Matt and Mum Do Ireland, Part 3

PART THREE: Running Rings Around Kerry
2016-03-05 to 2016-03-07

On Saturday morning, March 5th, it was once again time to make tracks and head off onto the next base camp of our trip, namely, Killarney in county Kerry. From there, we planned to get back in touch with nature. Infamous for its coastal scenery, especially around the Ring of Kerry, this corner of the country promised us some fantastic photographic opportunities.

From our hostel in Cashel, we headed south on the M8, aiming first to drop in at the renowned tourist hot spot, Blarney Castle. We arrived a little after 9:30am and proceeded into the castle grounds. Unfortunately, this attraction is not on our Heritage Card, so it was a little bit steep at €13, but it's just one of those things you have to do as an outsider in Ireland.

Blarney Castle.

The grounds surrounding the castle are massive and exquisitely maintained. It would make for a fantastic place for picnic (if you really want to pay that much to come in and have lunch!). It's only a short walk from the gate to the castle, but that's when the real work starts - lots of stairs going up in spirals to get to the top, which is some 25m or so off the ground. Once up there, you can proceed to the side of the structure that is home to the Blarney Stone. If you're not familiar with the legend, the story goes that a visit to Blarney Castle to plant a kiss on the Blarney Stone will grant the kisser the "gift of the gab", a talent supposedly possessed by one of the original castle owners during the time of Elizabeth I. The problem is the stone sits at the base of the turret wall, and to kiss it, you must bend over backwards with nothing but a long drop below you. But it's better now than it used to be - originally, there was no hole through which to bend and a would-be-kisser would need to be lowered by the ankles over the side of the wall to reach the Stone! But the new method is relatively without risk, and we both managed to plant a kiss on the sucker.

Kissing the Blarney Stone.

The view over the ground from the top of Blarney Castle.

Proceeding back down the castle, stopping off to read a bit about the history along the way, we reached the ground once more where you can purchase a photo of your kissing exploits for €10; a bit steep. You can have a friend take your photo during, but the official photo is on a better angle. From there, you can explore any number of aspects around the castle grounds, admiring the trees and plants and getting lost in the wilderness. It's a great way to remove yourself from the world for a while. We wandered to the Fern Garden & Waterfall first; a small grotto down an embankment that would be a lovely place to relax and read a book. We then returned via the castle and walked to the Rock Close which had another waterfall area, and then returned to the entrance to move along with the day.

Waterfall in the Fern Garden of Blarney Castle.

Steps into/out of the Fern Garden at Blarney Castle.

Waterfall in the Rock Close area.

Blarney Castle.

A short walk from the castle, you can visit Blarney Wool Mill, a shop boasting a massive range of woolen clothes, hats, and accessories. There is also a huge Ireland souvenir shop at the back.

We returned to the car and drove through to Cobh, a small port side town adjacent to the city of Cork. Exploring down most of the length of the seaside street for a good place to eat, we settled on lunch at O'Sheas Bar in the ground floor of the Commodore Hotel. A rather large pint of cider had my name on it and went down quite nicely with a warm Rogan Josh curry which was oddly accompanied by a bowl of chips. I wouldn't say it was the best curry I've ever had, but it was warming and tasty, so it did a good job.

Rogan Josh Curry at O'Shea's Bar in Commodore Hotel.

The main reason for visiting Cobh was to check out the Titanic Experience. Cobh, originally named Queenstown, was the last point-of-call for the Titanic before it set out on its ill-fated journey across the Atlantic. A little over 100 passengers boarded here; some survived, others weren't so lucky. The exhibition/tour comes with a ticket that gives you an identity of one of the Cobh passengers and then you proceed through a range of rooms that simulate various aspects of life on the Titanic. For me, the coolest and eeriest part was the pier from which the passengers left the mainland to board the ship is still standing, albeit in a state of disrepair. The end of the tour provides a lot of information about the disaster; detailing what went wrong and what landing in the freezing Atlantic might have felt like. You can then find out if your alias managed to get to a lifeboat - I, unfortunately, did not, and my body was recovered some two weeks later!

"Heartbreak Pier" in Cobh, where the last passengers to board the Titanic left land; some for the last time.

Overlooking the harbour at Cobh quays.

Following the tour, we bid farewell to Cobh and made tracks for Killarney. Arriving to our accommodation - Killarney International Hostel - at around 6pm, we unpacked and had a bite to eat. Later, we went down the road to the Golden Nugget, a pub at the turn-off you take to get to the hostel. We each tucked into a relaxing pint of our poison of choice before returning to the hostel to call it a night.

Our room in Killarney International Hostel.

