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Ireland

August 2017
A 22-day adventure by Luc Read more
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  • TravelerIreland
    Day 4

    Killarney to Black Valley

    August 11, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    This the first leg of the Kerry Way. We started from the B&B early in the morning after having a nice irish breakfast. The weather forecast was pretty bad for today, so we were prepared for the journey ahead. At least, the was no rain at the start.

    The way went past the road for 3 km before it lead us to the Lough leane, the big lake close to Killarney. We came across Muckross Abbey and its Castle just until Torc Waterfall. After that we had to make a steep climb of 200 m. We ended up in a highland valley. The path continued and the weather turned out to be not as bad as the weather forecast predicted. Yes we did get some rain but as we thought there would be.

    We took a Cappuccino and a cake at Lord Brandon's Cottage. from here just 8 more km to the finish in the Black Valley at Shamrock Farm House !!!

    From here you can go through the Gap of Dunloe, a small passage over the mountain that leads directly back to Killarney. You can make this tour in one day by starting at Killarney by boat, which takes you to Lord Brandon's Cottage an from here you can bike over the Gap back to Killarney. Nice tour.

    The Black Valley is one of the most remote places in Ireland. The Valley got electricity only in the 1970s. It's also home of Ireland's highest peak, the Carrauntoohil with 1040 m above sea level.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland
    Day 5

    Black Valley to Glenbeigh

    August 12, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    On this morning we left the Farm at 8:40. We wanted to leave early as we had to walk 30 km. The start was dry but as we got closer to the end of the valley, the rain started pouring down on us. We had to use all of our rain gear. After we made the ascent out of the valley over the shoulder of a pass the weather started to improve but still ! The descent was pretty dangerous as the stone were very slippery.

    The main part of the walk was on the road, so we could get some speed in order to arrive in time at the destination, Glenbeigh.

    The walk went through a huge valley were at the end we had to get up to Windy Gap, a mountain pass that led us straight down to Glenbeigh. From here we could see all the mountains including the Reek Range, the highest in Ireland. Reching the top of Windy Gap we saw to the other side of the mountain, the ocean including the Dingle Peninsula on the other side. We will stay there for 2 more nights later on our trip.

    On our way through Glenbeigh, we passed an ad for the Glenbeigh Festival. This is a horse race located right on the beach by end of august.

    We stayed in Kerry Ocean Lodge for the night.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland
    Day 6

    Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen

    August 13, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Only 24 km to cover today. I think it should take us about 5 hours to get to the destination at Cahersiveen. The route isn't especially difficult as we only have to ascent one mountain. Weatherwise, we had a dry start. Just after the first half, we were running in some rain, which became heavy rain for the last 10 km. In between, we met some people, icluding a group of scouts, presumably from the Netherlands. I have to admit that you can't do a forecast of the weather in Ireland as it is so unpredictable. All the weather apps I had on my iphone didn't match the real conditions.

    At the end, we arrived at the wonderful Strand's End B&B where we were welcomed very friendly.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland
    Day 7

    Cahersiveen to Waterville

    August 14, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    When leaving, we were brought to the starting point of the next leg of the Kerry Point by car as the B&B is 6 km away from the Way itself. The day started rather pleasent, cludy with some sunshine.

    We had to cross severel hilltops, there was a lot of up and down. The track was very boggy and wet. We had to put on our rain trousers.

    After 4 strenous hours of hiking (our average walking speed dropped down to 3 km/h, normally it should be 4,5 km/h), we reached a road, which we didn't want to leave anymore today. The actual Kerry Way went uphill again, but we weren't sure about its condition. Luckily, we found very small road which we followed for 10 km.

    During our walk, we found many unoccupied very old buildings or nearly ruins. Many of them may have been left during the great famine, which started in september 1845. During this period, which lasted until 1849, the country lost 2 millions of its population, one million starved to death the other million emmigrated the country mainly to the United States. Ireland's population dropped from during that period from 8 to 6 million. The country never again recovered as it now still has around 6 million inhabitants.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland
    Day 8

    Waterville to Caherdaniel

    August 15, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    The weather condtions for today are the best to date on this trip. Sunshine and warm. This is THE real Irish summer. First, we visited Waterville, a nice small waterfront resort, which was already visited by such famous people as Charlie Chaplin. He came here every summer with his family.

    Waterville is also famous for the first Transatlantic Cable, which was laid from here to Canada. On this part of the coast of Kerry, there were several cable stations.

    We followed the path out of town and after some km, finally, we could see both, Skellig Michael and the smaller Skellig island. The islands are famous for several reasons. On the smaller island, there are about 50'000 gannets breeding there. You can also find the famous puffins and a lot of other birds. Skellig Michael was once inhabited by monks, who built an abbey on top of it. It is now a World Heritage Site. But is another more recent reason, why Skellig Michael is famous for: it was used several times as location for the Star Wars movies. This may also be the reason why it is such a popular destination right now.

    We had to get over a mountain pass in order to get to the other side of the valley. From here, we could see the Brea Peninsula, the third peninsula after Dingle and Kerry. We decided to leave the Kerry Way and followed a path that led us directly to the beach. From here the path became a wonderful and beautiful costal path. There were many people on the beaches. No wonder as the temperature went up to 24C.

    At the end of the path, we came through the home of Daniel O'Connell, who became the first liberator of the Irish people in the beginning of the 19th century.

    From here we only had to cover some 3 more km to get to the destination of today, the olde Forge.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland
    Day 9

    Caherdaniel to Sneem

    August 16, 2017 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    During this night the rain drops where clattering against the window with force and there was strong wind. All our fears seemed to come true. But as the morning broke in the wind was weaker and the rain nearly stopped. After the Irish breakfast, we got out, guess wha,t it was still dry. But it only took the first 2 km to began raining and didn't stop until we arrived. The path wasn't too boggy, but there was dense fog all around us. From time to time, we were greeted by a pair of lambs. The only people we met was a belgian couple we had already met several days before.

    After a rather fast walk of about 4,5 hours, we arrived in Sneem, a small town. Sneem is knows for the visits of General De Gaulle, the former french President. There is a commemoration monument at one of the main places.
    The meaning of Sneem is knot. In the middle of Sneem is a bridge, that ties together both halves of Sneem. This is one of the numerous origins of the name.

    We then arrived at our final destination of today, which was the Sneem Hotel, a big hotel with luxury accommodation. It felt a bit unusual to arrive here after all the stays in B&B's.    Read more

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