Dingle

One of our favorite stops during our last trip to Ireland was Dingle, so we made sure to book some time there on this trip. Stayed in another nice self-catering cottage on the north side of the peninsula, ie away from Dingle town and the (rest of) the tourists. On the drive up from Beara we stopped off in Tralee to visit their Saturday Farmer's market and generally walk around a bit to stretch our legs.

Although not as clobbered with visitors as the better known Ring of Kerry just to the south of us, Dingle has been discovered by the tourist throngs thanks to several movies that have been set here, showing off some of the most spectacular seascapes in all of 
Ireland. 

Dingle town really is a pretty little place, full of colorful shops and some truly world class pubs. It's so small, though, that when a tour bus pulls in and disgorges its load the place gets crowded in a hurry. Good place for a quick lunch stop and look around, but better to continue out to Slea Head Drive just west of town - goes all around the tip of the peninsula with spectacular views around every turn. Some pretty good hiking too. 

We stayed in the countryside again, near the village of Castlegregory, which had some terrific scenery of its own. Most of the tourists pass by this area which really is too bad - pretty countryside, great hikes, and friendly locals as per usual.

Took about 30 minutes to drive from our cottage down thru the mountain passes to Dingle, and a nice halfway stop turned out to be this local landmark in the village of Anascaul. Tom Crean was an Antarctic explorer with both the Scott and Shackleton expeditions back in the 1910's. When he retired from the Royal Navy he returned home and opened this pub. Not sure who operates it now - whether family descendants or what - but it really was a terrific pub, with vintage photos of the guy highlighting his several heroic exploits lining the walls. It was essentially a great little museum that just happened to serve a terrific pint of Guiness.

Haven't been in a bad pub yet...and the search continues.

A picturesque landmark on the ring drive was the pier at the village of Dunquin, from where you can take a boat trip out to the nearby Blasket Islands just offshore. 

Rita at the top of the walk heading down to the pier.

A popular local postcard shows a herd of sheep being driven up the trail from the pier - really a picturesque scene.

Passed by another local landmark on one of our excursions. This is Gallarus Oratory, built about 1400 years ago by local monks without the use of mortar or any other adhesive to bind everything together. It's just stacked rocks placed so that everything slants towards the outside, thus making it waterproof. 

Also happened by Kilmalkedar Church, which is also about 1,000 years old. We've found that on virtually any hike into the back country around here you continually trip over these monastic settlements. We had both commented how much Ireland reminded us of New Zealand until it occurred to me that New Zealand was essentially Ireland without the history. Both starkly beautiful in their own way.

Some of that history is reflected in the landscape. If you look closely you can see the boundary between the newer paddocks and fields lower down the slope from the older ones above...going all the way up to the summit. Those fields were casualties of the Great Famine in the mid 1800's. West Cork was extremely hard hit by the failure of the potato crop and about half the population of the county either starved or emigrated between 1846-1850. So, those fields that you see above are actually the remains of the last planting of 1848 when the crop rotted in the ground. The people just left (or died) and the fields have never been reclaimed.

On a lighter note, there are some terrific beaches along the Dingle peninsula, including some pretty good surfing beaches. This one is called Inch beach and featured in the movie Ryan's daughter made here back around 1970. It's a spectacular, wide, sandy strand with dunes stretching out behind it...would be a great place to come on a summer's day.

It's Spring here and the wildflowers are popping out all over. Have seen fields and fields of these wild yellow irises, as well as fuschias, wild roses, and lilies. Even the Gorse - a truly noxious, thorny weed similar to heather - is in full bloom.

At the far western tip of the Slea Head drive around the peninsula is this marker facing the Blasket Islands. Have also seen numerous shrines to the Virgin Mary along the roadsides and country lanes. Ireland is still a very Catholic country, even though regular attendance at Sunday Mass has declined in recent years. 

Just up the road from our little cottage was Glanteenassig Forest Park (Little Glen of Waterfalls), a true off-the-beaten-path little gem of a place. It was so pretty here that we came back twice to hike around the Loughs and have lunch. 

Been a great trip so far and Ireland is just as pretty as we remembered it. As you can see from several of the photos it hasn't exactly been shirtsleeve weather so far. We've had our fair share of rainy and blustery days and even when the sun does appear it stays a bit nippy with temps in the 50's. Gorgeous place though, and thanks to the scientific breakthrough that is Goretex we've managed to get out and about on all but the most blustery of days. Those are made for peat fires and snug days of staying in for the day. it's all part of the adventure.