Ring of Kerry

Tom and I had to bid farewell to Clonakilty and to the small delightful cottage this morning. The drive to the town of Dingle would take 4 ½ hours, and we had to be there before 5:00 pm to meet our host, Eve.  Our route took us inland, mostly along major roads, where we came across a ruined old mill alongside a fast moving stream. We would not see the ocean again until we reached the popular Ring of Kerry.

 

The Ring of Kerry is a 180 km (108 miles) circular drive located on the Iverage Peninsula, the largest of five peninsulas jutting out into the Atlantic from the southwest of Ireland. The scenic promontory is famed for its vistas of sea and mountains – visitors have been coming here for centuries. The drive offers plenty of opportunities to enjoy a dramatic landscape of coves, cliffs, broad bays, and rugged countryside, all set against the MacGillycuddy Reeks, Ireland’s highest mountain range.

Part of the Ring encompasses Killarney National Park, which covers approximately 25,000 acres and includes three lakes – Upper, Muckross, and Leane – and the surrounding mountains. It contains Ireland’s largest area of ancient oak forest and its only remaining herd of indigenous red deer.

Tom and I thought we had seen and experienced the roughest of the off-the-beaten path back roads in southern Ireland – but, oh no, we hadn’t ! The previous days back roads adventures were just ‘training wheels’ for today . . . continuous up and down, switchbacks, bumpy rural routes, deep forested glens, windswept ridge lines, rain showers – all of this with Tom driving from the right front seat, shifting left-handed, and driving on the left (wrong) side of the road. He said tonight that his arms, shoulders, and back were all sore from the constant steering left/right and manual shifting of the Skoda Citicar.

We heard on the radio that the gale force winds of yesterday had subsided, and today’s winds would be “fresh to strong” – I still have not figured out what that means. I got the full experience of that wind when Tom pulled the car over (at my suggestion), and I jumped out to take a photo. The wind practically took the camera out of my hand and blew me over!

There were numerous tour busses on the road, and we quickly learned that they stopped at all of the good photo spots. Wherever one was stopped, we stopped there, too – at the beaches, cliffs, streams, rivers, lakes, and overlooks. The good thing about being in our small car, we could also stop at the narrow pullovers that the busses couldn’t get to.

We cut off one small section of the drive since we needed to get to Dingle, (yes, we got onto another narrow road) but by doing so, we avoided the tour busses, and were greeted by a herd of sheep in the road – the whole road ! The sheep were being herded by a sheep dog, and the dog was being guided by an elderly man in a car. The man would tap on the roof of the car with his cane to communicate with the dog !

Once we got into the National Park, we were surrounded by deep forest, and the sides of the road were lined with blooming rhododendron. Just beautiful !

We made it to Dingle with time to spare. Eva, our host showed us to our little cottage that is located behind her house, gave us the keys, and directed us to the Reel Dingle Fish Company. Best Fish and Chips that we have ever eaten. This cottage has something that neither of us has ever seen – there is a small box on the wall, and when the electricity goes off, you have to drop in €2 coins to turn it back on !

We are less than two blocks from the center of town and the waterfront, and we are looking forward to exploring the town and Dingle Peninsula tomorrow.