I was recently on a trip to get some inspiration for castles and the like. We don’t have a lot of those in the Pacific Northwest. In September I travel with a delightful group of ladies to the majestic land of the Irish, which is chuck-a-block full of old castles, cemeteries, monasteries, and ruins.

Blarney Castle & Gardens was one of my favorite stops. It was a beautiful, photogenic location, and the weather was well behaved. A couple days before the area had been hit by quite a wind storm. Up on the tower it was still as cold as tits on witch, but it could have been MUCH worse. (I’m not actually sure why witches have cold tits. Is it because of dancing naked in the moonlight? But considering all the history/mythology of witches tied with Blarney, it seems appropriate.)

Blarney Castle

These opening on the left lead to a dark cave under the castle; the one on the right was the dog kennel

Blarney Castle seen through a hole a slab of rock

Blarney Castle Grounds – Look out Tower

Blarney Castle – View of Bell tower seen from inside the castle

Looking down the winding, stone stairs inside Blarney Castle. I doubt they had handrails 600 years ago when it was orignally built.

View of Blarney Castle and adjacent bell tower from below

The view as visitors approach the castle

Kissing the Blarney Stone

Hoping to get some elequence for my D&D game mastering!

Traveling Companions