On Sunday, we had a slow start, getting moving from the hostel about 10am. We had planned to tour the Ring of Kerry, but the weather had moved in and it was cold, cloudy and drizzly. Confirming the weather report predicted Monday to be better, we decided to swap around our plans for the two days. We drove into Killarney and parked on High St before taking a bit of a walking tour around the town centre. Mum had eyed a flyer in the hostel for a pub called Danny Mann on New St (which intersects with High St) that has some traditional Irish music in the evenings. We checked it out planned to spend our Sunday evening there over a drink or two. They also offer a full Irish breakfast for only €6.95 - we've been reasonably healthy over this first week-and-a-half, so we pencilled in a morning of debaucherous calories for Monday!

Killarney was rather sleepy this Sunday morning; a lot of the shops don't open until later. But we had a pleasant stroll through town before heading back to the car. We drove to Kate Kearney's Cottage, a popular and cozy pub at the foot of the Gap of Dunloe. By then, the rain had really taken hold with a steady but light shower coming down. We retreated inside to have a coffee and sit by the fire, which was very pleasant. After a little umming and ahhing, we decided to have lunch here before continuing up through the Gap. I tucked into chicken stuffed with black pudding, wrapped with bacon and in a pepper sauce. It sounded delicious in the description, and it was pretty good. But it was probably not as great as I had hoped. Meanwhile, Mum tackled an Irish stew which she enjoyed, but said it wasn't as good as the one in Kilkenny. Oh well - can't win them all!

Lunch at Kate Kearney's Cottage.

The weather rolling in over the Gap of Dunloe.

The Gap of Dunloe is an extremely popular tourist walking and cycling track in summer, also frequented by Jarveys - horse drawn passenger carriages. During these warmer months, it's not suitable to drive the road as it is very narrow. However, around this time of year, it's not so bad, with only the occasional face-to-face meeting with other cars coming the other way. But the road is punctuated with pull-over bays where you can negotiate a pass. I can imagine the pass being stunningly beautiful in the summer, but alas, on this day, it was extremely cloudy and windy for most of the journey, accompanied of course by rain. We stopped a few times to try and get some photos, but as you can see, conditions really weren't optimal.

Gap of Dunloe.

Gap of Dunloe.

Gap of Dunloe.

Nevertheless, we weaved our way to the top of the Gap and then down the other side. We continued through to Moll's Gap where we joined back up with the main Ring of Kerry road and continued back towards Killarney. A couple of scenic stops sit along this route where you can overlook the three large lakes south of Killarney. However, in this weather, there wasn't much to be seen so we just passed by; hopefully they will be better tomorrow when we are finishing off the Ring! We proceeded to Muckross House which is an estate in the Killarney National Park. Normally you can tour through the house, which is a large manor built in Tudor style and overlooking Muckross Lake, the middle of the three lakes, but the tours were not operating when we visited. We went for a walk around the grounds surrounding the house, which are rather pleasant (but are undoubtedly much better when it's not raining!). It was again a nice way to relax and enjoy an easy day, making the best of it, given the conditions.

Muckross House.

Muckross House gardens.

Muckross House gardens.

We headed back to the hostel to warm up and have a bite before driving back into town in the evening to check out Danny Mann pub. Relaxing over a couple of pints, we tried to write a limerick about our trip (more on that in the next post). About 8:30pm, "The Singing Jarveys" took to the stage and delighted the dozen or so people in the pub with a mixture of lively and melancholy Irish folk tunes. They were really good to listen to and had great stage presence. We'd been waiting and hoping to enjoy some good, traditional music over a couple of drinks; the setting wasn't quite right as it was a big hotel bar. Hopefully, in one of the smaller towns, we can find a cozy fireplace and a small crowd - that will complete the picture!

Trying a pint of the local - brewed over on the Dingle peninsula.

A selfie for Irish Mothers' Day.

Well, the weather gods smiled upon us on the morning of 7th March. It was a bit dreary and cloudy when we woke up, but glancing toward the west, we could see some blue skies... and the wind was blowing from that direction. Everything lined up nicely and the conditions started to improve! We drove into Killarney town to have a nice breakfast; we'd inquired at Danny Mann about theirs, but they told us they don't do breakfast during the week (for non-residents). The barman had suggested a place around the corner which we investigated on arrival, but it only opened for lunch. This turned into a bit of a trend as we wandered up an down High St and Main St. Eventually, we returned to New St and found Revive Cafe & Wine Bar; they hadn't been open when we first passed but now they were. They offered a lovely spread for their breakfast special at €7.50, and it went down very well! It was probably not as "Irish" as we had hoped (no white and black pudding!), but still a great feed.

A nice, large coffee to kick off the day.

Breakfast Special at Revive Cafe & Wine Bar.

Revive Cafe & Wine Bar

A little after 9:30am, we left Killarney town and drove past our hostel to begin our lap around the Ring Of Kerry (in an anti-clockwise direction). During summer, this road will be packed with cars and buses of people looking to admire the sights around the peninsula. For us, it was much less populated which suited us just fine! It's worth noting that buses are obliged to go around anti-clockwise, and some of the roads can be narrow or have tight bends. So it's better to go this direction, too, rather than meeting a bus head on.

