Rathfarnham Castle, Playground and Tea rooms

Rathfarnham Castle is a beautiful 16th century castle with a fascinating history.

The building is not very big, and neither are the gardens that surround it, but it truly is a must-see attraction.

I like everything about it: we go there many Sunday mornings and after we park the car (the place has a small pay + display car park), our first stop is always the cafe (the Tearooms). In the picture, the entrance of the café is marked with an arrow:

The café has an "old style" beauty, that you feel the moment you cross the doors. The high ceilings, the pendant lamps, the flowers by the windows, the pictures, the fantastic views of the garden...I just adore starting a Sunday morning with a lovely hot cappucino and a piece of cake (or a muffin) in this place.

Unfortunately the kids are so looking forward to going to the playground that they just don't let me enjoy these "coffee moments" for as long as I would like to and drag me out even before I've had the chance to finish my cappucino.

As said, the playground is just great. Not very big, but it's never very crowded either.

There are attractions for bigger kids...

And also for the young ones of the family:

Sometimes the boys bring a ball with them, and after playing in the playground for a while, we play football in the garden, just outside the castle.

Even though we go there quite often, we haven´t visited the Berkeley Costume and Toy Collection inside the castle - apparently it is very good. Have you seen it? Maybe one day, next winter if it´s very cold outside...