THE KERRY WAY - PART ONE

Gerry and I walked The Ring of Kerry this August.  It was our first time in Ireland.  We spent the entire 12 days on the Iveragh Peninsula on foot, except for one day when we rented a car and ventured over to the Dingle Peninsula.

Once again, we booked our trip with Camino Ways.  We stayed in lovely Bed & Breakfasts along the way.  We carried only our day packs, and had our duffels shuttled from one town to the next.  The trek was more of a challenge than we anticipated.  We covered 148.8 miles over 9 walking days.

The sun did not shine very often, but the cool and cloudy weather made for ideal hiking conditions.  Temperatures were in the low 60s every day of our trek.  We did experience some rain, but it wasn't too bad.  Our new rain ponchos kept us warm and dry.

This camino was very remote.  Most days we saw only a handful of hikers on the trail.  A few days we saw absolutely no one.   We enjoyed our in depth visit to the enchanting Ring of Kerry!

We started and finished our walk in the town of Killarney.  After a full Irish breakfast at the Killarney Lodge, we hiked our first day to Black Valley.  Most of the hike was through Killarney National Park.  

A comfortable stay at our first B &B, the Killarney Lodge. 

Day One was dry, and we enjoyed Killarney National Park, Ireland's oldest national park, established in 1932.  Within the first four miles of our hike, we passed by the Muckross House, a 19th Century Victorian mansion.

The famous Muckross House

A mile later, we passed by the spectacular Torc Waterfalls, truly a highlight of today's walk. It is a beautiful series of small falls and cascades in a tree-shrouded gorge.

Torc falls

Soon we were along a path lined with purple heather.

I like this stretch.

Then we made our way through a lush forest.

Gerry leading the way

We stopped now and then for a break.

Taking a breather in the forest. 

We arrived at the Hillcrest Farm House in Black Valley late afternoon after our 15.7 mile walk.  There are no stores or shops in Black Valley and maybe a dozen houses.  The Hillcrest Farm House was simple, but clean.  Our host offered us a dinner of a bowl of soup, grilled ham and cheese sandwich and a slice of chocolate cake with cream for $17.50 per person.  We took him up on his offer.  The alternative was to go hungry.

The next day, we ate our Irish breakfasts (eggs, ham, sausage, tomatoes, brown bread, toast, OJ & coffee) and were well-fueled for Day Two, one of the tougher days on the trail.
 

Irish Breakfast is served to us at the Hillcrest Farm House

It was forecast to be a rainy day.  We made it through the first few miles before we donned our rain ponchos. We had the trail all to ourselves. 

Nice and dry at the start. 

 It got pretty mucky.   I saw more sheep today than I've ever seen in my life.  Herd after herd after herd.

Gerry looks like a sheep herder as he walks along.

My blue poncho blends in perfectly.

We crossed two very steep passes.  Although we walked 13.0 miles (2.7 less than yesterday) it took us longer.  It was pretty slow going on the steep uphills and downhills.  Our total ascent today was 2,252 feet.

This is a "stile."  I became very familiar with them by the end of our trek.

Walking over the stiles was novel at first, but they get old after a while.  We had so much practice, we could do our stiles with style!
  

My green valley - a benefit of all the rain this area receives. 

Our destination in Glencar is at Lough Acoose lake, which we can see from the top of one of the passes.

Looking down Black Valley to Lough Acoose.

Our rain ponchos did the job.  We arrived at our destination, the Lough Acoose House B &B, warm and dry, though our boots were caked with mud, especially mine.  We stuffed them with newspapers so they would be dry in morning.  Our hosts, Mike and Mary cooked us a four-course meal.  We started with a quiche and salad.  Our entree was roasted chicken breast with a maple glaze, served with golden potatoes and green beans.  The finale was our dessert of a tasty apple pie with custard.  Fully satiated, we were ready to hit the sack and rest up for Day Three.

Glencar to Glenbeigh was a much easier walk, perhaps the easiest day of The Kerry Way.  The walk was a combination of gravel tracks, short minor roads, and pleasant riverside and forest paths.  It clocked in at 13.9 miles.  We saw only a pair of young German women on the trail.  The solitude in rural Ireland is a far cry from our camino in Spain!

I wonder how old this stone house is?

