Yes, yet another cathedral. This time things are different, however – there’s a 100 foot medieval tower that you can climb! The view was supposed to be stellar (from 100 feet up from the highest point in Kilkenny it had better be) but the stairs were described as “iffy”. In addition, there was some confusion in the guidebook as to whether there were 100 or 163 steps, which was a bit worrisome.
St. Canice’s is a beautiful little cathedral, but they were in the midst of setting up a grandstand in the crossing, so you couldn’t see a lot because of all of the construction. I also neglected to get a picture of the outside, but this was difficult to do anyway.
Approaching the Cathedral
Since the cathedral is on a hill you have a bit of a hike to get up to it. Notice the tower?
Cathedral Entry
I think this was the original way into the Cathedral – there’s an easier one that involves a street about a block away.
Notice the Tower
This tower is one of the few remaining examples of medieval towers in Ireland. These were built in the late 900s and tended to be 100 or so feet high and maybe 15-20 feet in diameter at the base, narrowing to about 8 feet at the top. Normally they are topped with a conical stone roof, but this one is missing the roof, so you can climb up and get a good view. Notice the railing at the top? That’s about 3 feet high at best!
Inside the Cathedral
This has to be the biggest and most complex radiator that I’ve ever seen. The pipes are about 5 inches in diameter! Looks like something out of Blue Man Group.
Cathedral Interior
One of my usual dark and slightly fuzzy shots of a cathedral interior. One of these days I’ll get a good external flash for things like this.
Looking Back Down the Nave
Altar Area
Towery Goodness
That’s it for the cathedral interior – my whole reason for visiting was to climb a tower. Doesn’t this look impressive? Notice that one side of the tower is wet from rain.
Tower Entrance
All of the medieval towers have an entrance 10-15 feet above ground (the ground level is up a bit so this one is closer). This was done because the towers were used for defense as well as a good view. The monks would load all of the valuables (including food and, of course, beer) into the tower if invaders were spotted, climb in and pull up the ladder. Once in the tower with the ladder pulled up they were relatively safe – and free to drop empty beer barrels from 100 feet up onto the heads of the invaders.
Tower Entrance
Today the tower is entered via an extra-shaky metal ladder with a tiny platform at the top. This entrance – and it’s lack of warning signs – convinces me that the Irish still have the upper hand over the lawyers.
Tower Stairs
The stairs in the tower are marginally better than what the monks had to work with – but only marginally. They are a cross between a ladder and a staircase and go up about 10 feet at a time. They are NOT really level or square and are a bit slippery.
Final Steps
Once you get to the last part of the tower under the roof the staircase changes to stone steps set into the tower wall, These steps have 1000 or so years of wear and repair on them and are, at best, iffy. Each step is about a foot high, 6 inches deep and slippery because of all of the rain coming down. You also can’t really see that there is a wall at the top of the tower so it looks like you are climbing up onto a slippery stone roof 100 feet above the ground with no wall around the edge – fun!
Step Closeup
Just for fun, here’s a closeup of one of the “steps.” Did I mention that they are about 14 inches wide, curved and go out through a very narrow hole?
Looking Down
Just for more fun – here’s a shot looking down the stairs/ladder from the top level of the tower.
Tower Views
Once I got onto the top of the tower (sans backpack and a bit of skin) I made a quick circle taking pictures of Kilkenny and then hustled back down. The roof/floor is made of worn stone and is slightly concave and VERY slippery. There is a substantial rail, but it doesn’t really do much to make you feel any better and when you add in the wind and rain it’s not a pleasant place. The view WAS stunning, however.
The next 10 shots are just a panoramic view of Kilkenny. I started out facing roughly the direction of the tower door, looking right into the center of the old town. In fact, if you look closely, you can see Kilkenny castle in the distance – the gray blob under the gray rain clouds (and yes, I did get rained on).
Tower Views
Tower Views
Tower Views
Tower Views
Tower Views
Tower Views
Tower Views
Tower Views
Tower Views
Tower Views
Final Shot
Just for “fun” I held my camera over the edge of the tower and VERY gingerly took a picture. At this point it was starting to rain hard so I hustled back down the tower to go find a pub (the guy running the entrance suggested two pints as an antidote).
