Blogs from Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland, Europe

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Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Iveragh Peninsula September 5th 2019

The weather looks promising this morning. Today we are headed for another beautiful Atlantic peninsula, the next one south of Dingle: the Iveraugh Peninsula and its famous RIng of Kerry drive. As usual, Tony entertains us on the drive with an endless stream of information and stories. He spends some time talking about Ireland's trees. Native species include ash, beech, oak, hawthorn and yew. Pretty much all conifers were imported to the island. With native trees under threat, there have been efforts to reestablish native species. But one experiment failed miserably, as ash trees imported from Norway turned out to have a fungus that almost completely wiped out the remaining ash. Tony tells us about the tradition of poitin (usually rendered as potcheen in English). This is Irish moonshine, made in small batches, traditionally from malted ... read more
Outdoor shops
Church of the Holy Cross
Kissane Sheep Farm: white spots are sheep

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Iveragh Peninsula May 2nd 2018

Before we came to Ireland people who had been here had told us to make sure we did the “Ring of Kerry”. Well, we did. Taking nothing away from the RoK it must be said that most countries have their own RoK that encapsulates beauty, ruggedness, pristine scenery and the like. The RoK winds (very in places) past beaches, medieval ruins, mountains and lakes with ever changing views of the Atlantic. We endeavoured to get off the beaten track whenever we could so as to get out and smell, listen to and touch the forest trees in the quietness that only a moisture soaked forest can give. Sitting amongst tall trees, trunks and branches, covered in thick green moss, watching, listening to and photographing secluded streams flowing over smooth rocks, was what we enjoyed the most. ... read more
Farmers Delight

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Iveragh Peninsula April 12th 2012

ETA: Yvonne was 21, not 16 at the time of the story mentioned below. Have changed it to reflect accuracy. My deepest apologies. According to Yvonne, it was necessary to have a picture of myself in front of a tractor in County Kerry, a rural county in the southwest of Ireland. Apparently Irish license plates include the abbreviation of the county the vehicle is registered in, the same way our license plate designs are different by state. Do they do this in the UK? I hadn't noticed. But it was fun to look at all the plates and know (read: have Yvonne tell me) where everyone was from. Being a country of Catholics, Ireland effectively shuts down on Good Friday. Just about everything is closed all day, the things that do open tend to shut by ... read more

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Iveragh Peninsula August 15th 2011

KILLARNEY We have visited some awesome places on our travels so far and are having a fantastic time. However if we had to pick a favourite city so far it would be Killarney Ireland. We had never heard of the place prior to leaving New Zealand so it wasn’t on our radar at all, but it is just brilliant. To be fair it is regarded as a tourist Mecca in Ireland and is accordingly well geared up to cater for tourists – the town is full of Pubs and Souvenir Shops! It is big enough to have all the amenities but has very much retained the character of a traditional Irish city. It also borders a wonderful national park. Today we did the ‘Ring of Kerry’ at trip around the Iveragh peninsula (part of which went ... read more
Kerry Bog Village
Donkey man
Stunning scenery

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Iveragh Peninsula May 15th 2011

Today I took a Ring of Kerry coach tour. Let me begin by saying the Ring of Kerry is gorgeous. absolutely gorgeous. Now the rest of it. I knew that being in a bus meant i wouldn't be able to take good pictures for the majority of the ride, and i opened my eyes as wide as i could to take in all the sights for as long as possible between blinks :P The tour guide was funny and lively, and kept everyone in a good mood. We stopped at a mock village called a "bog village" that had a cool fox-themed pub/gift shop next to it. Then we stopped at a type of Shepherd show. It's hard to label, but easy to explain. this guy, a real, live shepherd, had 25 different types of sheep ... read more
near Ross Castle
Ross Castle
different kinds of sheep

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Iveragh Peninsula April 30th 2011

Prologue The late Easter holiday, royal wedding and may bank holiday combined together nicely to give us an 11 day holiday for the price of 3 days off work, so we waved goodbye to London and set off on our first ever cycling tour. Cycling 35 km to and from work 3 times a week for 3 months may have made us think we were fit, but I had a feeling the hills of Kerry might make us think again... Like all great cycle trips, our tour around Ireland started in a different country. We started from Ruth's parents hours in Porthcawl on a fine Good Friday afternoon and biked all the way to Swansea to board the overnight ferry to Ireland. Good Friday is the only day of the year when shops and pubs must ... read more
Setting off from Wales
View from the road
Cork City

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Iveragh Peninsula April 3rd 2011

Today is Mothers Day in Ireland. We woke up in our gorgeous hotel room overlooking the sea in Cobh after a great night of sleep; the sea air is really just divine. We ate our Irish breakfast which is way too much for us, so luckily we’ve been able to choose what we want to eat so just eggs and toast today. We then drove up the insane hill to get some more shots of St. Colman’s Cathedral which is just gorgeous (said with an Irish lilt). Then we were off on the N22 to Macroom. Now Macroom is where my great grandfather Patrick Dineen is from; so it was the first stop that was significant from a family history point of view. We arrived just as church was starting so the town was closed, as ... read more
Dinneens Pub
Macroom downtown
Fountain

Europe » Ireland » County Kerry » Iveragh Peninsula March 25th 2010

Thursday 25.3.2010 day 162 Ring of Kerry Today we drove to Killarney and then drove around the Ring of Kerry, a 179km circuit around the Iveragh Peninsula. This road goes though dramatic coastal scenery, views of the Skellig rocks, and past Carrantuohill Irelands Highest Mountain at 1038m. Political personality Daniel O’Connell and one of the leaders of the struggle for independence from the British was born near Cahirciveen one the rings larges towns in the ring. The Killarney National Park forms part of the Ring of Kerry there are 3 lakes in the park and is very pretty. We had a fun day driving though the beautiful country side. ... read more
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