The Blarney Stone and leprechauns aside, a rail and bus tour can offer you the chance to enjoy spectacular scenery, writes Gillian Hamill

Climbing out into sunlight at the top of a narrow staircase, squeals of mock terror could be heard across the turret. Clearly I wasn't the only visitor who had just realised the somewhat tricky location of Blarney Castle's famous stone, and the subsequent difficulties this presented vis-a-vis kissing it.

But the squeals were mingled with excited giggles at the prospect of gaining eternal eloquence, and so on we continued. As the queue of tourists wound its way round the castle's top, I examined how others performed the operation. It looked much more difficult than I had anticipated, expecting it to be a simple matter of kneeling down and kissing it.

Instead, kissing the Blarney stone involved lying down and leaning backwards over the edge of a tower. Luckily, this was made easier than it was in earlier times by the addition of two iron handrails which could be grabbed, possibly with white knuckles, and a gentleman whose job it was to ensure everyone survived it scratch free. In fact I was pleasantly surprised by how much easier it proved than it looked. Down at the bottom of the castle similarly proud tourists celebrated their own moment of glory by snapping up the individually taken souvenir photos.

Not everyone was swept off their feet by the experience, however, with one woman having the presence of mind to wryly ask her husband: "But do they disinfect it?"

Then, navigating a path through crowds clutching brown paper bags with their photos, I decided to explore the castle's extensive grounds. Andrea, who was visiting Ireland from Washington, later described these gardens as her favourite part of the day, saying "the trees were magical". The silver birches and a large tree supported by four thick sprawling trunks were like something out of a fairytale, she said.

The fern garden was also impressive, though eerily still. Split into two levels, it was possible to climb up its steps and feel you were looking down into the depths of a dark and exotic hideaway filled with ferns, moss and ivy.

Back from the depths of nature, we were soon on the road again after a spot of lunch and shopping at the Blarney Woollen Mills. Following a short city tour of Cork, it was onwards to the port town of Cobh, formerly Queenstown. Here we stopped at St Colman's Cathedral, which is an answer to those who reckon Ireland doesn't have as much to offer architecturally as other countries. Andrea, stepping off the coach towards the cathedral, at this stage suitably pleased the sun was out and "she didn't have to spring for the sweater", was impressed with the building she reckoned bore a resemblance to Notre Dame.

From here, we walked past the colourful facades of brightly painted buildings to Cobh Heritage Centre, which is housed in a restored Victorian railway and transatlantic terminal. The wrack and roar of the ocean's crashing waves projected onto a large screen at the Queenstown Story exhibition, surrounded by reconstructions, such as the dreaded Coffin Ship, gave a sense of how 19th-century passengers, desperate to escape the ravages of famine, put their lives in terrible danger when making the perilous voyage from Queenstown to Ellis Island in New York.

Killarney was our overnight pitstop before getting to grips with the Ring of Kerry the next day. For a Tuesday night the town had a pleasant buzz, and this being an "Irish holiday" it would have been strange indeed were not a few jars of stout consumed.

One of the first things we heard the next morning, as we passed the town of Killorglin, was an explanation of the Puck fair and the ceremony surrounding the lucky goat chosen to reign as his majesty King Puck. This was a sign of things to come: it was to be a day of amusing if not a little far-fetched explanations of everything "Oirish", ranging from Tír na nÓg to leprechauns, and from fairies to banshees.

Our first stop of the day was at the Kerry Bog Village museum where tourists unacquainted with the smell of burning turf, were pleasantly surprised by its earthy, homely aroma. Two big Irish wolfhounds also created quite a stir.

But these dogs were not to be the starring canines of the day. Two border collies at the Kells Sheep Centre were in fact the "stars in show". Dog trainer Brendan Ferris had an innovative idea when he decided to let tourist groups see working sheepdogs at close quarters. And the dogs certainly didn't disappoint; they bounded up the mountain at top speed to gather in the lazily grazing sheep. It was quite amazing to see how each dog could understand their individually pitched whistle commands to go left or right or organise the sheep in a two-by-two formation. The dogs are trained from the age of six months to two years and, including voice instructions, have more than 20 commands to learn.

Moving off, we continued to witness some of the country's most spectacular scenery. One of the highlights was the view from the top of the Coomakista Pass. Looking down on the Cow, Bull and Calf islands, the scene from this point was idyllic. A glittering skyline merged into a crystal clear sea, which looked as if it belonged more in the tropics than the Emerald Isle, being alternately turquoise blue and dark indigo in colour, broken only by the white tops of waves.

All in all, the trip was a reminder that it's not necessary to jet off to have a good holiday. The stress was taken out of the outing by having guides to co-ordinate everything. Crucially, however, you're still able to take "time out" at the various stops to do your own thing and you don't feel like you're back on the annual school trip, being bossed about by an overbearing headmaster.

• Gillian Hamill travelled on the Railtours two-day tour of Cork and Kerry, which costs €219, as a guest of Railtours Ireland