September 15, 2009 — Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

Tour of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in Bunratty, County Clare - Ireland
The first three photos are of Bunratty Castle. We walked through the castle on narrow, curved, very steep steps marveling at the rooms and their contents. In the evenings, the staff put on 4-course meals with everyone in costume! The third photo is one of the views from the top.

The next six photographs were all taken inside the folk park which is adjacent to the castle. Check out the thatched roofs! most of the stone buildings and walls appear to have no mortar; just stones piled on top of each other. In addition, the buildings were heated with condensed peat moss pellets that are about 4"x6". There are a lot of bogs in Ireland to supply the peat. There are lots of beautifully landscaped gardens throughout Ireland and many of the houses have gardens adorning the outside walls.

We would have liked to have a photograph of the two of us together, but we settled for each taking the other's picture. It was a great day and we learned a lot about Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries.