If you are in the Wexford area, I’ve got a little suggestion for you for a little day trip.
Ferns Castle in the small village of Ferns, Co Wexford is a lovely heritage site to visit even if you are going through chemo and may not have a lot of energy for walking around.
You can park right outside and wander in. There’s a small visitor centre and very friendly OPW (Office of Public Works) tour guides there ready to greet you. They give regular tours (free!) of the castle ruin and even bring you up inside the remaining tower to have a look at the chapel on the second floor, and then up to the top of the tower to look at the surrounding country views.
There are steps to climb (not too many) if you want to get up to the top of the tower, but if you don’t feel up to that, just join the tour for the first part outside the castle and then wander around the ruin yourself.
My husband loves to vist heritage sites like this one and send his drone up for a look from the sky. It always offers a different perspective. When we visited recently this was the video footage he took.
The castle was built in the 13th century, possibly by William, Earl Marshall. Originally the castle formed a square, with large corner towers and back in it’s day it would have been rendered in a magnificent white plaster. Only half the castle remains but it’s very interesting to see the remnants of old fireplaces and even the old chapel inside the remaining tower.
The excellent OPW guides make this ruin a really enjoyable experience – they are very knowledgeable about the hisotry of the site and bring the stories and legends of the castle really come to life.
A visit to Ferns Castle is a lovely way to spend a little bit of time and be transported to a time long before our own. It’s well worth a look if you are in the area.
Ferns Castle is open mid May to September seven days a week and admission/tours is free.
Click here for more information about Ferns Castle from the Heritage Ireland website.
Drone footage by Derek Kennedy.
