Plan A for today was to get up early to do the Slea Head Drive before the Farmers Market in Dingle town, then go on to do the Ring of Kerry. It was going to be a big day but after the rest the day before, I was ready for it. Unfortunately the man in staying in the room next to mine was not well during the night, throwing up for a couple of hours. His bathroom was on the other side of my bedroom wall, so I heard everything, including his female companion fussing. By 2am I decided to ditch the Ring of Kerry, knowing that I would be too tired.
After breakfast I headed to the Farmers Market, bought some supplies (home-made hummus with olives and marinated vegies, buffalo mozzarella with basil, biscuits and dried mangoes ). I then started on the Slea Head Drive, which covers part of the Dingle Peninsula. Words won’t do it justice, so I will let you see for yourselves.
All I will say is that it was incredible, and I am in awe – it really helped that most of the day was dry, with bursts of sunshine and brilliant blue sky. One reason that I wanted to do this drive was to see a couple of man-made and natural sites that I had seen many photos of around the township. They were:
Dunberg Fort – promontory fort, built on a sheer cliff. It was probably occupied around the 8th and 9th, and then again in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. Excavations to date have not revealed what the site was used for.
Ringforts – the most numerous and widespread field monuments in Ireland, the majority being enclosed farmsteads dating back to approx 1200AD. They were generally round like a beehive.
Gallarus Oratory – the stone building is about 1300 years old, approx 8 m long by 5 m wide and 5 m high, and was built by early Christians. It is still waterproof despite centuries of buffering by Atlantic gales.
Just as well I didn’t put the pressure on to do the Ring of Kerry as well, it took 4 hours just to travel the 50km around the Slea Head Drive! Some of that time was spent sitting and just enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and stunning views.
I then headed for my next stop for the night – Kenmare, which is on the Ring of Kerry route. To get there I did follow part of the Ring of Kerry, through the mountains. I was absolutely stunned with the poor quality of road at various sections! They are doing road works so trying to make improvements, but for such a main tourist route, I found it to be very poor. The view at times was stunning, and once again I was pleased I had a clear day. Admittedly I was going clockwise, when they suggest you go along the Ring of Kerry the other way – better with the big buses speeding along, but this didn’t suit my purpose.
I arrived in Kenmare, and was again really pleased with the town and the accommodation (Davitt’s Kenmare). So far all the little towns have been so quaint and easy to walk around. Kenmare is the same. My guesthouse is really stylish despite the low cost, so I am happy. I spent the night pampering myself – bath, wash hair etc to unwind and had a picnic in my room of the snacks I purchased at the Farmers Market. Alcohol free day...need a few more of those I suspect! I was tempted to see some Irish music but I could barely keep my eyes open.
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