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.

Beara

Our one week stay on the Beara peninsula was great, but the place was so remote that it lacked internet connectivity. So...need to catch up a bit.

This was the view from the front porch of our cottage near the village of Ardgroom. When we arrived there was an absolute gale blowing - winds up to 45 mph with rain...really lovely. Blew itself out overnight though and most of the rest of the week was actually pretty nice.

The travel books describe the Irish weather as "changeable". That doesn't quite capture it though. We've had all four seasons (sun, rain, hail, gale force winds) show up on a single hike, so a day out is never boring. Thank goodness for Goretex.




Did several hikes along the Beara Way hiking trail that circles the peninsula, and which featured lots of beautiful scenes along the way.

A pretty typical driving scene along one of the rural roads. Driving here is pretty mellow thanks to the understanding and patient locals, but there are some aspects of it that are guaranteed to cause a bit of anxiety...like the fact that most of the rural roads are about 1.5 lanes wide (except where they shrink down to a single lane), which happens quite a lot. The Irish word for road translates to "cow path", which is a pretty good indicator of what you're dealing with behind the wheel. Add the fact that the roads are all twisty-turny things, and that your sight lines ahead are blocked by old walls topped with vegetation so that you can't see around the next bend and get a little advance warning of what's coming at you, and you have the makings of some exciting encounters as two vehicles meet head-on at a junction where  there's only room for one to pass. Lots of hard braking and backing up then ensues as one or the other looks for a pullover spot to permit the other guy to get by. Thing is - the locals don't bat an eye about any of this, but just go barreling down the road at speeds that give the average Yank nightmares. 

The locals really do go out of their way to be helpful. On the drive from Kinsale to Ardgroom I got turned around enroute and couldn't find the correct turnoff to save my life. Finally swallowed my pride and pulled into a gas station to ask for directions. The first guy started rattling off directions so fast it made my head spin. The second guy then tried to direct me on to the correct road back thru the town, but in such a strong Gaelic accent that the only two words I could recognize were "pub" and "Corner"...everything else was gibberish. (Come to think of it maybe he WAS speaking in Gaelic). Anyway, a third guy apparently read the utter confusion on my face, took pity,  and said "I'm going that way, just follow me". So I did - for about 5 miles thru the serpentine alleys and back streets of a little Irish village until he pointed me to the sign that put me back on the correct route. Without his help I'd probably still be wandering around that town. Great folks the Irish.

We started out by stopping at every historic landmark that we saw a sign for, thinking that the stone circles, ring forts, and various megalithic sites were rare and therefore unique. Have since found out that they're all over the place, especially here in the western part of the country. Our Ordnance Survey Hiking maps are filled with them. The signage just points out the major ones...and those accessible from the roads at that. If you're on foot you come across these things all the time, like this old "Mass Rock" in the hills above one of the old villages. 

Following the "Little Yellow Man" around Ireland. Most of the hiking trails are signed pretty well, but if you venture too far afield they do tend to disappear. Have had some interesting experiences finding our way back to the trail after getting lost in the hills.

A lunch stop along one of the trails.

Some of the back roads are really pretty...like this farm track back into a little hidden valley.

A Stone Circle we encountered in a sheep paddock along one of the hikes. Haven't seen any Druids yet though.

One of the trails worked its way up and over this hill into a hidden valley.

Coming down the other side into the abandoned village of Cummeengeera...which was a thriving concern for about 50 years in the early 1800's. The famine years hit this area pretty hard, however, and the village was abandoned around 1848. It was like a little time capsule, with just the old ruins and the ancient stone walls marking the places where about 20 families once lived.  It was so pretty looking down on it from the hills above that it was like hiking into Brigadoon.

We wandered around the valley and explored the remains of the village for a couple of hours...had it completely to ourselves. 

There are a few rocks in Ireland.

More unnamed ruins. Actually, the one on the right is unnamed - the one on the left is named "Bob". 

Spent a week here driving around every rural road we could find - don't think I ever got the car out of 3rd gear. Lots of stops along the way to enjoy the pretty scenery...like this view from Cill Katherine church along the Beara Ring road.

Saturday is usually moving day the way our itinerary is set up. Good day to travel, plus it's about the only time all week I'm able to get the car into 5th gear, what with all of the rural driving we're doing.

