Day 2 (Monday) - Union Hall to Killarney via Mizen Head (and a great many other places)

After an average sleep in Union Hall we had a good breakfast (scrambled eggs & smoked salmon amongst other things) then hit the road for the big push through to Killarney via a gazillion coastal places on the Wild Atlantic Way. The names are to conjure with but the roads were blocked with trees, stone walls in bits having stood 100s of years and evidence of the storm surges were everywhere. On a positive note - there hasn't been this much work done on trees/hedges/drains etc in Ireland well, ever. When more storms come in winter, at least the country will be more prepared. We meandered through Castletownshend, Lough (Loch) Hyne, Baltimore, Roaringwater Bay (great name!) Ballydehob and Schull. Thankfully with all this driving, Ireland is blessed with multitudes of great leg-stretching opportunities. Which is why we stopped at Altar. Oddly enough the name of the village as well as a description of the Wedge Tomb just before it. This tomb is one of a dozen on the Mizen peninsula and was constructed between 3000 and 2000 BC (so people have worshipped here for between 3000-4000 years!) The entrance lines up with Mizen Peak in the far distance. Human bone has been found on the site which dates to 2000BC and it's believed to have been sacred until the arrival of Christianity in Ireland - which was very early. It briefly resumed a sacred role in the 18th century when priests would perform the Catholic mass at this altar as it was forbidden in churches. Unusually the nearby Protestant church has an Irish name which translates to "The Church of the Poor". It was built in 1847 at the height of the Great Famine as a way for the local people, mostly poor and Catholic, to have work. In nearby Schull at the same time around 25 people died per day - but Altar escaped with relatively low losses due to the Church of the Poor famine relief project.

Via a quick postcard stop in Goleen (and a visit to the multi-purpose cafe/shop/post office to post the last massive batch of postcards), we continued to Mizen Head - Ireland's most southwesterly point. Apparently also known as Ireland's teardrop as for many who left for a better life in America this was their last view of their country and they knew they'd not be coming back. Today, for us at least, it was a hazy, misty, foggy day and views were not of major importance. We enjoyed our picnic and coffee in the car and motored on to colourful Bantry.

We made it to Bantry (from the opposite direction) the last time we did a road trip, having just driven around the Ring of Beara Peninsula. This time we'd thought we'd skip it and cut straight across from Bantry to Killarney - via Glengarriff, the Caha Pass, Kenmare, Kilgarvan and Loo Bridge. Wow! We think the Caha Pass is a highly underrated spot as most people are following the coast around and missing out on the amazing views from altitude and the incredible mini-tunnels blasted through rocky crags to allow cars through. We may be biased but Co. Kerry is one of the most stunningly scenic in Ireland - from the minute we crossed the county line we were suffering SOS - Scenery Overload Syndrome.

When we finally arrived at the Holiday Inn at around 4.30 pm we were officially off the clock. Coastal driving in Ireland (vs. the motorways and "N" roads) is phenomenally enjoyable but also a full-body experience and it was a long, long day. We booked our Holiday Inn nights for an astonishing €120 for 2 nights, full buffet breakfast, wifi and leisure centre via our new fave website 'The Pigsback' (as in Riding high on the pig's back... Living high on the hog etc). Irish Groupon type site. As an IHG member I couldn't get anything better, booking direct, than €84/night. So a massive bargain at €60/night. Lovely room, big bathtub - what more could we want - we even took advantage of the 'free bottle of wine' when dining in (saving another €24). As it turned out, once fed and watered, we had a teensy bit of energy left and walked 20 minutes into town to enjoy Killarney's night-vibe (well... early evening). A few buskers, some pub music and some bright lights were just the ticket. Mind you, we were home and tucked up in bed by 8.30 pm.... The piece de resistance of the roadtrip starts tomorrow... a historical expose of the Ring of Kerry... with rain and fog forecast, the ruins will be grand (if not the coastal scenery).

Day 3 (Tuesday) - History Soaked Ring of Kerry

Our favourite thing about hotel stays is, undoubtedly, the hot buffet breakfast - the best fuel for a day on the road, ever. We had grand plans today (what's that expression... man plans... god laughs...) We figured we'd start with a quick look at the Gap of Dunloe (a mountain pass between Purple Mountain and MacGillycuddy's Reeks Mountain Range). Then, so the plan went, we'd follow the tourist coaches as they proceeded anti-clockwise around the Ring of Kerry. But the Gap of Dunloe (pictured) was so majestic and stunning - we just kept on going and eventually popped out on the other side of the Ring at Molls Gap - with more astounding views of MacGillycuddy's Reeks. So the plan changed and we continued the ring clockwise (or 'anti-coach'), and didn't see any coaches coming the other way until 1 pm or so. Much better plan as it turned out.

