Fairytale

Once upon a time in the far away land of the emeralds there was a lovely little family travelling about. We'll call them the Whartons. They arrived one Tuesday afternoon at a magnificent castle set on impeccable grounds in the middle of a forest and overlooking a pristine lake. Now, any respectable castle is not complete without noble steeds, and Ashford Castle did not disappoint. Naturally the daughter of this family, always taken by equines, felt it was her duty to thoroughly explore the grounds astride a gallant mount. Thus she set out with a new friend, one of the trainers at the stable. After warming up the horses with a brisk trot down an old hacking path, the trainer leaned over and asked the young Wharton if she wanted to go on an adventure. Well yes, yes she did, very much, so it was further explained that there was rumor of any old castle hidden away in the woods along one of the paths. The two girls cantered abreast through the mystic ancient forest, pausing now and again at a fork in the trail and consulting their instincts before venturing onwards. They cantered along, pushing into a gallop sometimes, the only sound in that eerily quite moss-draped forest coming from the hoof-falls and exhales of the graceful grey Irish Draft mare and spirited buckskin Connemara Pony on every canter-stride. Quite without warning and almost unperceived, a shadow loomed through the trunks to the right. There it was, the castle of legend! The two riders eased their steeds over to the base of the ruins, speechless by its presence. They naturally dismounted and explored. But, as the sun sank and their shadows grew long, they swung back into the saddle and cantered away into the sunset.

Best part about this tale? It's completely and one hundred percent true. Yes my friends, Kirsty had heard about a castle in the woods and we went out and found it. Does this place get any better?!

Well, yes, turns out it does. Ashford had a falconry center and, as previously mentioned, stunning grounds, and the castle itself has retained much of the splendor of its younger days. Yes, I am a rather big fan of Ashford Castle. I'm not yet sure when it will be, but I'm definitely returning there one day.

(yes, I'm aware my fairytale seems falsified by the discontinuity of the description of Kirsty's mount and the photographic documentation, but she was riding a different horse when we found the castle, promise!)