I made it a point to rent a small "compact" car from Hertz...anticipating having to negotiate some pretty tight squeezes in the out-of-the-way places we're staying. Most of the cars here have manual transmissions, which adds another fun factor into the drama of driving on the wrong side of the road. You can rent automatics, but they're the exception and are twice as expensive as manuals (no kidding), so we went with the manual to save a few bucks. Turned out to be a good call since, with a little practice and continued familiarity, shifting with my left hand seems almost as natural now as it used to with my right. Now if I could just get my heart to stop spiking every time I meet an oncoming car on a one-lane road...

Heading for Dingle next.

Exploring the South Coast

Have spent the past several days rambling around the southern coast. First day trip was to the seaport of Youghal (pronounced "Yawl") - one of the original Viking and Norman settlements along this stretch of coast. Pretty little place as you can see.

The old Clock Tower on Main St. only dates from the 1700's so it's fairly new as historic buildings go around here. Used to hang condemned prisoners from the windows on the second floor according to local lore - including 12 in one day during the rising of 1798.

Asked about historic walking tours at the Tourist Information building and they introduced us to Clive - this little leprechaun of a guy who also happened to be the official Town Crier. Gave us a great individualized tour around the historic sites of the ancient city. We peppered him with questions for nearly two hours and I think we wore him out  - he was pretty tired by the end of the tour.Those stairs to the right go up onto the old city walls - first built in the late 1100's soon after the Normans moved in to displace the Vikings.

The Water Gate used to be the only entrance into the town from the seaport beyond. This was the route taken by Oliver Cromwell in 1650 to access the city, which he used as a base from which to brutally subdue the rest of Ireland. Old Oliver is still a much hated Brit around these parts - the Irish do know how to hold a grudge.

One historic building of note was Myrtle Wood - an old manor house which was given to Sir Walter Raleigh by Elizabeth I in the late 1500's as his reward for helping to defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588. It formed the centerpiece of his vast property grant and, according to local legend, it was in the gardens just behind the house that he planted the first corn and (notably) potatoes in Ireland.


On the short drive from to Kinsale we stopped off for the day in another seaport town called Cobh (pronounced "Cove"), which used to be one of the major ports of the British Empire. It's notable as the last port of call for the Titanic in 1912 - it was from here that virtually all of the 3rd Class passengers embarked on the fatal voyage. For those of us with Irish ancestry, there's more than a 50% chance that our ancestors departed from here, since it was the major port of embarkation during the famine years when over a million destitute Irish fled for the New World. The first immigrant to ever be processed thru Ellis Island departed from Cobh in 1889. And it was to Cobh that victims of the Lusitania were brought in 1915 after that ship was torpedoed off the Old Head of Kinsale nearby.

Colorful place - looking up at the town from the waterside promenade. Just behind me is the quay from which the tenders ran last-minute cargo and passengers out to the Titanic before she sailed away into legend .

The memorial to the Lusitania in the city square. It was international outrage over the sinking of this unarmed passenger liner that eventually drew the US into WWI, although there is modern evidence that suggests that the ship was carrying contraband war munitions and therefore would have been a legitimate target after all.

St. Colman's Cathedral. One of the last Titanic photos shows the city skyline from one of the tenders...with the church still uncrowned by the steeple, which wasn't completed until 1915.


For the last several days we've been staying in the village of Kinsale (pronounced "Jacksonville" (just kidding)), another beautiful seaport with a ton of history going back to Viking days. Its place in Irish history was secured by the Battle of Kinsale which was fought here in 1601. The last Spanish Armada sailed here to join with several Irish Chieftans trying to defeat the Brits, but the battle was a resounding defeat for the Spanish/Irish alliance and resulted in 300 more years of Irish subjugation by the British Empire. The town really trades on that history too - there are restaurants and pubs all over town with names referencing the 1601 battle.

A view of the town from the pretty, winding shore walk that started just behind our cottage.

The end point of the 6K walk was Charles Fort - built in the late 1600's.

The shoreline walk continued another 2 K beyond the fort, which presented nice views of the place looking back from the water.

The real reward for doing the walk out to the fort was this little pub about halfway along the trail in the tiny village of Summercove - looked like something from the set of "Waking Ned Devine". Anyway, we stopped in for lunch, and I also sampled the local brew called Murphy's..went down real easy.

One famed local landmark is the Spaniard  pub (and restaurant) which was right across the street from where we were staying - had to try a Murphy's there too. It's one of several places in town with names that refer to the 1601 battle...the signboard features a portrait of the Admiral who commanded the Spanish fleet. 

