Steve
decided that he wanted to see the Ring of Kerry. This is a
drive that goes from Killarney west to the ocean and then
back. Our trip took us almost 12 hours from start to
finish. This was longer than we wanted, but once you
start, you are fully committed.
The photos below are what we saw.
Here is
a daytime view of the Glasha Farmhouse, our bed and breakfast
for our stay near Clonmel.
The
family area was nicely appointed.
There
was a sun room that gathered the usually-dim light producing
nice ambiance.
To the
south was a pleasant patio.
The
patio had a beautiful fountain.
Across
the street was a small garden.
Across
the meadow was a dairy herd.
We
started out in the car and heading west we passed this abandoned
farm house that was slowly disintegrating. I am guessing
that this structure has some incredible stories to tell.
We
stopped at Muckross House Park and had lunch on the patio.
The crows were working the tables hard.
There
were formal gardens at the park.
There
were nice open areas with seating to enjoy the view. In
the distance, we could see an older couple enjoying their time
together at the park. Note the size of the tree on the
left.
The
greenhouse was new and clean.
This oak
tree was huge. Kathleen really liked this tree.
A number
of the shrubs were in bloom. This one had a perfusion of
pink blossoms.
Muckross
House was built in the period from 1839-1843 for Henry Herbert
and his wife.
The
house had a beautiful view of the nearby lake.
Muckross
Lake was large and went beyond the far skyline.
Some of
the trees on the grounds were huge. This tree was bent due
to the prevailing winds.
Muckross
House was very large. There were tours available, but we
had many miles to travel before the day was done.
In one
of the common areas there was this interesting contemporary
wooden sculpture.
We traveled
west from Muckross over the Molls Gap. From the top we
were presented with an awesome view, called Ladies' View for the
Ladies in Waiting for Queen Victoria who visited here during her
reign.
We
continued west until we hit the ocean, and then followed the
shore north.
The
ocean path provided nice views of the coast.
We
arrived at an overlook at Castle Cove and could see a fellow out
in the bay in his sea kayak.
Castle Cove had a
small beach and a camping area that was filled with "caravans"
(the local term for RV).
Further west and
higher up the hill we could see more coves and sheltered
areas.
There were a number
of small islands near the coast.
The fields come
right down to the water's edge. Field fences
constructed of stone from the adjacent fields criss-cross the
area.
Upturned bedding
produced interesting rills in the countryside.
Field fences were a
great place to dispose of stone that was found in pasture
areas. The fences also served to constrain grazing areas
for the sheep.
From a gap in the
mountains we could see north to Waterville.
The farms went right
to the cliffs above the ocean.
From the gap I could
see a stone fort on the flat area. We did not get the
story on this structure.
The cliffs along the
shore were substantial.
Past Waterville we
encountered a number of small inlets with substantial
mountains on the far side.
Some very nice homes
were right on the edge of the cliffs. Sadly, I was not
fast enough with the camera to catch a photo as we rolled by,
but the photo above will give a taste of the view they had out
of their front windows.
We continued on to Mallow and found a nice place to eat there. From Mallow, we returned to Glasha, arriving around 2200hrs. A long day, for sure, but a scenic one. If I were to do it again, I would either take two days and stay on the ring somewhere or start closer.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2015, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.