Cycling the Gap of Dunloe

Waiting for a ride across the lakes from Ross Castle
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For more than an hour we had been puffing and slogging up a gravel road. Our goal was the Gap of Dunloe on the outskirts of Killarney National Park. There were no contours shown on our map so the climb came as a shock, but we stopped many times to enjoy the scenery (well, that was our excuse). Grey-black sky threatened to drench us and there was water everywhere – rivulets creating new streams across the road, Upper Lake in the distance below and a waterfall above splitting Black Valley and eventually running alongside us.

Ducking to avoid branches we were expelled into Muckross
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After the past week of viewing castles I was in need of some exercise. I’d planned to cycle the Ring of Kerry but after travelling to the tip of the peninsula hoping to catch a ferry to Skellig Michael, seeing cyclists fighting heavy winds on steep hills, I opted for the Gap of Dunloe.

Just getting to the start of the route was an adventure.

Just getting to the start of the route was an adventure. Killarney National Park is on the doorstep of Killarney, where roads are lined with colourful buildings draped with vibrant signs and hanging baskets. It’s not surprising to find the place filled with visitors.

Whooping for joy, eyes streaming, hands aching and heart pumping with the sheer exhilaration of it all
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Entering the Park, I was soon cycling through thick winter foliage alive with birds and small animals. Sheltering from an April shower under the ramparts Ross Castle, I waited for the 11am boat to take me across three lakes. O’Donaghue Mór built this 14th century castle on the edge of the lake, the last stronghold in Ireland before it was captured by Cromwellian armies from the water.

A large, enclosed barge drew up to the quay but as I approached was waved to a rowing boat with an engine. As departure time drew closer an American cyclist and Aussie father and daughter couple came along. The bikes were loaded and off we went across Lough (Lake) Leane, studded with islands, including the 7^th century monastic site on Innisfallen, founded by St Finian the Leper as a centre of learning until the 17^th century.

Mick, our pilot, expertly manoeuvred the boat to what appeared to be the waters edge, actually a narrow straight called Long Range. Ducking occasionally to avoid overhanging branches we were suddenly expelled into Muckross or Middle Lake. To our left, a wooded peninsula separating the lower from the middle lake - the deepest of the three, on the opposite side the stark Macgillycuddy Reeks, named after an ancient clan of the area. The lower slopes are covered with dense stands of extensive natural woodland, eventually giving way to red peaks of acidic sandstone rising to 3408 feet making them Irelands highest mountain range.

We were heading for the northern shore and the Meeting of the Waters, the point where the three lakes meet. Mick pointed out Dinis Cottage, a 200-year-old hunting lodge, now a restaurant. Suddenly a deer shot between the trees. It had been drinking from the waters’ edge, completely unaware of a fisherman patiently waiting to catch a trout or Atlantic salmon. Killarney National Park is home to the last 700 native red deer in Ireland.

At the tip of the Muckross Peninsula is Dinis Island and the quaint Bricken Bridge. Holding my breath while adrenaline pumped, the boat precariously shot rapids as it passed under the bridge. So thrilling! We were so absorbed that it was difficult to appreciate our surroundings - sub-tropical vegetation and luxurious woods of oak, arbutus, holly and mountain ash, liverworts and ferns, all this under a dramatic stormy sky. Mick pointed out Ladies View high above, named by Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting who visited the spot over 100 years ago. At the waters edge we saw the ruins of a house, built for Queen Victoria when she visited here in 1861, where she had tea on the shore.

We had to disembark for the next rapids at Old Weir Bridge. The Aussie guy pulled on a rope attached to the boat as we ran alongside, over slimy tree roots and rocks. Climbing back into the boat it wasn’t long before we entered the small Upper Lake. Untangling stiff limbs we disembarked at Lord Brandon’s Cottage, tucked away under tall trees and set in pristine grounds, now a restaurant. After soup, we mounted our bikes and set off up what appeared to be an endless hill.

Higher up the pass was a procession that looked like a funeral cortège but turned out to be jaunting cars full of tourists seeing the Gap in a sensible way. Despite our exertion, we were frozen! Eventually we reached the junction and the sign for the Kerry Way, at 133 miles, Ireland’s longest trail taking 8-10 days and circling the Iveragh Peninsula.

At last we reached the trailhead and all pain of the climb was forgotten as we whizzed down an awesome bottomless descent slightly slowed by strong wind as we flew down Black Valley following the Owenreagh River. On our left, under tall trees was a group of derelict buildings under towering Carrauntuohil and sheep grazing on precarious slopes dotted with colourful flowers. The Gap of Dunloe is a wild and rugged gap excavated by forging ice flows during the last ice age, divided by a ribbon of twisting road dotted with three lakes – Auger, Cush Valley and Black Lake - exquisite! Whooping for joy, eyes streaming from the speed, hands aching from squeezing brakes and heart pumping with the sheer exhilaration of it all.

We were disappointed when a couple of cars passed by, apparently the road is closed to vehicles during high season. All too soon it was over as we reached civilisation and Kate Kearney’s Cottage, originally a coaching inn but now a restaurant. Legend goes that famous, or infamous Kate cast her spell on all who entered, and toasted them with her special brew!

We escaped camera-toting tourists spewing from cars and buses, to drink a well-earned Guinness before setting off on the final stretch to Killarney.

Despite miserable weather, the riding was good, the adventure thrilling! One day I will be back for more.