Bunratty Folk Park ....

.. at Bunratty Castle, Co. Clare, is where 19th century Irish life is recreated ... and hubby and I visited the Castle and Folk Park on a day like today ... cold, cloudy and rainy !! Today - this weather - reminded me of our visit ...

I have, some time ago, shared with you, Bunratty Castle and I do remember promising to share the Folk Park. I also remember promising to show you all the inside of the Castle but that will have to be another time ..

After visiting the Castle, hubby and I walked through the rain until we came across this cottage, the home of a farmer from the rich lands of the Golden Vale of Limerick and Tipperary Counties ..

... went inside .. and found the 'farmer's wife' preparing a huge apple pie by the warming fireside ...

The home-made apple pie was being prepared for the tea room situated behind the pink cottage ... we would have loved to have tried it with our very warming hot cup of coffee ...

After our coffee, we walked up to the village ... the rain had stopped by then, thankfully ...

Of course there has to be a pub in every village - open to the public and 'loved by visitors and locals alike' ...
Onward .... passed a very wet donkey being petted by school girls ..

.. another group of school girls were ahead of us going into the lovely little church - moved here, stone by stone from Ardcroney. I was interested that the girls wore long skirts and wondered if they were their 'outing' dress code. No .. was the reply .. "we wear them all year round!"

They seemed to enjoy their outing and all made a B-line for the Church bell's rope which was pulled by what seemed to be all of them !!!! The bell tolled continuously !!

Leaving the girls, and the church behind, we passed a small field with deer - and real antlers/horns - have never seen them before!! Real Bambi's and Daddy Bambi's !!!

Turned down a lane to the vertical mill ..

.. then onto the horizontal mill ..

.. to the last building, Bunratty House, a late Georgian dwelling built in 1805 the 'type occupied by minor gentry in the 19th Century'. The house below is the home belonging to the Hughes Brothers who started the dairy industry in the 1800's .. I love that one .. it's how you would draw a house ... rectangle, triangle roof, chimneys with smoke curling out, rectangle door and square windows !!

Behind Bunratty House is courtyard filled with 19th Century farm implements - Talbot Collection ...

Making our way back to the entrance/exit we passed these 'Traveller Wagons' - main type of transport used in the past by ethnic Irish folk ..

.. and then haystacks, which I have also never seen before except pictured in story books ...

I can just imagine Little Boy Blue sleeping against this one !!

A fascinating place and well worth the visit !!