Adventures at Ballyfin

There are so many ways to fill your days at Ballyfin.  I read several books and drank about a gallon of tea.  And then there’s the whole estate to explore.

Grab one of the golf carts (in Ireland, call them “buggies”), and drive out to see the tower folly, built in 1860 to look like a medieval ruin.  You can climb up to the top, stopping to read student graffiti left from Ballyfin’s days as a school, and peer out at the misty view.

Or just walk around, and discover all kinds of little secrets.

At the edge of the lake, there’s a small boathouse, and you’re welcome to take out one of the rowboats if you’d like to see the house from the lake (and get some exercise).

Or, to explore from a different perspective, you can arrange to go riding.  For advanced riders, there’s the option to go galloping across the demesne; for D and me, a more sedate excursion was in order.

Although my pony definitely had attitude.  Look at her, the rascal:

We did a little skeet shooting, but I’m not really a fan.  (So noisy)

Archery was much more fun!  One of the butlers (who used to be a student at the school) showed us the basics and then we spent an hour shooting from farther and farther away from the target.  The next day, we did it again!

I’ll keep practicing, so I can do even better on our next visit to Ballyfin…