For The Love of Travel

I woke up this morning, looked out the window…and yay! sunshine…..whooppee! Augurs well so far…left around 8am to make my way on an alternate route to the one that you’d usually take (given car rally…grrrr). The first cute village I came across was Kilgarvan with this lovely white cottage and contrast pink blooms. Nice to drive through but very quiet.

Stopped off @ Blasta by Martin Hallissey in Kenmare – lovely coffee! They were in readiness for the bank holiday tourists, and the rest of us as well. I drove through a few of the streets and it felt very comfortable…would recommend as a base for a few days if anyone wants to explore this neck of the woods.

On my way to Sneem village, saw a turn off to Blackwater pier and decided to take it….so glad. A lovely reflection of trees in a mirror-like lake this morning.

A little bit of Sneem for you – it’s perfectly situated on each of The Wild Atlantic Way, and The Ring of Kerry as well as The Kerry Way which is one of Ireland’s longest and most popular signposted walking trails. The village itself is famed for its colourful houses and characters and has won many Tidy Towns Awards. It has a great feel too.

I loved this scenery on the way to Caherdaniel……it was quite moody, with the sun coming out every now and again….

Well, finally the sun came out when I drove through Caherdaniel, Scarriff, Waterville……

I had no idea previously, but apparently Charlie Chaplin was a regular visitor to Waterville, vacationing with his family every year for over a decade since 1959. The village has an annual film festival to celebrate his legacy.

I found this amazing photo image @ the Beachcove Cafe in Waterville….its of the Great Skellig Rock, an ancient 6thC monastic settlement, that rises dramatically from the Atlantic Ocean to a height of 218 metres. You can only visit by boat tour and you have to be able to climb 618 uneven stone steps. Its a haven for sea birds including puffins, gannets, razorbills, guillemots, and kittiwakes.

Off to Portmagee with this being a lovely vista along the way….

Fisherman’s bar beckoned me @ Portmagee for a late lunch…and I really enjoyed this seafood chowder (salmon, white fish and leek in the soup).

Got excited about visiting the Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs on Valentia Island for 360 degree panoramic views from its summit that take in everywhere from the Skellig Islands to the Dingle Peninsula.

Ha! Yes well, when I visited it looked like this…and wasn’t looking like ‘blowing off’ anytime soon… 🙂 I was thankful that the morning and early arvo had such great weather….couldn’t complain about the late onset.

My way back to Killarney was via Cahersiveen, through the Ballaghbeama Gap and Moll’s Gap. Awesome pathway, loved the changing topography and landscapes.

After a lovely farewelling with John and Cookie…started making my way to my first stop – a very grey day so far, but sooo glad it isn’t raining. Arrived super early at the 13thC Franciscan Timoleague Abbey that was founded by the Franciscan order in 1240 A.D., on the site of a 6th century monastic settlement founded by Saint Molaga.

A cute pink house in the village….

Drove the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’ and saw very pleasant beach scenes like this….

Loved the ‘Old Head of Kinsale’ viewpoint….a colony of swooping gulls and other bird species, craggy cliffs; closest to the point of land where the Lusitania was sunk in 1915 – and a seagull with pink webbed feet, perched on a tiny outcrop casually surveying the scene and oblivious to anything else… gorgeous!

Woo hoo, next stop Kinsale village. Loved the little streets, very colourful and enticing. So much so, I found a lovely shop called ‘Weavers of Ireland’…and found a scarf I had to have.

I wish it was a day that looked like this….alas no. Grey and dull.

I’d booked into Martin Shanahan’s ‘Fishy Fishy’ restaurant and loved the lunch …’Black Sole with Capers and Crispy Potatoes’. Yummy, yum yum. There was definitely enough fish there for me to be protein-rich for days…..!

Still grey day, but launched droney to get a perspective over Castlepark….and the small harbour….

Was excited when I arrived in Killarney as weather had improved, nay there was SUNSHINE! So after meeting Sabine at the Air B&B, made a beeline for Muckross House.

Muckross House was built for Henry Arthur Herbert (MP for County Kerry from 1866 until 1880; appointed High Sheriff of Kerry in 1881; a major in the London Irish Rifles and a captain in the Coldstream Guards) and his wife, the water-colourist Mary Balfour Herbert. This was actually the fourth house that successive generations of the Herbert family had occupied at Muckross over a period of almost two hundred years. Work probably commenced in 1843 on the layout of the present gardens at that time. It appears likely that this work may have provided famine relief during the years of the Great Hunger (1845-1850). Many of the Scots Pine, Silver Fir, Oaks and Beeches in the vicinity of Muckross House may also have been planted during that decade.

Water views are incredible even from the estate….this gives you a better perspective….

Discovered, after hearing very noisy ‘broom broom’ car play along the highways on which I was travelling…..there’s a ‘Rally of the Lakes’ meeting on the bank holiday weekend that is …THIS WEEKEND. So when I want to travel along the ‘Ring of Kerry’ tomorrow, there will be road closures. Doing my research now to see if I can go slightly different routes and avoid this shite in any way!!! Cross everything people ….