Ring of Kerry … again

Six years ago Marg and I sat on a bus and completed the Ring of Kerry. Except, it wasn’t quite the Ring of Kerry because it should start and finish in the same place, which is often Killarney. On the bus we cheated a little, starting in Killorglin and finishing in Killarney. Today, we did the Ring of Kerry again – the complete Ring of Kerry – in a car. Rod was the driver. It was a strange sort of day, often warm and sunny with blue skies, but sometimes dull and overcast, and occasionally raining. We saw many things that Marg and I did not see on the bus tour, so I was grateful to Rod for coming up with a list of new and interesting places to stop at along the way.

Leaving Killarney, we saw a few jaunting carts out on the roads early. Taking a ride on a jaunting cart is a popular tourist activity here, and I imagine it’s a good way to see some of the attractions in the surrounding area at a leisurely pace. We drove west to Killorglin, where we joined the coastal road that forms a part of the Wild Atlantic Way. Just after Glenbeigh we came to the water. We took a short detour to check out the beach at Rossbeigh Strand, but it was a rocky beach and it was being pounded by the waves. It was not the sort of place for a stroll along the beach, so we jumped back in the car and drove on. For the next few miles we had the Atlantic Ocean alongside us on the driver’s side of the car. Across the water was the Dingle Peninsula, looking very green and inviting, dotted with the occasional white cottage. Near Kells we saw the old Victorian-era Gleensk Railway Viaduct. Its use was abandoned over 60 years ago. At Cahersiveen, we took another detour across the bridge by the Old Barracks.

Our detour took us up a narrow road for a short distance, until we came to a carpark surrounded by farmland. There was a sign reminding us that the farmland surrounding us was private property and that we should not enter without permission. An old man produced a young lamb from the back of his car at the entrance to the car park and asked each of us in turn if we’d like to hold the lamb. We’d seen the group in front of us hold the poor lamb for about 30 seconds before handing it back, along with several euros for the brief privilege. We declined the man’s offer and walked on. Just as well, because just a short distance along the path leading out of the carpark, a woolly sheep made a beeline for us and proceeded to scratch its back and sides on the fence while we patted it free of charge. The path stopped at an ancient stone fort, known as Leacanabuaile Stone Fort, on a hillside, surrounded by grazing sheep. The fort was constructed in a circular shape, with very thick stone walls. It dates back to about the 9th century, when it was thought to be part of a farm that needed to be defended. The views from the stone fort were excellent. In one direction, we could look across the river to Cahersiveen. What remains of Ballycarbery Castle stood between us and the river. We could see all the way down the valley in one direction. and in another was a second ancient monument, named Cahergal Stone Fort. Cahergal Stone Fort was older than Leacanabuaile, just a short distance away. It’s likely it was built about 600 AD. I’m not exactly sure of its purpose, but if it was built as a form of defence, I’m sure it did a good job as its walls are very thick.

In Cahersiveen, we passed an interesting mural, featuring a catholic priest, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, the ‘Pimpernel of the Vatican.’ I was intrigued by his title, so I googled him and learned that when he was in the Vatican in Rome during WWII, he helped Allied Prisoners of War and civilians escape from the Nazis who occupied the city. He is credited with saving over 6000 lives. He died and is buried in Cahersiveen. Just past the mural, we came to a standstill. We sat in a line of cars not moving for ages. To our right, a steady stream of people, heading in the other difection, walked past us. The line of people seemed to go on and on forever, and we had to wait patiently for ages before we could move on. In the time we were waiting, I discovered that the walk was a community effort to raise funds to transport sick children to medical care. It was good to see this community getting behind an important cause like that.

We turned off the Ring of Kerry road onto the Ring of Skellig road that took us down to the small fishing village of Portmagee. With traffic on our tail and nowhere to pull over and park, we kept going through the village and were out the other side before we really had a chance to have a good look at it. Just past Portmagee, signposts alerted us that a turnoff to the Cliffs of Kerry was just ahead. Having recently been impressed by the Cliffs of Moher, we were interested in seeing how the Cliffs of Kerry would compare. It cost us 5 euros apiece to visit, and then we had a ten-minute hill climb, but when we got to the observation deck, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I think I liked the Cliffs of Kerry better than the Cliffs of Moher. Just off the coast lay Puffin Island – I don’t think I need to explain how it got its name – and even further out are the two Skellig Islands, including Skellig Michael, where a very ancient Christian monastery was once established. No one lives on the Skellig Islands anymore.

