Monday 21 May 2012 - Coastal WOW!
Day 39 and 120 to go
With a crappy night’s sleep
on a spongy bed behind us we were up and ready to get the day underway. Paul
got limited sleep and was awake and making a cuppa early. With the nights
staying so light it also didn’t help with an early night.
We went down to the dining
room and were met by our very cheery host who made us our breakfast. I am
getting too used to these cooked breakfasts. At least they keep us gong until
dinner.
At 9.15am we were on our way
ready to explore the Dingle coastline. There were so many picturesque spots to
stop at and take pictures. We followed Tralee Bay with the water to our right
and the mountains to the left.
We had to head over the
Connor Pass at around 2000m above sea level. The mountains were shrouded in
cloud and at times we couldn’t see over the edge. You could step off into the
whiteness. There were a few places to stop and view the nothing that we did. I
loved having the cloud just encompassing us.
After coming over the pass we
could see Dingle town where we were heading to. This side of the pass was a
little sunnier. It was great to be able to see the green pastures and the many
sheep velcroed to the hillside.
Dingle town is a cute little
seaside village. We parked and had a wander around the town, heading to the
harbour before returning to a jeweller where Paul bought my birthday present, a
beautiful celtic eternity knot pendant. SPOILT.
WE then drove the Slea Head scenic
drive from Dingle. This is a dramatic coastal drive taking you along cliff
edges and through small towns. One of the towns, Dunquin, was the scene for the
movie ‘Ryan’s Daughter’.
Doing this drive afforded
views of the islands off shore including the sleeping giant. This island does
look like a giant lying on his back.
We returned to Dingle where
Paul could go to the Dingle Brewing Company. We did a self-guided tour before
having a Crean’s beer.
View Larger MapBack on the road and continuing the tour of awesome views. We passed Inch Beach before joining the Ring of Kerry Road, a loop road that goes for 180km through many more beautiful towns.
The scenery continued to
impress us. We stopped in Cahirsiveen for a walk to the old barracks and river
before continuing along the coastal strip. We drove through Waterville the
favoured town of Charlie Chaplin and home to many golf courses. We stopped at
many viewing spots along the cliffs overlooking Ballinskelligs Bay. It was
impressive with the green fields to the edges of the cliffs covered in sheep. I
don’t know how they hang on!
As we rounded the Bay we were
facing the Kenmore River inlet. We made our way through Caherdaniel and
Castlecove. While there were lookouts over the inlet we weren’t able to see
them as the fog had come in again. I imagine it would be spectacular on a clear
day.
Our final destination was
Sneem, a licorice allsort holiday village with brightly coloured buildings. We
found a B&B to call home, set up our things and then went for walk through
the town.
We wandered along the river
edge where people were fishing, it was just starting to rain slightly so we
made our way back over the river and into the Blue Bull bar for a drink where
Paul drank his first pint of Murphy stout.
There were so many pubs in
this town we decided to do our own pub-crawl. Our next pub was Dan Murphy’s.
They even had a Dan Murphy’s ad from home on the wall! We then stopped for a fish and chip dinner
where we were left laughing at the state of the locals. They usually say good craic,
but this guy had a bad crack! Put me off my dinner. ALMOST!
Our last pub was O’Sheas. It
didn’t look like much from the front but it was super busy and really cosy
inside. Paul had a Rebel beer, another new one, made in Cork, so we will have
to stop there tomorrow.
Following this last drink we
came back to the B&B to relax ready for another big day tomorrow.
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