High cliffs, dramatic islands and beautiful beaches

My first trip to Ireland was to Dublin, just a few months earlier. Although I quite enjoyed the city and its surrounding sights I never saw the remote, rugged coast for which Ireland is famous for. After a bit of research I was certain to find exactly that in the south west of the country and I returned for a three-day tour through the counties Cork, Kerry and Clare.

I arrived at Cork airport on a Saturday evening, picked up a hire car (around EUR 35 per day) and drove to Allihies on the Beara Peninsula. I stayed at Allihies hostel, quite a basic but nonetheless clean and functional hostel (dorm bed EUR 18). The next morning I bought some breakfast in the nearby, small local supermarket and set off to explore the coastline.

Beara Peninsula

A small and windy road brought me to the tip of the Beara peninsula, some 12km from Allihies. Here, Ireland's only cable car connects Dursey Island to the mainland. Despite the rain and wind I climbed a nearby hill and enjoyed the view on Dursey Island and the Atlantic Ocean.

My next stop was near Ardgroom at the Cuas Pier Cave. Here, I spent some time walking along the rocky coastline and exploring the beautiful cave - a fabulous 50m long inlet from the sea. I continued my drive and arrived in Kenmare, a lovely town linking the Ring of Kerry with the rugged Beara peninsula.

Iveragh Peninsula

This peninsula is well-known for the Ring of Kerry, a 170 km circular road along the coast. I chose to follow it - and had to stop numerous times to enjoy the ever-changing scenery dotted with islands, sandy bays, cliffs and hills.

One of my stops was at Staigue Fort, a partly ruined round stone fort which was built around 300 AD. The fact that is had been built with undressed stones and without the use of mortar as well as its beautiful location make it definitely worth visiting.

Other stops included Derrynane Bay with beautiful, wide beaches and overgrown sand dunes and Coomakista Pass, offering superb views on the Atlantic.

It was early evening when I arrived at Skellig Hostel (single bed EUR 15), a fairly new and well-kept hostel where I stayed the night.

The next morning I continued north towards Portmagee. I drove past Puffin Island and stopped on a pass just after St. Finan’s Bay. Here, I followed a recommendation in my Rough Guide guidebook and climbed a nearby hill to enjoy a superb view on the nearby, shark’s tooth Skellig islands.

Back on the road I continued to Portmagee where I took the bride onto Valentia Island. I stopped briefly at the Fogher cliffs before taking the small car ferry (EUR 5) from Knight’s town to Reenard back to the mainland.

Shortly thereafter, I had a long break at Rossbeigh Strand which proved to be one of the most beautiful beaches I visited.

Dingle Peninsula

It was early afternoon when I arrived in Anascaul on the Dingle Peninsula, where I had a late lunch in the South Pole Inn . The main reason I came to this pub wasn’t the food though - the place itself is worth visiting. The pub was founded in 1927 by Tom Crean who was on three of the four major British expeditions to Antarctica in the early 20th century - two of these were led by Robert Scott, the third was the Endurance expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. The atmospheric pub is hung with polar memorabilia and photos and gives an interesting and exciting insight in the adventure of polar travel in these times.

I continued along the south coast of the Dingle peninsula and once I had driven through Dingle town I joined quite a spectacular road, the scenic R559. I stopped at a few places including Slea Head, a viewpoint on top of the black rocks and the boiling sea below. The Blasket Islands - Ireland’s most westerly islands - seemed to be only a stone’s throw away from my next stop near Dunquin.

It was hard to focus on the road as I drove along the spectacular coast before turning inland towards Gallerus Oratory. This building is believed to be an early Christian church, built between the 6th century and 9th century. I spend a bit of time here before facing a 2 hour drive to my overnight stop at Doolin, some 150km away in county Clare (via the car ferry between Tarbert and Killimer, EUR 15). I chose to stay at a proper B&B this time and went for the good value-for-money Cullinan’s Guesthouse.

Aran Islands and Cliffs of Moher

My visit to the Aran Islands was limited to Inisheer (Inis Oírr), the smallest and most eastern of the three Aran Islands. The 10am ferry trip from Doolin (EUR 30 return) allowed me to stay on the small island for some 2 hours. Once there, I borrowed a mountain bike (EUR 8) and set off to explore the island. O’Brien’s Castle offered the best views on the harbour and the little town which is home to 300 inhabitants. Nearby, the stranded cargo vessel Plassey looked somehow surreal, situated on its keel above the high tide mark.

Back on the mainland, I drove to the nearby Cliffs of Moher, one of Ireland's top tourist attraction which drew almost one million visitors in 2006. The cliffs rise up to 214meters above the Atlantic Ocean and were a worthy finish to my exciting round trip in southwest Ireland.

Fáilte Ireland (National Tourism Development Authority)

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