Blogs from County Kerry, Ireland, Europe - page 5

August 19 We are heading off down Sleahead Drive on the Dingle Peninsula in the southwest of Ireland. First stop Inch Strand Beach. Weather is windy as always, but no rain today. Really cold out on the beach, so anyone swimming had a wetsuit on. You wouldn't go to Ireland to lie on the beach, I think! A highlight of the day was holding a brown lamb at Caenn Sleibhe. He seemed to enjoy it as much as we did! Beautiful mountain and water views today, which we had to appreciate given the bad weather ahead. At the Blasket Center we learned about the hard life of fishing and farming on Blasket Island, just off the coast. Just a few hundred people lived here and scraped by until too many of their young people emigrated and ... read more

THE RING OF KERRY - COUNTY KERRY We dropped our friends, John and Charmian, at Cork Airport and headed for the Ring of Kerry leaving the County of Cork behind us and heading into County Kerry. I might add that it is not named after our daughter Kerry or our Australian friends, Bronwyn and Alan’s daughter, which is spelt Kerrie, although our daughter is named after an ‘Irish’ midwife. The actual name in Irish, Ciarraí, translates to ‘people of Ciar,’ which is the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who dominated the area. The Iveragh Peninsula, known by all as ‘The Ring of Kerry’ is one of several rugged peninsulas on the Wild Atlantic Way, that winds it way along the west coast of Ireland. The Ring follows a winding coastal road through mountains, lakes and valleys ... read more

We arrived in the Harbour Nights BnB in Dingle. The views of the harbour were beautiful. Kathleen, the hostess, was really friendly and settled us in. By the time we got the car unpacked and got Grace fed it was pretty late and we were starving. So we headed out and strolled up towards the town to get something to eat. We were finding it hard to get anywhere that still served food so we thought we'd just get fish n chips. We stopped into a nice diner where we had fish n chips, and it was bring your own booze, so Dave nipped out to the offy for a couple of beers while we waited on our order. Just as we were finishing our meal, a Dutch couple came in to grab so food on ... read more

Ireland Day 7 Last night I had to cycle 3km to The Anvil Pub in Doolpools for a meal. Stuffed lamb with mash, broccoli, carrots and gravy. Divine. Washed downed with a red wine and The Guinness, of course. Being a country/folk lover it was nice to be serenaded by piped Irish Folk Music. Not as good as live, but beggars can't be choosers. Funny how you get used to a loaded bike, I was wavering about for balance on the way back on what had become a lightweight bike (or was that the Guinness?). I woke up to a great mountain view from my French Windows, complete with the low cloud hanging over the upper reaches. It looks like I may have a dry day today, but you never know around here. It often begins ... read more

Ireland Day 5 An easier day with less of everything except the great scenery. First of all I had a look at the ruins of the tower overlooking the sandy beach at Ballybunion. It was built by the Geraldine family in the 13th Century and is dilapidated by weather and the ocean not as a result of attack by man. The Wild Atlantic Way takes you along the coast as much as possible but does run inland at times as the road dictates. On my way back to the coast I took a diversion along Sandy Road and I should have known by the name I could be in trouble as it did actually turn into sand which was a little difficult to negotiate with the extra weight of panniers with 14 kilos packed in them. ... read more