Bernie and Cath in Europe 2012: Doing the ring ...

Day 4, Doolin to Kenmare

We decided to get up early to explore the things about Doolin that we had not had a chance to experience after our ‘Murphy’s Law’ day yesterday. A sunshine and showers day promised to make the drive to the Cliffs of Moher and around the Ring of Kerry very interesting.

The Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher are only about 10km out of Doolin and we thought we had a glimpse of them from Doolin ... we were in for a big surprise. There was the obligatory payment before setting foot on the hallowed ground that is one of Ireland's top visitor attractions and a designated UNESCO Geo Park. The Cliffs are 214m high at the highest point and for 8 kilometres tower over the Atlantic Ocean on the western seaboard of County Clare. To say the cliffs are stunning seems to under sell them... they are rugged, barren, beautiful and captivating.  
Our major destination for the day was to drive the Ring of Kerry. This involved a three hour drive (on Irish roads), to the start of The Ring at Killorgan. We tossed the GPS and went back to the old fashioned method of navigation – the map. The drive South to Killorgan went well.

The Cliffs of Moher

The Ring of Kerry

We stopped in Killorglin for lunch and petrol and we were on our way. The Ring of Kerry (or Iveragh Peninsula to give it its correct name) is a 179km tourist trail and part of the mystical & unspoilt region of Ireland that has attracted visitors for hundreds of years. The roads and traffic were must better than expected and we reached Waterville for lunch.

We drove on to Derryname where there are some of the finest beaches in Europe. With the temperature reaching a scorching 20 degrees the Irish were out in droves, unveiling their lilly-white bodies to play at the beach. A very funny sight to behold.

Derrynane House at Derrynane is the ancestral home of Daniel O'Connell, lawyer, politician and statesman. Situated on 120 hectares of parklands the House displays many relics of O'Connell's life and career. In the grounds of also is an ancient round Fort (Caherdaniel Fort),which dates to 600 BCE.

We also made the side trip to Staigue Fort. We drove up expecting a normal tower fort but found a dry-stone circular fort built during the Iron Age and around 2,500 years old. It is the best preserved example of this type of fort in Ireland.

We arrived at our accommodation in Kenmare at about 6.00pm, having had a very interesting day. By now the weather had turned foul so we considered ourselves lucky to have had good weather for the Ring.