From Kinsale to Killarney

I got on the road fairly early this morning after a quick breakfast at Blue Horizons B&B (two slices of toast and a banana for later).  The plan was to get to Dingle, which was a fair bit of driving, especially if I wanted to go via the coastal roads.

I didn't bother with the GPS again, and just trusted was the B&B owner told me last night.  In fact, it felt easier than when he explained the directions.  I got to Conakilty, then made my way through Rosscarbery, onto Glandore, and off for a side trip to see the Drombeg Stone Circle.  Fascinating.

From there I made my way to Skiberdeen where I basically just stopped for a toilet stop and grabbed a sandwich that I ate in the car.  From there I drove to Bantry.  This is where the landscape really started to change.  Not unexpectedly as effectively I was leaving the coastal region and driving in land again.  Now the landscape was mountainous, but continuously green none-the-less.  Stunning, stunning scenery.  I decided I could pretty much drive all day in Ireland.  No matter where you go, the vistas are beautiful.  

Bantry was beautiful and I stopped and read a bit of history about the place.  It was one of the towns that lost the most amount of people in the great famine.  The population today, has still not reached the peak of the population number prior to the famine.  (Actually, that fact was true as at 2007, so it's possible that it has now.)

But, given that I wanted to be in Dingle by the end of the day, after spending a bit of time there, I got back in the car and drove on.  Again, the scenery just blowing me away, and a few photo stops had to be made.

When I got to Killarney, I was desperate for a decent coffee, and given the town is larger than the previous few I had just been through, I was determined to find one.  And I did, at Murphy's ice cream shop.  Murphy's ice cream is quite famous in Ireland, but I actually got the first decent coffee I had in the whole of Ireland there.  Go figure.

Then I walked around a bit, and I suddenly changed my mind about getting to Dingle.  Looking at the map, it seemed to make more sense if I wanted to drive the Ring of Kerry, to have the starting point as Killarney, otherwise I would be back tracking a bit.  So I quickly looked up B&Bs and found one I wanted to stay at, and went there and booked in!

I looked around town for a bit, then rang my mum who had just arrived in Italy a few hours earlier to see how she was, and then I went to the Killarney National Park.  I chose a 4km route because I really felt the need to do some exercise, but I think I took a wrong turn and somehow ended up on the outskirts of the park.  I made my way back into town, where by this time it was 6.30pm.  I saw a Spanish restaurant and decided to eat there.  The Sangria was fantastic (how could you go wrong), but the food was disappointing, unfortunately.

I got back to my room and showered, and the plan is to go downstairs at 9.30 to Murphy's pub because they have some live music on at that time.  But given that it is now 8.30 and I am yawning...well, I wonder if I will make it.  I'll let you know.

P.S.  Once again, the weather has been simply perfect!  And just an aside, all over Ireland I note that all the houses are pretty.  Gardens are all well maintained, as well as the exterior of the houses.  Beautiful gardens, lots of colours (lots of pretty flowers).  All the houses are quite simple, i.e. not extravagantly architected but yet, so pretty.