Reginald's Tower

[kybearfuzz]

James the Tour Guide at Reginald's Tower
Click the photo for the gallery
I didn't make it to the Kilkenny Castle today. I went to bed late, some jerk decided to bang on my door and run as a gag at 3 AM, so I didn't get up until noon. After hearing about the lack of photography I hadn't had much desire anyway. I got dressed, ate lunch and decided to visit Reginald's Tower instead.

I must have gotten there before the rush as I was the sole person in the location to start. I ran back to the hotel to get my camera and was ready to take my tour with a guide. I was the only one waiting at the time so I got James all to myself. James was my tour guide, my height with dark hair, dark eyes, a 5 o'clock shadow at 2 PM, that Irish accent, and the shadowing of his white shirt suggested a furry undercoat. He may not be a knight at the castle, but he was certainly enough :)

The tower is Waterford's oldest landmark, dating from the late 12th century, and its history is varied. It served not only as a protection point for the city, but in the centuries following as a prison, a munitions house, a mint, a residence, and finally a museum. James and I went floor to floor with the neat architecture of the tower and pieces of its history along the way. The staircases are very tight to prevent invaders from getting too far without notice, but for anyone taller than me, they might have had some issues. We were joined by an Australian couple on the third floor, but I didn't mind sharing. The fourth floor is a movie room for watching videos of the history of the Tower and the city walls. By this time the crowds were moving in to see the sights, so I ventured down the tight staircase again.

The best part about using a tour guide is the stories that have little to do with the architecture, but the lives of those who used the tower. There is one toilet in the whole place (well, one original toilet). It was in a room on the third floor where the waste would be dumped down onto the riverway. The toilet also doubled as a cloak room as the ammonia from the urine would kill the fleas and drive away the moths so the coats and such would be pest free. Granted, they were pest free but smelled horrid, I bet.

After the video, I took a few more shots with my camera and James gave me a map where to find the rest of the city wall reminants, so I found the nearest one and took a few shots of that as well. It may not be a castle, but it was definitely worth the visit.