Bantry House

They call it a 'house' but we might call it a castle. It was an amazing place with vast, beautiful gardens and furnishings that were a feast for the eyes. We walked up the hundred steps and had this view of the 'house' and Bantry Bay.

Egerton lived in the house as a boy, inherited the estate in 1978 and is a descendant of the original Earl of Bantry. He didn't inherit the title as it had been passed on to a sister or daughter and titles couldn't pass to females. He's a sweet man and I felt kind of guilty when he carried my bag up the stairs to our room.
There was a music festival happening in Bantry with a concert in the library of the house that evening. We heard "Masters of Tradition" on pipes, fiddle, guitar, tin whistle, singing with stories accompanying each piece of music.

In the morning, after a fabulous breakfast served by Egerton, we toured the house which was full of items from the 18th and 19th centuries. This is the dining room. No flash photography was allowed so I was experimenting with settings on my camera so they might not be that clear.Something's an antique in Canada if it's about 100 years old but they have a different perspective on 'antique'. This tapestry in one of the rooms had been made for Marie Antoinette. The view from our room of one of the gardens.