(As usual, I'm just showing a sample of the photos taken; the rest for the day can be found here.) Before we left Listowel, we explored a little. First was Listowel Castle - now a ruin, there is still a remnant of a tower house, which you can arrange a tour of: but we just read the information boards and moved on.
We were intrigued by the apparent presence of two churches, opposite each other on the square: one turned out to have been converted into a very atmospheric arts centre, complete with theatre.
Day 6 was to be dedicated to the Ring of Kerry. I knew there'd be more than enough in that to occupy us for the whole day.. First, however, was Killarney, where I determined we must make a stop. In the Listowel Arms, we'd picked up a most useful free tourist booklet about Kerry, including some street maps - which was how we knew where to park in Killarney: and we found a decent car park without difficulty, and made our way into the town centre. And you know, it wasn't long before we made our way to Quills. And, of course, it's a natural law that you can't leave Quills without buying something.. put it this way, they have a range of woollens and capes that is pretty well unmatched. Never mind the usual tourist fare!
Lunch followed - a filling affair, in a café on a side street, but sadly I can't remember the name. This is what comes of delayed blogs (sigh*). Anyway, we found the energy afterwards to drag ourselves to the cathedral, directions again kindly provided by the booklet:
It's truly a spectacular building.
And when we left, it was finally to embark on the Ring of Kerry.. but hey, you know, it wasn't long before we were enticed off of it! Well, I was in the mood for detours, and the Gap of Dunloe was a must-see. Not far from the main road - but drive carefully, this is the country of jaunting cars, and you are liable to meet horse-drawn transport on narrow lanes anywhere around here. You can't drive all the way unless a resident - Kate Kearney's Cottage provides a café, pub, restaurant, car park and jaunting car hire location. Oh, and a comprehensive gift shop. To go further, you need to walk or take a jaunting car; we just strolled a bit of the way up the road - we didn't really have time for a horse-drawn tour.
Our business there concluded, Helen suggested that we continue down the middle of the peninsula, rather than follow the Ring around the coast. Fair enough - it'd be a bit more direct, and I love my mountains.. so we followed the road to Glencar. And for sure, we didn't lack for scenery:
(..although what that farmer, busy footing turf, thought of our standing there taking photos of his hard work, I can't say.. as usual, more photos at the above link.)
We got back onto the coast at the southern end of the Ring, near Waterville - just in time for another, very necessary detour. The latest Star Wars film was partly shot near here, you see - on the Skelligs, most dramatic rocks just off the coast, once used as monastic settlements. Whether a fan of the film franchise or not, this is scenery not to be missed, and I'd never seen them before.. a secondary road, known as the Skellig Ring, detours off the Ring of Kerry, following the coast closely, and this is the way we went, north from Waterville. Poor Helen nearly had a heart attack, I got so excited at every view of the Skelligs as we wound our way along mountain roads. But they were so gorgeous, rocky outcrops in the sparking sea..
Apart from getting a boat trip out there - which we weren't of a mind to do, it already being late in the day (and besides, wild horses couldn't drag me onto the steep steps cut into the rock of the larger island, the only one of the two you can visit) - the best view is from the Kerry Cliffs, where we were making for. Beware though - walking, cycling, or driving, this is not an easy road; the gradient is steep, and my poor car voiced her discontent as we struggled up the slope. But the cliffs are gorgeous, and the descent to Portmagee much easier. Past the car park (and welcome toilets!), a ticket booth guards the path to the cliffs. Worth the price of admission:
Useful reconstructions of the monastic huts on the islands serve as consolation for those of us who can't get out there:
Well, determined to get a bed in time for a decent meal tonight, we barrelled along the southern half of the Ring of Kerry, stopping every now and again for the gorgeous scenery. I revise my opinion - a day isn't enough to do it justice, you need at least two. Anyway, we decided to stay in Kenmare, for the sake of its convenience to the Ring of Beara, which we'd need to do the next day, for the sake of visiting Alihies, because someone at work is from there. Our priority for the night, however, was to find a bed asap - on our way into town, we came across the Brook Lane Hotel, and pulled in there.
Yes, we could have a room, and again at a reasonable rate. And we had a little time before dinner stopped serving - however, we might prefer to eat in the bar, as the restaurant had a set menu that included a show, which was now half over. But before we could be shown to our rooms, we had to be introduced to the errant cat, being fussed over by one of the hotel workers, who had caught him after he wandered into the restaurant, if you please!
Sumptuous décor.. no WiFi, as usual, but otherwise we were well pleased with our find. After sprucing ourselves up a bit, we headed straight for dinner - which was lovely, and most welcome. And we were within sound - and partially sight - of the show in the restaurant, which turned out to involve some traditional Irish dancing. And when we went out to collect our cases afterwards, it was to find the same hotel worker fussing over the same cat.. so much for being cross with him!
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