(Happy Birthday Herbert the Duck!!)

John would have just stayed in Waterford but I was keen to go to Kilkenny and see the castle . On the understanding that we would be back by 3pm I won. The forecast had suggested the weather would be better inland and the only bad weather we had was on the drive north.

The castle at Kilkenny is furnished in the period of the late 1880's. When it went into public hands a decision had to be made as to the period to restore it to and this was the decision. There was a lot of information about the furnishings of the time which may have influenced the decision. No photos were allowed in the building.

The castle was built for William Marshall, the Earl of Pembroke in the early 1200’s. The Butler family then owned it for 600 years before it was given to the people of Kilkenny in1967 for 50 pound. In the 19th century significant rebuilding was done to the castle.

The entrance way had a mesh floor so we could see the foundations of older parts of the building. This also showed us how wide the original walls were .

John liked the idea of a withdrawing room (where ladies went to leave the gentleman to their port and cigars) which was the next area we went into. It had remnants of the hand painted Chinese wallpaper with glass panels to protect them. Both it and the neighbouring dining room had 19th century fireplaces. In fact just about every room we went into had a fireplace.

We went up the Grand Staircase, with lovely mahogany, to the tapestry room. In the 17th century, the room had embossed gilded leather hangings which were replaced by tapestries in the 18th century. These were off site for conservation so we could only see photos of them.

On the first floor were three of the most furnished rooms. They had been State rooms in the 16th century but an Ante room, Library and Drawing room in the 19th century. A remnant of the original wall coverings was found behind a skirting board and the French silk poplin was especially woven in Lyons to match . The curtains are also silk and the pelmets are a mix of original and matching reproductions. The gilding in the rooms is 24 carat gold. The new carpet was made by the same firm that had made the original.

The room steward told us about the love seat. A courting couple could sit back to back and the side seats were for the chaperones. There was a wooden cabinet which was used for making tea. The strangest thing was an item that had a sort of glass orb at the top. The steward said that photos would be taken from a balloon and then if 2 were put in the machine and adjusted you would get a 3D effect that would match the original.

There were 2 bedrooms on display. One was done in Chinese style which we were told was the fashion of the day. The other had a side table and couch in bay windows as well as a 4 poster bed. The room steward reminded us that the lord and lady could ring down for breakfast to be served in their room so hence the table . This would be much easier though than having to cart coal up to the fireplaces. This bedroom had a small bathroom nearby with a 'water closet’ that dated to 1904.

There were paintings in most rooms, often of royalty or of the family that lived here. Many of the family portraits were purchased by the Irish government from the family collection in 1995. In one room there was a portrait of Charles I’s children. The room steward was pointing out to an American group that the children were the future Charles II, James I and Mary, the mother of the following monarch, William of Orange. He told them New York was named after the Duke of York and Maryland after Mary.

However, the Picture Gallery wing was spectacular. We went up the Moorish staircase and turned the corner into this huge room. It had a pitched roof with glazing running the length of the room, carved stone pieces on each side and a a marble fireplace in the middle.

We had a cuppa in the old kitchen in the basement which is now a tearoom . The young woman running it was very friendly. When she heard we were from NZ, she said that is where her boyfriend is. Not that he knows it yet – but Riche Mccaw has a huge fan here although she may be a bit fickle as she had been a fan of Dan Carter until recently.

The exit took us past the Rose Gardens. I went down to get a better photo of the castle and the wonderful aroma hit me as I went down the stairs.

We did a couple of caches near the 2 of the churches. One was memorable. It was an earthcache and for it we had to take a picture of a fossil on a limestone seat hence showing it was not true marble. Just as we were going to the seat a man came and sat on it. We waited for him to go but instead 2 others from what seemed to be a tour group joined him. While John hid, I went over with the camera and said ‘excuse me but I have been told you can see a fossil on this seat’. They all laughed as the man said he was not that old . However, they were then interested and helped look for the fossils so I got the photo.

We drove back to Waterford via New Ross so we did half the trip on secondary roads. There was a cache on the way at a castle ruin. Grennan castle was built by Thomas Fitzanthoney for his own defence in the 12th century but when Cromwell called past in 1650, it only lasted two days. The garrison defending the castle marched out, leaving behind all their weapons and promising never again to oppose English rule.

We tried to find one at a nearby church but gave up as reception was very poor. Clodaigh Church was built in 1700 or rather excavated in a deep hollow among the trees and was originally a thatched structure with a clay floor. Nearby was a small hut which was used as a hedge school. The local people were lucky with their choice of a hidden site, because, in 1798 when Yeomen were destroying churches, they failed to discover Clodaigh . In 1800 the church was re-roofed and raised above the level of the rock for the first time after being completely hidden for a century. It seemed appropriate that we couldn’t find the cache.

What we did find next was a lovely village, Inistioge. We stopped by the river to take photos then had lunch in the river café, which was in the Old Schoolhouse. We had spotted an angler nearby so tried not to disturb him but when we were in the cafe a bus load of tourists arrived. It is clearly a notable pretty village.

We were back in Waterford at about 3pm so called in to see if Tony was home. He wasn’t so we went into town and bought a piece of crystal (for my birthday) then went to the Tower hotel for a drink and use of their wifi. When we got home there were massages from Tony on the phone. They invited us for tea but we wanted to use up various bits in the fridge so went around to them after tea at 7.30pm

We have seen a number of interesting things on the roads. A number of trotters with sulkies, lots of tractors, runners, hay trucks, and men in cars taking dogs for walks. However on the way we saw a group of 16 cyclists taking about 50 pedigree spaniels for a run!!

It turned out that Tony and Nuala had been to a family funeral and also it was Harry’s birthday. We had a drink with them and saw their photos from NZ. They put them on a cd for us to show to Liz and Jennifer when we get back to NZ. John had not felt well and had slept for an hour but was fine by now. However, we made sure we left before 10pm because they had work and we had to pack up.