Have actually seen the sun the past couple of days which made for some pleasant days out and about. Supposed to turn cool, rainy and windy tomorrow, however, just in time for our drive out west to the Beara peninsula where we'll be for the next week. 

Aglish

Our little thatched cottage near the village of Aglish, located about halfway between Waterford and Cork.

Our flight to Ireland was pretty uneventful, and we picked up the rental car at Dublin airport for the short drive to our first stopover point near the village of Aglish. While planning the trip I tried to find self-catering places well off the beaten tourist path and this little place certainly fit the bill. The cottage itself is located down a long, unpaved farm track, and the directions to it included lines such as "turn right at the monkey puzzle tree outside the village". The last 3/4 of a mile down to the cottage was so narrow that our little rental car was scraping against the overhanging foliage on both sides...the path was carved out in the days when horse and cart were the primary modes of transport, and modern vehicles just have to make do. Made for a nice base of operations for our first week here, not to mention trying to adjust to the 7 hours of jet lag.

Looking down the path behind the cottage. From here it's about 30 yards to the banks of the Blackwater River - a seagoing thoroughfare since before the time of the Vikings who raided along this coast in the 8th century, and who founded the towns of Lismore just above us and Youghal down at the mouth of the river.

And looking out the front door of the cottage - nothing around us but pasture, forest, and wetlands.

Been exploring the local area and visiting places we missed on our last trip to Ireland in 2007. Spent one day in Waterford doing all of the usual tourist stuff, which included stopping by the Waterford Crystal Showroom for lunch and a browse. We've previously enjoyed guided walking tours of the city wherever we've been and so when the local tourist office mentioned that that had one about to depart we joined in. Our guide was an entertaining local gent who provided a running commentary on the history of the city while stopping by most of the significant buildings in the Viking Triangle. Pretty fun afternoon actually.

Next day we stayed a little closer to home and visited Ardmore - a pretty little seaside village with a lot of history of its own.

The ancient abbey, round tower and graveyard just above the town. These round towers exist all over Ireland and date from the era of Viking raids between about the 8th and 11th centuries. There were no real towns back then and centers of population tended to be grouped around monastic settlements like this one. When a Viking ship was spotted  off-shore the monks would collect the manuscripts, gold, silver and anything else of value and high-tail it into the tower. The "door" is located about 30 ft above ground level and is accessed via a ladder which the monks would pull up behind them when they bolted the door. Pretty safe and secure unless the raiders wanted to settle in for a protracted siege...and most of them didn't. The towers were so well constructed of the local stone that they still look new after nearly 1,000 years.

St. Declan's oratory down near the sea front in Ardmore. Declan was a Christian missionary who preceded St Patrick to Ireland by about 30 years, and who was responsible for converting most of the southern Irish coast to Christianity. Didn't have the PR team that Patrick had, however, and so his contributions have largely faded from the wider world. Not here though, where's he's still revered as the one who started it all.  

And St Declan's well - one of many "Holy Wells" in this area, reputed to have healing properties for a variety of ailments. There's still a trickle coming up out of the ground where I'm standing.

There was a nice coastal walk around the point from the oratory, which passed by the Martello Tower you can see on the cliff behind me. Martello towers were built along the Irish coast in the early 1700's to help guard against a feared invasion by the French.


Spent another pleasant day up at the Glen of Aherlow south of Tipperary. Really a pretty little valley tucked away in the hills with lots of old ruins and some interesting hikes.

A view of the Glen on a particularly moody afternoon. The weather has been pretty changeable so far, and we're re-learning that the reason why Ireland is famous for its "40 shades of green" is because it has about 80 different types of rain.

One of our hikes was up to a megalithic tomb called "Darby's Bed" near the village of Galbally. You occasionally come across these old passage tombs as you ramble around the country. This one wasn't quite as remote as some.

One particularly efficient business in Galbally - a combination of an undertaker and a pub. Guess it's sort of a one-stop-shop for the dearly departed and their families...can book both the wake and the funeral in the same establishment.

The Irish people are just as friendly and welcoming as we remember. Really makes it a pleasure to travel about the country.

We'll be here for another couple of nights, then head about an hour down the road to the village of Kinsale - just south of Cork - where we'll be staying for 3 nights before shoving off for the Beara peninsula in the west of Ireland for some hard-core hiking.