Episode 4

Still wet and windy, and the wind seems to be getting colder. It is very spongy and wet underfoot so that any walks really require fur lined Wellies which we don't have. The boots my humans have just are not water proof enough and L says there is nothing worse than trying to hike with cold, wet feet sloshing along in boots. So although we did see some small walks to stone tombs and circles we didn’t take a close look at them. It’s not that L doesn’t like wet weather, she rather does and she loves the lovely green countryside of Ireland too, so easy on the eye she says.

Along the north coast of the Beara Peninsula we encountered several small harbours where there was always a clutter of nets and other items used by fishermen, along with the mandatory small wooden boat rotting in amongst seaweed in the shallows and sometimes a small fishing trawler tied up at the dock. In several of the small bays we saw some form of aquaculture but couldn’t determine just what they were farming, could have been muscles or oysters or perhaps something else. No clues in the form of signage or fresh seafood for sale. Only saw fresh eggs for sale at a couple of the small farms.

We took the road over the Healy Pass and that offered some really great views on both sides. The pass was named after Timothy Healy, a local Politian who lobbied for the road to be built and in 1831 it was completed just a month after Tim Healy died.

In the Gougane Barra forest park we had thought of doing a walk but it was far too wet underfoot so that idea got shelved. However we did visit the site of a very old monastery. It is still a revered site by the local population, it is where Saint Finbarr built a Monastery in the 6th century. He chose a really splendid spot. It was here that we came across the 'superloos’, today they are definitely not at their best.

At Macroom we set out to find the restored corn mill that is now a Heritage centre but it was closed by the time we found out where it was. We did come across a working flour mill where the miller told us that he makes a wholemeal flour but we didn’t get to see it working. The town seems quite a pleasant sort of place and there is splendid castle gate, however, the castle is only a ruin and L couldn’t get a reasonable photo of it. The town hall is rather a nice building too, built in a dark slate or similar stone. There are so many lovely stone buildings , even many new houses are built of stone.

In Killarney we managed to walk around the town for a bit before the rain set in. We visited St Mary’s Cathedral, although built in the mid 19th century, it’s built in gothic style. By the time we got to Killarney National Park, just outside the town it was tipping down again. My humans got in a short walk to Torc waterfall but that was all, I got left in the car because of the rain. At the top of the pass at Lady’s view from which point there is a great view back over the National Park it was tipping down and the view dismal to say the least. No better when we stopped at Molls Gap just a short way further on.

I must say the Irish are intrepid in all weathers. There were a great many cyclists out, some competing in races, some on day trips and several all loaded up, obviously touring. Then there were the walkers many of whom seemed to be in some sort of road race. Not forgetting the joggers, of course, they are everywhere in all weathers, mostly with the same pained expression on their faces.

L has included a photo of the rhododendrons. There are huge banks of them along the roadside in many places. They are very pretty, however they are very much a pest now as there are very invasive and taking over the bushland to the detriment of many native species. Also along the roadside in many places are banks of tiny wildflowers, the pink ones she thinks is are native chive. At this time of year the hawthorn is flowering too, so in places these white flowering small trees line the road

Now we are travelling around the ‘Ring of Kerry’, and this weekend the tour busses seem to be out in force. On the narrow roads D often has to pull off to the side to let another car pass in the opposite direction, with the tour busses that can be even more of a challenge. One place they didn’t get fortunately was to Stague Stone fort. On that road it would have been a nightmare. Again I was confined to the car as the rain was tipping down.

This fort dates from the pre-Christian early AD period, around 100-200AD. It had walls 6m high, 4m thick and an interior diameter of 30m. Excavations have revealed that there was once a number of dwellings inside and a shallow ditch and earthen wall on the outside. We saw a smaller one of these stone forts from a bit later period some way further on, it had been fully rebuilt.

We did encounter some fairly nice beaches that must be very popular in the summer as there are lots of caravans on permanent sites ready for use come the warmer, and hopefully better weather. The views from some of the higher points are wonderful. From one lookout over cliffs we could see nesting Fulmars, I did read somewhere that these are the smallest of the albatross family but our book says they belong to the Shearwater family. Perhaps albatross do too.

