We embarked on a 12 day cruise of the British Isles from June 26 - July 8, 2025. My parents met us on the ship where we had adjacent balcony rooms (and Derek slept in their cabin to abide their 4 person limit on the rooms). Our stops around the Isles were
1) Cobh, Ireland
2) Dublin, Ireland
3) Belfast, Northern Ireland
4) Greenock, Scotland
5) Lerwich, Shetland Islands
6) Invergordon, Scotland
7) Edinburgh, Scotland
8) Le Havre, France
with a start and stop point of Southampton, England.
Our first day of the cruise was in Cobh, Ireland. We rented a car for the day, and I am embarrassed to say that when we got off the ship and I called the rental place, I could not understand the man I spoke to on the phone. His Irish English was very particular! Luckily for us, the roads in Ireland were large, well marked, and empty, making Nate's experience driving on them night and day from our road trip in England through the Cotswolds and Cornwall.
Our first stop was Blarney Castle in Cork, built in 1446. The castle is famous for a kissing stone, famed for granting the "gift of the gab" (eloquence) to those who kiss it.
The line to get in the castle was very long, so we entertained ourselves in the stocks outside.
Once we got inside, we climbed around the castle to look through the ruins. One of the more interesting spots was a so-called murder hole (not pictured) right above the entrance where defenders could drop rocks, boiling water, or hot oil on intruders below.
Once we made it to the top we could look out at the gardens and countryside below.
There are myths that the famous Blarney Stone itself is a piece of the Scottish coronation stone given to the MacCarthy family for supporting Scotland in battle. Other religious myths hold it was a stone that Jacob, the biblical patriarch, slept on, or a relic from the crusades. In reality, it is a piece of limestone most likely coming from a quarry in southern Ireland.
In the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I supposedly sent envoys to claim the area around Blarney Castle for her kingdom. Cormac MacDermot MacCarthy, the Lord of Blarney, used such beguiling and flattering words promising allegiance and loyalty, but never followed through in surrendering the lands. This led the Queen to declare all his talk to be "blarney", which we now take to mean witty, flattering talk, and inspiring visitors to kiss the Blarney Stone for eloquence.
Despite the long line, we finally made it to the Blarney Stone on a battlement at the top of the castle. The worker manning the spot was very efficient keeping the line moving as well as possible. Karina chose to blow a kiss to the stone. Nate and I both leaned back all the way to actually kiss the stone. I was impressed I didn't hurt my back.
More pictures from the base of the castle after we descended.
The grounds of the castle were pretty. I liked the garden of poisonous plants from all over the world and reading all the labels (not pictured). They were playing to fans of Harry Potter and showing many of the plants mentioned in the books.
There were pretty flowers through some sections.
The horses on the grounds were friendly.
After Blarney Castle, we drove to the charming little town of Kinsale, Ireland. Kinsale is famous for vibrant, colorful buildings and a picturesque harbor.
This is St. Multose Church in Kinsale. It is a historic, medieval Church of Ireland building that has been in continuous use since it was built in 1190.
Back near our cruise ship, we drove through the town of Cobh. It has a huge Roman Catholic cathedral named St. Colman's Cathedral, built in 1868. We took time to explore the interior.
The town of Cobh was beautiful with the colorful cottages.
This was our view from the balcony of our cruise cabin! St. Colman's Cathedral towers in the city with the beautiful harbor and vibrant houses.
As our ship sailed away, we were treated to other beautiful sights from our balcony, including this little peninsula, known as Roche's Point Lighthouse.
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