After 3 weeks in Ireland we could some up the beautiful Irish landscapes that we travelled through by using the following words;
Narrow Irish rural lanes full of curves and blind spots due to over grown hedges – you take your life in your hands when you pull out!!! You take a breath and hope for the best!! You also have look out for road walkers and be prepared to travel at a snail’s pace behind a cyclist who take up the whole road as there are no pathways for them to walk or ride on or even guts just stone walls and then the narrow road.
Stone walls that run for as far as the eye can see,
Thousands of happy grazing sheep and large cows,
Many ruined castles, Abbeys and barns,
Quaint towns with coloured buildings and confusing narrow streets,
Copious amounts of Forever green grazing land,
Wind swept mountain ranges with panoramic water views,
Cloudy skies which are constantly shifting and changing!!
Our new rural stay had all of the above. From our lounge window we looked out onto a paddock of cows with a back drop of water and ruins. We chose the area of Kerry so that we could embark on a drive around the well known tourist route known for its beauty called, The Ring of Kerry. This ended up being a really full day for us as there is lots to step and see along the way. I think it took us around 6 hours to complete. There was some spectacular landscapes along the way. Here are some photos of places we stopped and explored on our day around the Ring of Kerry.
Killarney Castle
Torc Forest and Waterfall walk
We also spotted deer here in the National Park near Torc Forest Walk. Jaunting cars also take tourist for rides through the park and along the roads. A jaunting car is a horse and cart ride. Now I love horse and cart rides and was getting excited until we found an article saying two tourists were killed only 6 months ago in this area when the horse got spooked and the tourists were thrown from the cart over a bridge plummeting 8 meters to their death. That turned me off. Lucky we had done our fairytale ride in Germany.
Mountain views from Muckross as we stopped to be blown away by gale forced winds. We both decided it was beanie weather.
Moll’s Gap was a favourite as the view was spectacular but also it is where Avoca our favourite Irish shop and cafe is situated. You will always find Avoca in the most beautiful places. This Avoca closes down from mid November until March over winter we think maybe because the roads are too dangerous over winter?? We admired the warm scarves and socks, took in the beautiful views from the restaurant and enjoyed the always amazing food.
We visited the town of busy Kenmare which had a lot of nice shops and scary Halloween decorations.
We loved the quaint small village of Sneem with its views from the town bridge.
Our drive home along Castlecove and Caherdaniel were spectacular. We spotted Skellig Island where some of the scenes from the last Star Wars were filmed. To Rob’s disappointment tours finished up only a week ago for the winter. A true Star Wars fan like Rob you can imagine his disappointment.
At Waterville we found the Charlie Chaplin walk as this was a tribute to him as he spent a lot of time in this area.
Our way home was alive with many colourful rainbows. I am sure they were there to help us find our way home as it had been a huge day!! But worth it. In hind sight maybe we should have stayed half way along the Ring of Kerry as there is a lot to see and do. Last stop an old wind mill not far from our accommodation in Blennerville just as the sun was setting. We both slept well after our big day out!!!