From the small town of Portmagee we crossed onto Valentia Island where we walked out to Bray’s tower on high cliffs overlooking the sea. The tower isn’t much but the view was great. Also on the island we saw an old slate quarry that is now a religious grotto. The quarry was worked from 1816 until the early 1900’s. Slate from here has been used on the houses of parliament in London and on several of London’s railway stations. It has a lovely soft talc feel about it.

Making our way along the northern part of the ‘ring of Kerry’ and following the guide book ‘Back roads of Ireland’ we managed to get quite, well, not really lost, but not where we had planned to go. D had taken a wrong turn and on these very narrow roads sometimes it’s a damn long way before there is space enough to turn, so he kept on thinking that we would come to the other road. It didn’t happen. Eventually, about 20k’s later we got back to our starting point, or thereabouts and set off again. We climbed over the Ballaghbeama Pass, stopping at the top while I posed for a photo and nearly got vertigo looking up at that mountain towering way above me; phew!

Then we took a very minor road over the Dunloe Pass. This proved to be a very pretty route, however it seems very popular with day cyclists; these are the ones that come in a van then ride a short way such as over this pass, then load up and hop back in the van and go off someplace else to ride. Also heaps of people were hiking over the pass, their starting point at a pub in a tiny village with little else but the pub. However, the most popular way over the pass is in a horse drawn cart and loads of tourists opted for this, with the result it was a real obstacle course for D to drive this way; what with cyclists stopping in the middle of the road cause they wanted a photo, hikers retying their shoe laces in the middle of the road and horse drawn carts the width of the road. Fortunately we negotiated it safely and got dirty looks from all we passed. Oh, I nearly forget, there are also the ewes with lambs that like to toddle along in front of the car, we’ve nearly had squashed lamb for dinner more than once.

That behind us we headed up to Tralee and off to do the Dingle peninsula. There are some quite nice long strips of sandy beaches on this peninsula. There is a long spit at Inch Point on the south side and the Maharees peninsula on the north side. The sand is ok, it can look whitish, and even golden in the right light, however it’s a mucky brown really and extremely fine, almost like a silt. When L walked along it she found that there was quite a lot of rubbish about. There is usually a fair bit of seaweed too. Surf schools abound, but we have yet to see any surf, surfer, or, in fact, anyone in the water at all. Not even a single sole in a wet or dry suit, have we seen.

Not far from Dingle is a small pub called the South Pole that was once operated by Tom Crean, he was one of the men of Scott’s ill fated Antarctic expedition, but not with Scott, and he was also on one of Shackleton’s expeditions.

Dingle is a quite touristy town, pretty enough, but nearly every business caters for food or accommodation in one form or another, even the hardware shop has a pub attached. There is also a crystal shop, they seem to have sprung up all over the country now, and this one had prices nearly as steep as Waterford.

There are a few archaeological sites too towards the end of the peninsula. There is the Dunbeg stone fort that is said to date from 2000BC but it is closed due to the fact that last winter’s storms were huge and have eroded the cliffs to a dangerous degree. A few more of them and the fort will disappear into the sea forever. There are some Beehive houses too. These are also very ancient. The type of stone work is called ‘corbelling’. It involves laying the stones in such a way that the water runs off them and doesn’t go inside the structure. It is really very clever, and they call these ancient people, primitive:

Also built by this corbelling method is the Gallarus Oratory. The stone work here is beautiful. It is believed to date from the 9th century, though there is some debate, it may be a century or two more modern. In shape it resembles an upside down boat. The Kilmalkedar church not far away is 12th century and one of the first built in the Roman style, the style we are most familiar with. Inside this there is the ‘alphabet stone’, all the letters of the Roman alphabet are inscribed on it. Outside the church I sat on the ancient sundial though I’m none too sure just how much use such a thing would be in Ireland where sun seems to be some mythical thing talked about it hushed tones with wistful looks.

At Brandon Creek, named after St Brandon, there is a memorial to the saint. It is believed he set out from here and sailed to America in 535AD nearly 1000 years before Columbus.

At the top of the Connor Pass we had reached the highest we are going to in Ireland, 460m and off at the end of the peninsula are the Blaskel Islands, the western most part of Europe, according to the literature.

© Lynette Regan May 27th 2014