We all treasure our vacations, especially if overseas. We anticipate, plan, and save money for these special trips where we’ll be able to relax and forget about our day-to-day problems.
But as writers, we can’t waste these moments. While we may want to shut off our brain and enjoy the new surroundings, we should keep a notebook in our back pocket to jot down ideas. Many of us may have already discovered that as we travel, a plethora of details arise when visiting a new locale.
Blarney, Southern Ireland
In 2024, my husband and I were lucky enough to take a combo work/vacation trip to Ireland. After attending a wildland fire conference in Tralee, we tromped around the southern countryside visiting all the castles.
There are a lot.
So many, they start to blur together in your head. But one of the things that struck me most while we drove around was this: it’s relatively flat. I don’t know why, but I had assumed Ireland would be mountainous. If you, too, had the same incorrect assumption, let me disabuse you of that notion.
Southern Ireland is covered with very unassuming, rolling hills except for the western-most bits that steepen (very stark and lovely area). But otherwise, it’s very easy to confuse yourself within this landscape because there are few major landmarks. Things—and people—can easily hide amongst all the small vales, dales, and swales. Plus, yes, it’s green everywhere. If it isn’t farmed, it’s a dense woodland.
So when we climbed to the top of the first castle we visited, the view was stunning and very revealing.
You can see everything!
Photos by author. Left photo of a sign at Blarney Castle, Blarney, Ireland. Sign reads: “Why Blarney? A castle was a strategic military building, and the first consideration had to be the location of the site. Castles were always built on an elevated site in order to give a clear view of the surrounding countryside from all points north, south, east, and west.” Right photo of the remains of Blarney Castle; April 19th, 2024.
Not only would the castle’s occupants be able to see incoming armies or hostile forces, they’d also be able to keep track of peasants’ working across their lands (the lazy bastards—joking). It wouldn’t just be strategic, but essential for coordinating work. Anyone living in the castle with access to the turrets and watchtower would’ve had the best intelligence around. Not only could they keep track of human activities, they probably also observed incoming weather as well as movement of herds (domestic or wild). To top it off (pun intended), using flags or torches, they probably communicated with the next castle on the horizon.
Before traveling to Ireland, I’d read about all these things. Of course, castles were protective structures with tactical advantages. I knew that. But I didn’t know it. I hadn’t traveled through the countryside myself and became frustrated with the horizon blocked by the next infuriating low, but effectively obscuring hillside. I hadn’t seen how, from the ground level, it’s really easy to hide an entire army behind a forest or hill. I hadn’t the opportunity to learn, when you climb above the horizon, the world opens like a map.
N. E. White is the author of the Mapmaker Trilogy, a new adult fantasy series set in a Roman-inspired world where wingmen fly and heroines refuse to give up. She also recently published the start of her next series, the Draghi Chronicles, with The Legend of Damndrake, a new adult fantasy with shapeshifting dragons. Her stories blend found family, adventure, and unique world-building that lingers long after the final page. She lives in Northern California with her husband. When she’s not writing, she’s hiking, kayaking, or out doing field archery. All her stories feature unlikely heroines taking extraordinary adventures across magical worlds. And of course, she loves to read, too.
