Round the Ring of Kerry

The Ring of Kerry is the very poetic name for the 170km circular tourist route around the Iveragh Peninsula of County Kerry in South-Western Ireland.  Passing through a myriad of small coastal towns and villages it is one of Ireland's premier attractions.

We found that driving your own car is a great way to see the sights of the Ring - since the massive tour busses that ply the route leave you with no freedom to explore the bits that appeal to you most.  Our experience was quite hair-raising though on the VERY narrow and winding rural roads...with 100km/h speed limits (doing even 80 would be fatal on many on them) and dodging the very wide oncoming tour busses - its all part of the excitement of the Ring!

One of Ireland's Premier Attractions

We drove clockwise around the Ring, starting in the very beautiful Killarney National Park (just outside of town).  The weather was good and we drove to a secluded parking area near the lake and boathouse.  The views and pictures are the stuff of postcards - with the forests and hills reflected in the dark and shimmering waters of the lake.  We set off on an excellent forest path passing through some dense forest and past a large herd of less than curious cows in the direction of Torc Waterfall.  It was on this path that we really began to encounter our new worst enemy...midges (tiny flying insects much smaller than mosquitos but which travel in massive clouds and which bite like hell!  Attracted to carbon dioxide they love to bite people who breathe heavily...I was like a walking midge target!).  Swotting at the midges we made it to the waterfall and after a few pics and refilling our water bottles we headed back.  Skipping the other attractions at the Park (a manor house etc) we drove on to Ladies View (a scenic vantage point overlooking the Killarney lakes - named for the Ladies in Waiting to Queen Victoria who so loved the view when they visited).

From there we headed to Kenmare - a nice small town on the coast which marked a change to the more rugged Atlantic scenery.  Picking up some supplies we tried a few picnic spots before settling on a small field overlooking a tiny boat harbour.  The weather was getting a little less friendly so we ate a quick lunch and set out again.  Stopping at innumerable view spots (and taking countless photos of the dramatic scenery) it soon began to rain - adding to the atmosphere of the Ring.  At one view spot Denise fell in love with a 2-day old baby sheep which she was allowed to hold and cuddle for a small donation.

Our next stop was on Vallencia Island with its view out over the ocean to the Skellig Rocks (two tiny islands about 12km off the coast that used to be the home to monks who loved in very crude beehive huts) and back over to Port Magee with its multi-coloured houses and fishing boats.  From there the drive took us through the birthplace of Daniel O Connor (known as 'The Liberator' he fought for Catholic rights in the 1800's) to Kells, Glen Beigh and Ross Beigh Beach (warm and famous for good bathing because of the influence of the warm gulf stream current that flows along its flank).

Leaving the Ring of Kerry we headed North to Tarbet where we found a hostel (see separate review) to spend the night.  Tarbet is a name worth remembering if you are heading from the Ring North towards the Cliffs of Moher or up to Galway because it is the site of a very useful ferry (cars and people) across the Shannon River that allows you to cut 150km off the trip and to avoid the city of Limerick (which we were advised was worth avoiding).

Just a word on the Ring of Kerry - it is beautiful and scenic but rather spread out and the drive can be taxing in just one day.  If possible we would suggest breaking the trip into at least two days if you can find the time.  Also worth noting is the fact that there are no 'must see' attractions - so it can be quite frustrating if you are into the whole 'snap it and move on to the next' approach.

That night was eventful - Denise got something caught in her eye when showering and thought she may have damaged it in light of her recent eye-laser surgery.  With the help of Jon, David and Petra (spread out all over Europe) via cell phone we located an after-hours number for her surgeon and woke him up in South Africa.  Fortunately the object was dislodged before we headed out to the emergency room (we were almost out the door) and it seems that no long-term damage was done.