54410IRE
Rock of Cashel visit
Blarney Castle visit
- Entrances paid by voucher.
- Call ahead to Cashel to re-confirm your reservation. Tour is now self-guiding but TMs are allowed to lead tours except to Cormac’s chapel. This is an additional charge which must be paid on the day. And visitor numbers are limited, cannot accommodate large groups. Refer to 4409IRE for Rock of Cashel History.
- A rest stop/service station is available at the N8/M7 junction south of Portlaoise or Mayfield at Junction 14.
Route March: N7/M7 to Portlaoise (services) N8/M8 to Cashel. M8/N22/N20 to Blarney.
Rock of Cashel – visit
Upon arrival at Cashel, Point out:
Coach park – down the little road to the right
Toilets -grey block on the right hand side of small road, there are none on the Rock itself
The Rock café on the right hand corner as you turn into the road up to the Rock of Cashel is a possible place for lunch. Call ahead and confirm. Can be busy and if you miss your time slot then be prepared for a wait but this means you can get away from Blarney in good time. Toilets are on ground floor level and café upstairs. Tel: 00353 62 62299.
Give departure time and tell them to make their own way to the coach, having had food, if you intend to do lunch in Cashel. Walk the group up the hill to the entrance, which is now straight ahead through iron gate. Hand voucher over at the little kiosk.
Blarney Castle – visit/lunch
Coach sets the group down in the Blarney Woolen Mills coach park. This is where they will rejoin it later. Walk the group to the Castle, being careful of crossing the road as there is a blind corner. Tell group they make their own way back to the mills and to get their bearings. Pay by voucher and count them in. Toilets are in in white building on the right after the entrance. Also let them know they can explore the grounds and find the Wishing Steps… etc.
Blarney Woolen Mills has toilets, a restaurant, ATM, bureau de change and shopping. .
For a good visit/shopping/lunch break you can need 2- 3 hours, if busy. On this itinerary you can probably lunch at Cashel so 2 hours should be enough, unless you have some serious shoppers and the castle is crowded. If there is a line, it can take at least an hour to kiss the stone and groups can feel too pressured for time. Try to gauge from the number of other coaches there and even from the line at the castle… you could set the final meeting time once you see the state of play there.
To maximize time, or if time is tight the Blarney Castle now has Parking adjacent to the Castle Entrance.
Route March to Waterford: N25 from Cork to Waterford.
Blarney – Waterford
With new roads travel time is now down to 90 minutes so no real need for a rest stop. A potential photo opportunity is overlooking Dungarvan Bay.
House of Waterford Crystal – Tel: 051 317 000. www.waterfordvisitorcentre.com
Since 2010 new visitor experience located in Waterford city centre on the Mall. It has on-site craftsmen aiming to produce 40,000 items a year. However the main factory has been mothballed and the vast majority of production has moved overseas. There is a café, a gift shop and toilets. Allow about 1½ hours for visit, shopping, coffee etc.