Bunratty Castle Travel Video Guide

Bunratty Castle Travel Itinerary

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Bunratty Castle (daily 9am-4pm; combined ticket for castle and Folk Park GBP6.50/?8.25), thirteen miles south of Ennis and handily situated on the N18 Ennis-Limerick Road, stands on what was once an island on the north bank of the Shannon. The Vikings of Limerick recognized the site's strategic importance for protecting trade, and so they fortified it - you can still see the moat. The first castle on the site was built by Normans, but they lost control and, in 1460, the Macnamaras built the castle that stands today. It's exceptionally impressive: the fine rectangular keep has been perfectly restored and now houses a large collection of furniture, tapestries, paintings and ornate carvings from all over Europe, spanning the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries. In the castle grounds stands Bunratty Folk Park (daily: June-Aug 9am-5.45pm; Sept-May 9.30am-5.45pm; combined ticket for castle and Folk Park GBP6.50/?8.25, Folk Park only GBP4.10/?5.20) a complete reconstruction of a nineteenth-century village. Although extremely touristy, both castle and folk village are well worth taking time over, and you can break up your visit in the excellent tearoom or the pub within the Folk Park.

The nearby Durty Nelly's is a favourite tourist bar, regularly overrun by bus parties, and Kathleen's Irish Pub , in The Bunratty Castle Hotel (tel 061/364116; info@bunrattycastlehotel.iol.ie ; GBP90-110/?114.28-139.67), offers comfortable accommodation in traditional-style rooms and serves excellent bar food, though again coach parties can mean a long wait to be served. Follow the Lower Road, which runs between Bunratty Castle and Durty Nelly's , for Bunratty Caravan and Camping Park (closed Nov-March; tel 061/369190), a serviceable site, or for one of numerous good-quality B&Bs - Bunratty Villa (tel 061/369241; GBP40-55/?50.79-

69.84) is a handy ten-minute walk from the castle; further along are Innisfree (tel 061/369773; GBP40-55/?50.79-69.84), Bunratty Heights (tel 061/369324; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79); and, about a mile from the castle, the friendly Castleside (tel 061/369390; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79).

Three miles east of Bunratty, the village of CRATLOE is renowned for its oak-wooded hills overlooking the Shannon and Fergus estuaries and is a particularly lovely spot for walking.

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