travel to new places on a whim?


 




18 comments:

  1. What a funny name it has! Irish Woolfhunds are so cute!
    How does that thing with student i.d.s go? It does not matter that it is American?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, it didn’t matter that she was a U.S. student. She used her student I.D. In several places in London and Ireland and always for the discount without anyone questioning it.

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  2. great places to visit.
    thank you for sharing great photos

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  3. Travis wants to stick to it, and I'm more the person that's like "Oh let's stop here!" on a whim.

    What a beautiful place! I like the outdoor views just as much as the indoor ones! I love that little kitchen - the one with the cool door in the foreground and in the background! Maybe it's not a kitchen. It has a table, but no chairs. It's super small, but the doors are amazing! It might be a drinking spot with all the bottles on the wall.

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    Replies
    1. I think that was just a drinking room. I’m glad I’m not the only one who gets excited by old doors. I’m forever taking pictures of them and it annoys the family to no end lol

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    2. Old doors are great in government buildings here.

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  4. I really enjoyed this post. Is the furniture in the castle replicas or original furniture? It all looks so beautiful. Even the fairy village. :) Maybe I'm a little kid at heart, but I would love to go and pretend to be Tinker Bell.

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    Replies
    1. The furniture is from the 15th and 16th century. Most of it is roped off so you can’t touch. I imagine there could be some replicas in there, but I think whoever restored the castle wanted to keep it as authentic as possible.

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  5. Sure a ton to see there. Not a bad way to just enjoy the day and go off plan. The fairy village wasn't a hit? Maybe you just didn't believe you could fly lol Everything sure has the time period feel.

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    Replies
    1. I think I was mad there weren’t any actual fairies flying around it lol

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  6. One of my most favorite places we went to was on a whim. I like to plan and leave room for the whims. :) This does look lovely. Castle visiting is fun. I never chase chickens, I'm scared they'll turn around and catch me. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some of the best spots we've been to have been on a whim as well. One should definitely always squeeze whim room into their itinerary! I think I'd die laughing if one of the chickens turned the tables on the girls and chased them for a change!

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  7. That's a castle, all right. Wouldn't mind living in one. Hope you're doing fine.

    Blue

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    Replies
    1. I wouldn't mind either, just as long as I had someone else to clean it for me. All is well here, Blue. Hope you are doing fine too ♥

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Thanks for your comments! I appreciate every one of them :) Except promotional posts with added links. Those will be deleted.

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