We followed the brown road signs that showed the way around the Ring, passing through Killorglin, Glenbeigh, Kells (another one!) and Cahersiveen. There's one or two spots along this road to stop, but the scenery is nothing special. You'll just be looking across the water at the Dingle Peninsula.

Not far from Cahersiveen, you can get a car ferry to Valentia Island during the summer months. Alternatively, you can continue around and drive around the Skellig Ring to Portmagee where you can find a bridge that takes you to the other end of the Island. We did so and then followed the road to the left to visit Bray Head. There's a walking track here that goes around about a 5km loop, but we only walked up to the ruined lookout building and then back down. It's a deceptively long walk over a gentle but constant slope, so it might take it out of you. Once you get to the top, though, the view is pretty incredible. You can enjoy the cliffs off to the right (north), the view over the Portmagee Channel and the various islands sitting around the mouth, and a pretty decent view of the Skellig Rocks on a clear day.

View from the bottom of the Bray Head walking track.

Cliffs to the north of Bray Head.

The Skellig Rocks, about 12km offshore.

Back at the car, we continued around Valentia Island. We tried to visit St. Brendan's Well, mostly because my brother is named Brendan! But the road there was dirt/gravel and full of potholes; our little car rocked back and forth through them until eventually we decided to turn back rather than get stuck. Joining back up with the main road, we continued around towards the Geokaun Mountain viewpoint. The highest point on Valentia Island is supposed to afford you pretty amazing views. However, we didn't go up for two reasons. Firstly, the clouds had rolled over the top of the mountain just before we arrived, and secondly, they slug you €5 to get your car into the park! It's a bit rich, to be honest, and you can actually see basically the same view from around the other side.

We continued along the loop road and followed the signs to visit the Tetrapod Walkway. Down a steep gravel path, you can reach an information board that explains some of the geological history of Ireland and about the fossilised footprints found on the rocks below. You can see them from the information board, but there is also a small track down to the rocks to get a better look. The tracks have been determined to be about 385-million years old and are therefore the oldest known tracks of a tetrapod pulling itself out of the ocean to adapt to life on land (and eventually evolve, through many stages, into human).

Crashing waves on the coast by the Tetrapod Walkway.

Crashing waves on the coast by the Tetrapod Walkway.

A tetrapod was here 385-million years ago.

At the northern tip of Valentia Island, you'll find Knightstown. We expected there to be a bit more here, but it seemed like everyone had gone on holiday. It probably is more lively in summer, but we didn't find anything much going on. With that, we had basically seen all there was to see on Valentia Island and took the road back to the bridge to return to the mainland and continue along the Skellig Ring.

Back at Portmagee, the road continued around to the right. Following the signs for the Skellig Ring, we happened across a notice for "the best cliffs in Kerry" only a 10-minute walk away, so we thought we'd check it out. Turned out to be on private land, so it cost us €4 each... everything's a business! Thankfully, though, this view was actually worth paying for. From the top, you can get a great view down the harsh cliffs that smash into the ocean; you can see birds circling and nesting along the almost-vertical walls; and a pretty good view of the Skellig Rocks as well. This one is definitely worth the fee.

The Kerry Cliffs.

The Kerry Cliffs.

After that stop, the road back around for the rest of the Ring of Kerry gets pretty mountainous and rugged. The views aren't quite as spectacular the rest of the way, but there are a few places to stop to overlook the North Atlantic and a few smaller islands just off the coast, but nothing special. After a while, you'll meet back up with the N70 and continue around the main Ring through to Kenmare and beyond.

We stopped in at Ladies' View lookout to see the view over the lakes since the weather was much better. To be honest, you can see quite a distance, but there's not a whole lot to look at; the Upper Lake is quite small, so mostly what you see from here is grassy fields. A bit further down the road, past Muckross House, there's a small parking bay to stop and have a look over the Middle (Muckross) Lake. This is a much nicer view to take in, and you can get right down to the water's edge if you feel sure-footed enough.

Ladies' View lookout.

View over Muckross Lake.

Back in Killarney, we parked the car and wandered around to find a place to eat; we hadn't had anything since our tasty breakfast, so we thought we'd earned a nice meal to finish off what was a pretty long day of sight-seeing. It took a while to find a place with a decent menu and decent prices, actually. Dinners in Ireland tend to be a bit more expensive than lunches. We eventually decided to go with Caragh Restaurant & Lounge Bar. They had a couple of tasty looking dishes on offer; it was time for me to try an Irish Stew, which went down a treat, while mum went with the Shepherd's Pie. Each washed down with a Guinness (full pint for me, half for mum), and topped off with a shared slice of Bailey's Cheesecake which was dangerously delicious! All up, a pretty good feed for under €40 to finish off the day.

Mother & son, but consumed around the other way!

Irish Stew for me; Shepherd's Pie for mum.

Bailey's Cheesecake is so good it should be illegal.

On Tuesday 8th March, we packed up our stuff, for it was time to move along once more; heading further north to the mid-west coast!