Ireland 3 - Ring of Kerry
The Ring of Kerry is a scenic circular route around the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry. We left the hotel early on Day 3 and joined the ring, driving in an anti-clockwise direction. Shortly we started seeing beautiful mountains on the left.
We were stuck with a large truck for a while, which disturbed the beautiful scenery. Instead of hoping a chance to pass it, we stopped by a viewpoint off the road. Bye-bye to the truck! The viewpoint, called Mountain Stage Viewpoint, was located on the north coast of the Ring, looking across the Dingle Peninsula over the Dingle Bay. Wonderful view!
We briefly detoured off the Ring of Kerry to find Cahergal Stone Fort, hidden in the middle of nowhere...
Cahergal Stone Fort is a large Iron Age ring fort. According to a plaque there, "Stone forts, which are found mainly in the west of Ireland, are notoriously difficult to date. Some are thought to be the Iron Age (about 500 BC to 400 AD), while many are simply stone versions of the common earthen ring fort which was the typical farmstead of the Early Historic period (about 400 to 1200 AD). Cahergall is a particularly fine and impressive stone fort with a massive dry-stonewall. There are flights of steps and terraces in the inner face of the wall and the upper parts of these, together with the lintelled entrance, have recently been reconstructed. Within the fort, there are the remains of a large circular dry-stone building. It is likely that somebody of importance lived here about 1,000 years ago."
The stone fort was very interesting while the panoramic view of the surrounding area from the top of the wall was peaceful and splendid.
The fort was under the guard of the giant cows. They liked blocking our path somehow. We walked slowly and carefully past them...
By the way I saw endless pastures and numerous cows on our way from Dublin to County Kerry. Ireland is the country of cattle, known as a high-quality butter producer, indeed. Surprisingly there were much less sheep than I expected, but I was happily able to spot sheep more often while we were in County Kerry.
We were back on the Ring of Kerry and stopped by a town called Cahersiveen to have a breakfast. The sky was suddenly getting dark and windy. The timing we visited the stone fort was impeccable.
We popped in Bari Café & Deli, a well-reviewed cafe on the main street. It was Day 3 of the trip that I finally got to try an Irish scone.
I chose a fruit scone (a classic scone with raisins) although I don't remember what the other choices were. I asked for cream but it wasn't clotted cream but whipped cream. Not only fruit jams but also butter came along. Of course, Irish butter! Well, the scone was good but kinda dry. I would say it was a sort of country-style. J was enjoying a half full breakfast this time.
We detoured off the Ring of Kerry again and and hit another scenic route called the Skelling Ring to explore the far west tip of the Iveragh Peninsula. Furthermore we extended our way to Valentia Island, situated at the westernmost tip of Peninsula. When we reached the island by crossing a bridge from the town of Portmagee, magically the sky became clear!
The Glanleam Standing Stone was also found within the fort. "Standing stones date back to the Bronze Age (2000BC to 500BC) and they are a curiosity, as their function is not entirely known. It is believed they were erected for rituals and other ceremonies, to mark boundaries or to commemorate an important person," according to the Lighthouse. Apparently the fort respected and preserved the ancient stones.
A yellow buoy also stood in the fort. The photo may not tell you the size, but it was actually pretty large, taller than the Glanleam Standing Stone.
It was a nice walk across the ground of the old fort fort to the lighthouse - home to the most westerly harbour light on the island of Ireland, guiding vessels through the northern entrance to Valentia Harbour. It's still fully functioning and safeguarding the waters that flow around Valentia. We climbed up to the balcony of the lighthouse tower and discovered amazing views and seaside gusts!
Next to the lighthouse was the Lightkeeper’s Dwelling House. The last lightkeeper and his wife and two daughters lived there until the lighthouse was automated in 1947. The house is restored as a museum that tells what life was like for lighthouse keepers and their families on the isolated small island.
We got back on the Skelling Ring and our next stop was Kerry Cliffs. It was another nice walking exercise from the car park up to the viewing platforms, watching some livestock and three reconstructed Beehive huts on the way. Beehive huts are dry stone building dating from 2,000 BC and appear to have been used for habitation.
The Kerry Cliffs offer two main viewing platforms. First we went to one on the right. What a magnificent view! The ocean color was incredibly beautiful.
The other viewing platform (one on the left) was over there and far away. We spent a good amount of time on the right and moved to the left through a steep down-and-up path.
