Portmagee

Today was the Ring of Kerry. I wanted to make sure I got an early start (for me) as everything I have read says the tour buses are painful to get stuck behind but you need to go in the same direction as them because meeting them is even worse.
I thought the buses left 10-10:30am so I thought I was okay when I hit the road just before 9am. After stuffing around trying to find the right road I left Killarney following two buses. I wasn’t terribly impressed but I turned off the route to visit Caragh Lake and lost the buses. I didn’t really come across them again as I didn’t stick to the route (the N70) road as I kept going off to look at scenery off the actual route.
At Rossbeigh I finally found public toilets that weren’t attached to a pub or restaurant. They were locked!

To visit Valentia Island there are two routes - bridge or car ferry. Obviously I chose the ferry, why go the conventional route? I’ve been on car ferries before but this time I found the experience really weird, sitting in a car that wasn’t moving but it was.
Valentia Island is reasonably large and had great views. I did take the bridge to Portmagee.

From Portmagee I took the Ring of Skellig but as I was relying on signs rather than the GPS I went a little awry. I took a turn in which the road was even narrower but all was good for 15 - 20 minutes until I ended up in someone’s driveway. The road didn’t go any further. Looking at the map know I think it was Cahereamore.
By this stage it was close to 4pm so I decided that rather than finish the full Ring of Kerry I’d go back via the Ballaghisheen Pass which basically bisects the Ring. It was worth it, especially as it was after 6pm by the time I got back to Killarney.

It’s still light until nearly 8pm so I wandered down the High st. It is very touristy but tastefully done. There are plenty of souvenir shops but also some buskers and Irish dancers. I walked past a pub and heard live music so I mustered up my courage and went in. It was just one woman with her guitar rather than a band but she was very good. She even played “The Wild Rover”. I sat there for half an hour or so listening to her. I wasn’t sure if I’d be brave enough to sit in a busy pub on my own but I found a spot on a bench opposite the singer and it was fine.Läs mer