OK! That's definitely a tight squeeze!
This is a typical Midieval staircase found in castles throughout Europe. This is from Yeats Tower (Thoor Ballylee).
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Thoor Ballylee - Yeats Castle
The tower was made famous by Irish poet William Butler Yeats. The tower had to be restored before Yeats could live in it. By the summer of 1919 Yeats and his wife and daughter had moved in.
The tower or castle that Yeats bought was a sixteeneth century norman castle built by the family de Burgo, or Burke. It consisted of four floors with one room on each, connected by a spiral stone stairway built into the seven-foot thickness of the massive outer wall. Each floor had a window overlooking the river which flowed alongside. At the top here was a flat roof reached by a final steep flight of steps from the floor below. The picture is of my husband, my mom and me on that flat roof. The stair case is VERY narrow getting up to the top, but boy is it worth climbing all those stairs!
The tower or castle that Yeats bought was a sixteeneth century norman castle built by the family de Burgo, or Burke. It consisted of four floors with one room on each, connected by a spiral stone stairway built into the seven-foot thickness of the massive outer wall. Each floor had a window overlooking the river which flowed alongside. At the top here was a flat roof reached by a final steep flight of steps from the floor below. The picture is of my husband, my mom and me on that flat roof. The stair case is VERY narrow getting up to the top, but boy is it worth climbing all those stairs!
Stuff to do in Ennis
YeatsHouse
Originally uploaded by natalieosbornesmith
At our trips end, we spent a couple of days in Ennis. This is a great town to stay in when hopping from one place to another. It also hosts one of the 2 international airports in Southern Ireland, so it's a great place to start or begin your trip. Some neat things to do while there are:
- Yeats Tower (Pictured here & see next post)
- Bunratty Castle (for a REAL touristy experience of Midieval Ireland)
- Other Castles of County Clare
For more info about Yeats Tower, click here: http://www.gortonline.com/TouristGuide/PlacesofInterest/ThoorBallylee/Thoor+Ballylee.htm
A Closer Look at the Burren
Take a closer look at the rocks of the Burren. The Burren (Irish: Boireann, meaning Great rock, Boirinn is the modern form used by the Ordnance Survey) is a unique landscape region in northwest County Clare, in Ireland. The rolling hills of Burren are composed of limestone pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as "grikes", leaving isolated rocks called "clints". The region supports Arctic, Mediterranean and Alpine plants side-by-side, due to the unusual environment. It really is an stark yet amazing place!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burren
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Burren
The Burren, County Clare
Burren
Originally uploaded by natalieosbornesmith
The western coast of Ireland is dramatic in its views and plant life. You look one way and you see the aqua waters of the Atlantic. You look inland, and you see the Burren.
The Burren is an ecological marvel located roughly between Lahinch to the south and the southern part of Galway Bay to the north. At one time, the Burren was a fertile and productive place but human habitation sometime in the distant past stripped the land of it's soft woods and soil. The irony is, today it is considered an ecological wonder. A wide range of plant life can be found in the Burren. See the next post for more info!
http://www.tourclare.com/burren.html
Galway City
I didn't particularly care for this city. We got there on a Friday, and all the college kids were out. It was hot, crowded, and noisy that night, and there were issues with the water in Galway city. Luckly our hotel had a "high tech" filtration system, so no worries there! When we woke up the next morning, my mom and I went walking before we left for Ennis. There is a river that runs straight through the town into the sea. My mom and I spotted swans and birds all along it.
The Amazing Cliffs of Mohr
To get an idea of the scale, look for the little people hiking on top in the first photo. The Cliffs are probably the most famous spot in Ireland, but it is well worth the drive and hike to the top. The natural cliffs are 300 meters high (over 984 feet high). There are walking trails out to its furthest point, but it can be dangerous as the cliffs are constantly weathered. The land all around the Cliffs of Mohr is privately owned, so don't be suprised when you see sheep and cows all around!
Ferry Ride to the Cliffs of Mohr
FerryRide
Originally uploaded by natalieosbornesmith
The Cliffs of Mohr is not far from Killarney. An hour drive and a ferry ride between the two largest peninsulas, the Dingle and Kerry, will get you on your way to one Ireland's most beautiful spots!
A Pink Tavern?
Look at that PINK tavern in Sneem, County Clare! This is common in small Irish towns. My mom and I guess that they use bright colors because it is usually overcast and raining. The bright colors help keep their spirits up during perpetual rain. We were lucky on this trip that we only had rain the first 2 days!
The Beautiful Ring of Kerry
It's really amazing how beautiful the Kerry Pennisula is. We were lucky and took a bus tour. The lanes are so narrow that cars have to pull off the road to let the busses go by. My father-in-law wanted to drive it, but we all agreed afterwards that the bus ticket was money well spent. We stopped along the way to eat at a sea side diner, which was busy, but the food was good. We also stopped to shop and stretch our legs in various little towns along the way. I really liked Sneem for its shopping. We bought Irish linen table cloths and tea towels there.
Killarney
Killarney was another of my very favorite cities in Ireland. Like Kilkenney, it is small and the people are very friendly. We stayed at the coolest bed and breakfast right outside of town. The town is loaded with great shops, music, and eating!
Some things to do while there:
The nearby Muckross Traditional Farms are full working examples of rural life in the 1930's. It's a great place for an easy hike through the Irish country side. It truly was a walk down memory lane to a time before the advent of electricity, when all work was carried out using traditional methods. We met and chatted with the works as they went about their daily work in the houses, on the land and, with the animals. The picture to the right is of one of the Irish Wolf Hounds found at the largest of the farms. The Irish wolfhound, the largest dog in the world, was originally a war dog, used to drag men out of chariots or off horseback, but was also used as a hunting hound and as a guard. http://www.killarney.ie/sights.php / http://www.irishwolfhounds.org/
Ross Castle - Original home of the O'Donoghue Ross Chieftains in the 15th century and, believed to be the last significant fortress to fall to Cromwell's armies in Ireland, Ross Castle has been magnificently restored to its former glory.
The Ring of Kerry (See next post)
Kissing the Blarney Stone!
I just loved the picturesque Blarney Castle in County Cork. The grounds are beautiful, and I must say that all the steep and narrow steps to the top of the castle was "interesting." When we finally got up top, I could see for miles around. I must admit that I did kidss the Blarney stone, although I need no help with the gift of gab! Blarney Castle was built nearly six hundred years ago by one of Ireland’s greatest chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy. The castle really shows its age, but the government is taking great care to preserve this very neat structure for visitors. Check out more about this great castle below:
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