We also had a wonderful view from the left platform. It would be lovely to look at the dramatic Skelling coast and Atlantic all the day but I'm not sure if my eyes could handle it. Winds around the cliffs were very strong!
We headed to the car park eventually. Our excitement at the great cliffs was gently tempered by the peaceful grasslands and livestock on the way.
The beach forms a gentle, large arc with a ruined castle on the west side. It's the ruined Ballinskelligs Castle, known locally as McCarthy Mór Castle, a 16th-century tower house built by the McCarthy clan to protect the bay from pirates and possibly charge tariffs on ships.
Further west along the coast was the Ballinskelligs Abbey. Founded in 1210, the Augustinian priory was abandoned in 1578 under the reformation by Elizabeth I. There are a number of gravestones around the ruins. Some looked very old and some relatively new. I don't know when and how the graveyard was incorporated to the abbey ruins, but at least I learned that the graveyard is still used as an active burial ground today.
Further west of the abbey was a sheep pasture. It was time to walk back to our car and find a place for lunch.
We drove the rest of the Skelling Ring and shortly after re-joined the Ring of Kerry, we stopped by the village of Waterville, located on a narrow isthmus between Lough Currane, a lake popular for sea-trout fishing and the Ballinskelligs Bay. Since we ran and walked along the coast a lot since the early morning, seafood lunch sounded proper. We tried the Lobster Bar & Restaurant, a small family run restaurant serving locally caught seafood and locally sourced authentic Irish cuisine, although we didn't know their lunch menu was limited. Instead of a full seafood feast, we decided to have a surf and turf - a fish pie and beef stew. The classic Irish dish combo was rich and comfy. Especially I liked the fish pie, which was packed with generous portions of mix of white fish and salmon (sea trout?) under silky mashed potato.
We resumed the Ring of Kerry tour and briefly stopped at Com an Chiste, a scenic lookout presenting beautiful landscapes of County Kerry. I would never get tired of looking at the scenery.
Descending a steep and winding mountain path, we arrived at Derrynane Beach. Renowned for its fine white sands and clear turquoise waters, the beach was beautiful even under the heavily cloudy sky. There is a small island called Abbey Island near the beach, which is only accessible by foot during low tide periods when the sandbar connects it to Derrynane Beach (the mainland). We must have been there during low tides because we reached the island while we were strolling on the beautiful sandy beach. There was a spot where I found waters on the right and left. That must have been a moment when we were crossing the sandbar.
True to its name, the island once housed Derrynane Abbey, which is believed to have been built in the 6th century. I don't know the history of the abbey or what the remains of the ruined buildings are exactly. Like Ballinskelligs Abbey, the monastic site was also used an active graveyard. The ruins and graveyard are situated on the northeast part of the island, which is the closest point to the sandbar.
The ruins weren’t particularly impressive, though. Perhaps, the modern gravestones somewhat detract from the abbey's ancient charm. Rather, grazing at Derrynane Beach and waves from the island was more amusing. We didn't need to swim back to the beach because the tide was still low. The truth is I didn't pay attention to the sea level when we were there because I hadn't known that the high tide isolates the island from the mainland.
Our next stop was Sneem, a small village on the Ring of Kerry. We had a tea time at Kelly's Bakery, a small family-run bakery, delicatessen and coffee shop, established in 1955. We tried a couple of their baked goods along with tea. Ummm, they were so-so in my opinion, but it was a lovely break after a series of great adventures we had on the day.
We did a quick walking tour of Sneem. The village itself was very small but its location would be good as a base to immerse in big nature of the Iveragh Peninsula.
Heading back to our hotel, we took a mountain route (R568) off the Ring of Kerry. It was misty, sometimes lightly drizzle. That was exactly Irish weather I prepared for during the trip. The view was somewhat limited but yet remarkable.
Eventually the mountain route connected with the Ring of Kerry agin and shortly we arrived at Kerry's ultra-famous viewpoint, Ladies' View. In 1861, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Ireland for 8 days. They spent time in Killarney and took a sightseeing tour along the Ring of Kerry by horse and carriage. Particularly, the breath-taking view of overlooking the Lakes of Killarney from the spot deeply impressed the Queen's personal assistants, known as her Ladies in Waiting. Hence, the view spot was named like that. I could definitely see lots of potential to agree with the Ladies, but I would like to come back there on a clear day to confirm it.
To be continued...
