When visiting Killarney, Ireland, there are several nearby attractions just outside of town that make it easy half-day excursion including 500-year-old Ross Castle, Muckross House mansion and its beautiful flower gardens, Torc waterfall and it's raging river, and one of the best hotels, the four-star Lake hotel. These sights are all located within four miles or seven kilometers of Killarney town, very easy to reach by horse cart, tour van, bicycle, or even walking. Following is the text of the movie. Photos, videos, links and maps will be added later.
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Ross Castle is in County Kerry on the edge of Killarney's lower lake, lock lane, which makes a tranquil and picturesque setting, even on a rainy day, you can rent rowboats and go out in the lake or go off on an excursion boat ride as well. When you see a friendly tour guide hanging around. Feel free to ask a question.
This castle in Kerry, County Kerry, one time was for the clans, like you had clans in Scotland. And the people in this part were called the O'Donoghues. There is a helpful sign that's provided by the National Heritage Service that summarizes the history of the castle, which began about the year 1500.
Built by the O'Donoghue family who ruled the Killarney area at the time. The castle was originally contained inside a strong stone wall, and outside this there was probably an earthen bank and wooden palisade which enclosed an area called the bailey.
The castle is quite famous because it was amongst the last to surrender to Oliver Cromwell's Round Heads, who invaded during the Irish Confederate wars and was only taken when artillery was brought here by boat, along with 4000 invading English foot soldiers.
By 1700. The castle had changed hands twice. The O'Donoghue's were allied with the Earl of Desmond during his failed rebellion and so the castle fell into the hands of the McCarthy Moore family.
This is probably when the larger windows and Barbizon's were added. The castle was subsequently granted to an English land surveyor, Sir Valentine Brown, who became the Earl of Kenmare, and owned an extensive portion of the lands that are now part of Killarney NationalPark.
Drawings show the castle shortly after the 1798 rising ,at a time when the English were expecting a French invasion. By the mid-18th-century, the castle had become a garrison. Most of the walls had been removed, Valentine Brown's house had been demolished.
And it had been necessary to support the northwest corner of the castle with a substantial buttress. A new barracks block was built, as well as additional accommodations on the west side.
Legend has it that O'Donoghue still exists in a deep slumber under the waters of the lake and once every seven years, he rises from the lake on his magnificent white horse and circles the lake.
Six kilometers away from Killarney you'll reach Muckross House located between Muckross Lake and Lock Lane.
Open to the public daily. Originally it was a private mansion, built in 1843, for Henry Arthur Herbert, built in the Tudor style with sixty-five rooms. It is surrounded by one of the most beautiful floral gardens in the country.
During the 1850s the Herbert's undertook extensive garden works in preparation for a visit from Queen Victoria in 1861.
It is said that these improvements for the Queen's visit were a contributory factor in the financial difficulties suffered by the Herbert family, which resulted in the sale of the estate.
Early in the twentieth century, the Born Vincent family continued this gardening tradition. It was at that time that the sunken garden, rock garden, and the stream garden were developed.
Born was a wealthy California mining magnate and retained the house as a private residence until the 1930s when they decided to present Muckross House and its 11,000 acre estate to the Irish nation. It thus became the first National Park in the Republic of Ireland and formed the basis of the present day Killarney National Park. In later years the park was substantially expanded by the acquisition of land from the former Earl of Kenmare's estate.
As a National Park, the admission to the gardens is free and there's also free parking. You can visit inside the mansion by arranging to join one of their guided group tours.
Another attraction here is the traditional farm with three separate working farms, complete with farm animals, and dwellings in the traditional style.
The Garden Restaurant is next to the old Victorian walled garden area, and it's a great venue to enjoy a relaxing meal with a view out across the gardens.
Open every day from 9 to 5, and then in the summer from nine till seven.
You can also take a ride here in one of the horse carriages, the famous jaunting carts of Killarney, which we did not see on this rainy day in May, but normally there are plenty of drivers waiting to take you for a ride.
Our next attraction is just two kilometers away. The famous Torc Waterfall.
We are seeing the sights as a small private group guided by a company called My Ireland Tour.
Let me introduce you to the falls.
Torc Falls is another one of your scenic highlights in the Killarney area. You don't want to miss it. It's only about 100 yards walk off the road, and it's free, and wonderful.
Finally, we have a benefit of being out on a rainy day, typical of Killarney. It rains a lot, of course. The waterfall is booming when it rains. There is always some water, but it's especially wonderful today.
The walk from the parking area to the falls is just 200 meters along a fairly level and well-maintained walkway.
And you have the beautiful sight of the raging river on your right side as you walk along, it's even as exciting as the waterfall itself, especially on a rainy day.
The twenty meter high waterfall is formed by the Owen care of River as it drains from the Devils Punch Bowl, a lake high above the mango to the mountain.
There are a number of loop trails that you can hike around the Torc waterfall of varying lengt, hs called the blue, yellow, and red trails. Steps lead up the side of the waterfall to those upper paths.
If you kept going on one of them you would get back to Muckross House, in part, walking along the shores of the lake.
There are quite a few other trails in this national park, all part of what's called the Kerry Way, a long distance walking route, although most visitors are happy to reach the falls, take a picture, and head back to the parking lot.
Of course, the lakes of Killarney are world-famous and offer a variety of ways to see them by hiking, or by boat, by horse cart, or by driving.
Which makes them accessible to everybody. For the most hardy you could walk to the top of Torc Mountain, 530 meters high.
Soon enough you're back at the parking area, and you'll notice there are restroom facilities here.
We are getting back in our My Ireland Tour van with our excellent driver Charlie, who is taking us on to our final stop of the excursion, the legendary four-star Lake Hotel, which has been welcoming guests since 1820, and has been operated since the 1940s by the Harvard family, and so there's a long tradition of warm Irish hospitality that awaits you here.
They claim an emphasis is placed on quality, attention to detail, first-rate customer service, a warm welcome, and a determination that all visitors become friends as well as guests.
The catalog restaurant is open to the public, where you might look out the window and observe while deer strolling across the lawn amid the peace and tranquility imposed by the lakes – truly a spectacular, unrivaled location with all-encompassing views of Killarney's world-famous scenery.
They've gotten several national quality awards for cuisine, service, and hospitality.
There are also excellent hotels in town that we have showed you in our other programs about Killarney.
We have many more movies about Ireland, including another one about Killarney, and we covered Dingle, Galway, Connemara, Dublin and other places, so be sure to look for them in our collection.