Eventually we completed the Ring of Skellig road and rejoined the Ring of Kerry road, which brought us into a lovely seaside village named Waterville. There’s a statue of silent film star Charlie Chaplin here, because Chaplin loved Waterville so much as a holiday destination, he brought his family here every year for over a decade. Chaplin’s not the only celebrity to visit Waterville. It’s home to one of the finest links golf courses in Ireland, and has attracted some of the world’s best golfers, including Tiger Woods and Payne Stewart. We stopped for a bite to eat at a quaint little bakery named Peter’s Place. It was full of bric-a-brac and had real character. Peter was a friendly guy. He obviously never learned to spell, but he told us he was a great baker and that his scones were the best in Ireland. I had one with jam and cream. It was pretty good. Marg and I shared a slice of his whisky fruit cake too, and that was delicious. We didn’t have time to stop any longer to walk along the beach. In any case, it’s a very stony beach and probably not the sort I’d want to walk along anyway.

From Waterville, the road climbed to Coomakista High Pass. The last time we were here, our bus drove into a ‘pea soup’ thick fog on this pass and we had no visibility whatsoever. Today, the sky was clear when we pulled into the carpark at the top of the pass, and we had great views of Ballinskelligs Bay and Waterville to the north and Derrynane Beach to the south. While stopped in the carpark, we took great care to avoid the guy with a couple of lambs in the back of his red van, who was asking everyone who passed him if they’d like to hold his lamb. I think that’s a horrible way to treat animals.

We continued around the Ring of Kerry until we turned off the road at Castlecove and headed down a narrow track to another large stone fort standing alone in the middle of a field. This was Staigue Stone Fort, probably built in about 300-400 AD and used to defend one of the rulers of the district. It’s refreshing to see historical monuments such as these totally free of graffiti.

We couldn’t find anywhere to stop in Sneem, with its colourful buildings, so we continued on to Kenmare, which is a larger town. We pulled up for a short walk around the town to stretch our legs. We’d seen quite a few of the motorbike riders who’d come to Killarney for the weekend on the Ring of Kerry today, and there were a large number of them relaxing and enjoying each others’ company at one of Kenmare’s beautiful old pubs.

We entered Killarney National Park and drove through woodlands dominated by tall trees with mossy trunks and a dense understory of ferns. Rhododendrons were common, as they have been throughout Ireland. They grow in dense thickets and prevent sunlight from reaching plants which should be growing below. They look beautiful, but apparently they’re an invasive species and need to be eradicated, especially from the national park. The terrain was hilly and there were several large lakes. The road through the national park was one of the windiest, narrowest parts of the entire Ring of Kerry. I remember cars going in the opposite direction having to edge their way past our tour bus on some very tight corners back in 2019. Thankfully, today being Sunday, we only encountered a couple of buses and they were travelling in the same direction as us. Not far from Killarney, we pulled in off the road and walked up a trail by a stream to view Torc Waterfall. It was flowing well, possibly due to all the rain we’ve had recently.

Almost as soon as we left the national park, we entered the outskirts of Killarney. We should have only had another five minutes of driving to reach our accommodation. Instead, we found ourselves sitting in a long line of traffic going nowhere. Motorbikes roared past us as we inched our way forward. It was impossible to take detours as the side roads were all blocked. The road into Killarney was taking us directly past Gleneagle Arena, where a huge free concert was taking place. Cars were coming in from both directions and thousands of people were walking to the stadium. It was the final big event of Ireland BikeFest Killarney and it seemed half the population of the town was making its way there. Luckily for them, the late afternoon weather was perfect. I hope they had a great time. The final part of our trip around the Ring of Kerry took us over half an hour to cover just a few kilometres.