A few days before our
trip home, we went for a long bus ride. Part of this was the Ring of Kerry that
we were taken on. The scenery is beautiful, but we had been travelling for six
days, with stops at various tourist places. Mind you, we did appreciate seeing
what Ireland is like and what their history entailed, but, I think that we were
almost at the point of information overload, or scenery overload. I,
personally, was definitely at that point as I don’t usually do tours. I usually
determine where I want to visit, go there, maybe do a day tour or two, but I
usually get to know a little about the place before continuing on. I do have a
tendency to take a lot of pictures. Some people think that about a hundred
pictures is a lot. I usually take in the neighbourhood of one to two thousand
pictures so that I can go home, get rid of the blurry ones, choose the ones
that show what I am trying to say when I do any sort of presentation.
Substitute driver so that Austin could have a day off.
Anyway, I don’t
remember much about what we were told about the Ring of Kerry. I found that the
Wikipedia tells it in a good way and I am finding it hard to paraphrase it. So,
here goes:
“The Ring of Kerry (Irish: Mórchuaird Chiarraí) is a
179-km-long circular tourist route in County Kerry,
south-western Ireland. Clockwise from Killarney it follows the N71 to Kenmare,
then the N70 around
the Iveragh
Peninsula to Killorglin – passing through Sneem, Waterville,Cahersiveen,
and Glenbeigh – before returning to Killarney via
the N72.
Popular
points include Muckross House (near Killarney), Staigue stone fort and Derrynane House,
home of Daniel O'Connell.
Just south of Killarney, Ross Castle, Lough Leane, and Ladies View (a
panoramic viewpoint), all located within Killarney National Park, are major attractions
located along the Ring. A more complete list of major attractions along the
Ring of Kerry includes: Gap of Dunloe,
Bog Village,Kerry Woollen Mills, Rossbeigh Beach,
Cahersiveen Heritage Centre, Derrynane House,
Skellig Experience, Staigue Fort, Kenmare Lace,Moll's Gap, Ladies View, Torc Waterfall,
Muckross House, The Blue Pool, Ross Castle, Ogham Stones, St Mary’s Cathedral, Muckross Abbey,
Franciscan Friary, Kellegy Church, O’Connell Memorial Church, Sneem Church and
Cemetery, Skellig Michael,
Beehive Cells and the Stone Pillars marking an important grave.[1]
There is
also an established walking path named The Kerry Way,
which takes its own route, and a signposted Ring of Kerry cycling path which
uses older quieter roads where possible. The Kerry Way roughly follows the
scenic driving route of the Ring of Kerry.
There are
numerous variations to the route taking in St. Finian's Bay and Valentia Island which the official driving ring misses
(the official cycling route takes in Valentia Island). As well as beaches, it
also offers the Gap of Dunloe, Bog Village, Derrynane House, the Skellig
Experience Valentia Island, Molls Gap, Torc Waterfall, Muckross House, and Ross
Castle.
"The
Ring" is a popular day trip and numerous bus companies offer circuits
during the summer months. As the narrow roads make it difficult for tour
coaches to pass, all tour buses run in an anti-clockwise (or counter-clockwise)
direction, traveling via Killorglin first. Some recommend that car owners
travel in the opposite direction, going first to Kenmare to avoid delays caused
by tour buses. Others advise traveling counter-clockwise to avoid having to
pass the buses. In 2008 satellite navigation systems were blamed for directing bus drivers
in a clockwise direction around the route.”
Ring of Kerry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Here are a couple of
pictures that I took at Ladies View.
No comments:
Post a Comment