Monday  21^st  July                    KENMARE – INCH – DINGLE PENINSULA

Robyn writes: Well, it was still raining when we woke up this morning. I woke at 6.30, much to my annoyance; the other two slept blissfully until around 8.30. Anyway, in the meantime, I’d chatted to Sandy and had a video call with Cait and Danny, so I was very happy. As the weather forecast said that today should be the least rainy of the days we are here, we decided to do the Dingle Peninsula. This is next to the Ring of Kerry and reputed by some to be even more beautiful. Certainly, we hoped, less popular with the thousands of tourists here at present!

We headed off at about 9.30, back to Killarney, then to Castlemaine and from there along the bottom of the peninsula. We were surprised coming into Castlemaine to see a sign saying, ‘Home of the Wild Colonial Boy’. Which, of course, brought the song straight to mind. Then we saw a statue of him in the main street, so we just had to take a photo. Though I must say the version of the song which is printed is not one I’m familiar with in Australia!

                                              Statue of Jack Duggan, the Wild Colonial Boy

From here we drove south until Inch, where we saw heaps of people parking and going onto a beach. Curiosity got the better of us, so we parked too, and went to see what was happening. It was a big, actual sand beach, with heaps of people swimming and surfing (brrrr), kids digging (rugged up) and generally doing beach things. Despite the fact it was about 15 degrees, drizzling slightly and very windy! I’ve said it before, and no doubt will say it again, but the Irish are a hardy lot. We absorbed the beachy atmosphere (and wind and rain) for a few minutes, then headed to Sammy’s beachside café, where we had tea, coffee and delicious apple pie before heading on.

                                                      Irish summer fun on Inch Beach

                                                At least it was warm and dry in Sammy's

The wildflowers as we drove along were just gorgeous – they are all out in full bloom at present. There are so many beautiful red fuchias, and some orange flowers which may or may not be fuchias as well. It’s a riot of colour in some areas. We reached hills which were patchworked with stone walls and hedges bordering fields, and just had to keep stopping to take photos as each area was prettier than the last.

                                                             Wonderful displays of wildflowers

                                                              Patchwork fields

We reached Dingle, where we thought we might have lunch, at about 12.30, and quickly changed our minds! The town was jam packed with buses, cars and motorhomes, and people were lining up outside the cafes and restaurants waiting to get in. We instantly resolved to go further afield. Only about ten km away, at Ventry, we saw Quinn’s pub, which even had parking. We had a lovely lunch in there, looking out at the bay across from us, and very few people around. So far the weather had been reasonably kind, with only intermittent showers.

                                       Buses, motorhomes, cars....the nightmare that was Dingle

 

It was much more peaceful at Ventry

Heading further south, we came across some prehistoric archaeology – a fairy ring fort (with a petting zoo, no less!) A fairy ring fort is the Irish term for the remains of an ancient ring hill fort, as they were often associated with fairies in myths and legends. This one was very interesting – you could see the remains of the settlement in the middle, and it had an incredibly deep ditch around it, now covered in brambles and blackberry etc. There would be no way you could attack that! There were also lots of animals there to feed and pat, so Jo and I happily fed the llamas, sheep, goats, donkey etc. This is all on private land, and only cost us 2.50 Euros each.

                                                Looking down at the top of the ring fort.

                                                               We loved feeding the animals

                         There's nothing better than a ring fort, unless it's a ring fort with llamas!

A little way along, we found another privately owned archaeological site – this one with famine huts and beehive huts, so we stopped there as well. This one cost us 5 Euros each. The famine huts were houses and the remains of houses abandoned during the potato famine in the mid-1800s when thousands died or emigrated. The beehive huts were interesting; they were circular huts made by corbelling the flat stones; slightly overlapping them on each layer to make a round hut with a built-in ceiling. There was an intact one behind the houses; it had been used to keep their pigs in. Down further was a dig site where archaeologists have been excavating another pair of them from about the 700s. Unfortunately by this stage it had started raining again, quite persistently, so we lost our enthusiasm for prehistoric architecture and headed for the nice, warm car.

                                                                       Famine hut

                                                          Intact beehive hut

Excavation site ongoing this year

We drove right down to the bottom of the Dingle Peninsula, past the Cross at Slea Head and the little town of Dunquin, then started heading up the northern road which loops back to Dingle. More rain, and more stunning scenery! We stopped at Louis Mulcahy Pottery in Ballyferriter for a look, and Lex bought a lovely little bowl as a souvenir. After Dingle, we drove through Camp and then along the N86 on the northern side of the peninsula to Tralee, then back to Killarney and home to Kenmare. Of course, by this time the sun was shining and the air was warm. There was certainly a lot less traffic on the Dingle Peninsula than when we did the Ring of Kerry, which was a relief.

                                                        Be very, very careful!

                            The Cross at Slea Head. Those rust marks (I presume) look a bit gory.

                                                          Louis Mulcahy Pottery

                               It was trying to fine up but the cloud just wouldn't go away!

We were glad to get home, as it had been a huge day in the car. We’ve had a quick tea of meatballs and spaghetti, and will be early into bed tonight. More adventures await us tomorrow!