Due to the weather being foggy and hazy, all the ruins were peering through the mists of time and very atmospheric to visit. Our first major stop was Staigue Fort, just beyond Sneem and via a very long and windy track into the countryside. This round stone fort was built between 300 and 400 AD for a king or a lord. It's considered the best of it's kind in Ireland and obviously built by someone with a great need for security. The walls are 6m high and 4m thick - incredible. Given it's around 1600 years old it is in amazing condition - I even crawled into one of the rooms contained within the thick walls. From Staigue we moved on in time and further down the road for a quick roadside look at Caherdaniel Stone Fort - 'only' 1400 years old and overlooking beautiful Derrynane Bay. Thanks to a blog we were following with all these great 'off the beaten track' ruins, we then made our way to Derrynane Abbey. We didn't realise until we arrived (fortunately at low tide) that it has another name - Abbey Island! We walked over the sand, realising we'd be underwater at high tide, and made our way through the burial grounds and to the ruins of the 6th century abbey. A stunning spot to spend eternity. After our explorations we enjoyed our car-lunch overlooking Derrynane Bay. Our next stop was the Eightercua Stones - laid out/constructed in 1700 BC, this megalithic tomb made the abbey look brand new. We didn't realise they were on private property until we were up someone's driveway... fortunately they weren't home, so we beat a retreat and viewed them from the road. Next stop was even further off the beaten track as we left the Ring of Kerry and headed to it's off shoot - the Ring of Skellig (the Skellig islands are where the last Star Wars movie ended for any fans). Without heading to the islands we did get to the coast and had a brief stop to see Ballinskelligs Castle and abbey (also known as the MacCarthy Mor Castle). It was built in the 16th century when the MacCarthys were chieftains in Co. Cork and Kerry. Legend (and it's architecture) have it that the castle was placed here to defend the bay from pirates... luckily times have changed. We admit we were starting to flag by now so were happy to be turning the corner of the Ring of Kerry and pointing home to Killarney with only a couple of stops remaining.

Firstly a quick look at the ruins of Ballycarberry castle. Though on private land, there were great views of this 15th century castle. Another likely stronghold of the MacCarthys, there was thought to be another building on the site as early as 1398. By this point it really was 'quick look' time, which is all we gave Cahergall stone Fort - again from 600AD. To explore properly would have involved leaving the car and venturing into the rain and we were more than happy with our Staigue Fort roamings. Aside from anything else, our next mission was reaching the hotel, unpacking the car and walking into town by 4.45 pm to take advantage of a very late lunch/very early dinner special at, what turned out to be, the best Thai restaurant in Ireland. Literally the most flavoursome, hot, spicy, seafood noodles (me) and curry (James), followed by homemade gelato. 'Tis such a shame we don't live in Killarney! It was a huge day and after a spot of packing... an early night.

Day 4 - Final 'Must Sees' then off home...

We had planned (there we go again...) to have a massive day and take the ferry from Glengarriff to Garnish Island, spending at least a couple of hours in this garden paradise. But we re-thunk it given the recent hurricane and storm. Given the costs involved we've put it on the back burner for another trip to Ireland one day when we can see the island garden in its high season glory. This left us with lots of lovely time to check out some other sights before heading across country and getting home at the reasonable hour of roughly 3 pm. The hotel buffet was once more superb (though swamped by two coachloads of French tourists... pondering over the possible contents of black pudding).

We hit the road and headed for Muckross Friary (still not sure how we missed this the last time we came through and viewed Muckross House and Ross castle). The Franciscan abbey was likely founded around 1445 by local chieftain Donal MacCarthy (weren't they a big family in these parts!) The monks were oppressed by Henry VIII in 1541 but it was re-established in 1612. They were eventually driven out by Cromwellians in 1642 - so the friary was only in use for 200 odd years. The highlight of these ruins for us was the massive and very dramatic yew tree growing in the centre of the cloistered courtyard. As part of the Druid system (and thus adopted when Christianity came in, to make it an easier sell to the locals) there are apparently a great many yew trees in the church yards of Ireland. Next stop 'on the way home' was Torc Waterfall. Compared to the great falls of the world, this is a trickle - but thanks to the recent storms, Torc was trickling with a vengeance and it was lovely to hear the water rushing down its 70 metre height. At this point we thought wow! it's only 10.30 am and if we take the direct route on N roads... we'll be home by 1 pm. Definitely not! So we meandered down some R roads, eventually arrived in Mallow and walked all around Mallow castle followed by our final car-lunch (for now) outside the ruins of Ballybeg Priory. The novelty of finding 100-1000+ year old ruins of abbeys, castles and forts has yet to wear off - thankfully in Ireland for another month so plenty more for us to find.