Day 4: July 3 - Journal Entry
Today is another close to home day, Tullynally Castle.
It is less than 20 minutes away, but on these narrow roads, it feels much further.
Tullynally is different from Belvedere.
- First, it is an actual castle, where Belvedere was an estate.
- Second, it is still lived in by family members.
- Also, we are told that some of the suites or apartments in the keep are rented out to help pay for the upkeep of the property.
The current Earl of Tullynally is 93 years old, he is an avid gardener, and his wife just passed less than two years ago. We got to take a guided tour of some of the inside rooms of the castle. It was… old. Yep, an old castle full of old, falling apart stuff. The smell reminded me of a grandma’s house, if grandma was hundreds of years old. The collectibles and tapestries were very authentic. But the rugs were thread bare, the upholstery was worn to threads, and the chairs and sofas were too fragile to be used.
The guide said that castle living was not as romantic as the movies portray. She said in its high, the castle had over 40 staff, today there are maybe 4. This was really an eye opening experience. You could see plants growing out of the stone walls of the castle. The stables had been converted into apartments, and a cafe. The residents drove compact cars in and out of the main gate. The grounds were so green, good thing it rains, we couldn’t see a single sprinkler. And cows were in the pastures in large numbers. It was a weird mix of modern-medieval.
We walked the first trails and took pictures of the beautiful country views. We enjoyed the gardens and the pond. They even had an Asian pagoda with dragons painted in the ceiling. It was all very pretty, and a peaceful way to spend the day. We went into the cafe for lunch. They had gluten free bread so we each got a cheese toastie, a grilled cheese sandwich. We really need to start packing a lunch when we go out, cafes are costly places to eat.
We left Tullynally, but didn’t head home just yet. Down the road from the castle is Fore. A town with some incredible ruins. We got to walk through the skeleton of an old abby, a chapel, and a bishop’s house. The stone was so amazing, and when you looked up the hillside, you could see the same stone in the cliffside. It makes you wonder how these buildings came to be. I am actually more fascinated by the ruins than the still occupied castle.