The cows stare at us as we walk by them.

We walk along a creek for a few miles.

Colorful orange, yellow and purple flowers at the water's edge

Then it is back into the forest for most of the remainder of the hike.

Ferns galore.

Plenty of moss along this path.

We faced a gradual descent as we approached Glenbeigh, a thriving metropolis compared to Black Valley and Glencar.  We actually had a choice of  half-a-dozen pubs for dinner.

Clouds overhead, but no rain today!

We were happy with our lodging in Glenbeigh, at the historic Towers Hotel.  It is a family-run hotel, established in 1895.  We were assigned a room with a lovely outdoor patio.  A grocery store was 5-minutes away. It's the first grocery store we've seen since our first day in Killarney.  We stocked up on fruit and ginger cookies for the next few days, and bought a bottle of Killarney IPA and a bottle of Jouneyman IPA which we enjoyed on our private patio before dinner, which we ate in the Towers pub.  Homemade Glenbeigh mussels in a white wine and garlic broth for me and lamb with mashed potatoes for Gerry.  Delicious brown bread came with the meal.  I've got to bake a loaf sometime.

Day Four was a long day.  Our 19-miler turned into a 21-miler as we got a little lost on our walk from Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen.  Oh well. C'est la vie.

The breakfasts are gourmet.  Especially this morning at the Towers, where I ordered a mushroom and tomato omelet after my bowl of fruit and granola., and before our plate of croissants. 

Getting accustomed to full breakfasts each day.

We left the outskirts of town and walked along a road adjacent to the beach, and then began a long and gradual ascent along an old highway.

Looking back at the coast.

We keep on climbing.  But not much traffic on this road.

Every day we have close encounters with sheep. 

It's pretty isolated once again.

It doesn't take long to be back on the trail, off the road, and in the rural countryside. 

Nobody has lived here in a while.

I stand in the fireplace to keep warm in the welcome sunshine.

The stiles range from 3 steps up to 9 steps. We walk over dozens of the stiles today.

One of the steeper stiles with 7 steps up and 7 steps down.

Gerry is able to photograph one of the colorful butterflies we see on the trail.

This butterfly is happy in the field of yellow flowers.

Many vistas on today's hike, where we can see far and wide.  I think the photo below is along a country road when we got lost.  When you get lost here, it is difficult to become found, because there aren't many people to ask directions.  We were fortunate to see a farmer who pointed us in the right direction.

There are worse places to be lost than here.

We finally approach Cahersiveen, and are in the home stretch.  The town is only a mile or two past this stone bridge.

Late afternoon near Cahersiveen.

We checked into the Kerry Coast Inn, smack in the middle of town.  We're staying in Cahersiveen two nights and have a planned "rest day" tomorrow.  Hip hip hooray!

We visited the island of Valentia on our day rest.  It was a three mile walk to the ferry which took us to the island, (a short five-minute ride that cost two euro.)  Valentia Island is known as the historic Paradise Island of Ireland.  We explored the main town, Knightstown, but did not have enough time to venture much farther.

Walking through Cahersiveen toward the dock.

A beautiful walk on the outskirts of town.

On the short ferry ride to Valentia Island

We arrive in Valentia, under stormy, grey skies and view the famous clock tower and explore Knightstown, a very clean tidy town.

The clock tower is the first sight we see.

Knightstown has its pride.

We walk through town and into the countryside, where we pass St. John the Baptist Church, built in 1815.  There is a commemorative plaque celebrating the 200th anniversary of the church in 2015.

St. John the Baptist church tower.

We see the lighthouse in the distance.  Our original intention is to walk to it, but it looks like it will take us more than hour to get there.

Gerry's tele-photo lens came in handy for this shot.

We return toward Knightstown, with one important detour to make - Valentia Island Farmhouse Dairy - for homemade ice cream.  We met the owner, Carolyn.  As they advertise on their website, Ice cream makers are happy people. Happy people make great ice cream. Great ice cream makes people happy. It’s a circle!

A worth while stop!  Homemade pistachio and honey suckle ice cream for me.

We caught the return ferry to Cahersiveen and took a taxi to the other side of town so we could visit both Cahergal Fort and Ballycarberry Castle.  The fort and castle are located within 1/2 mile of each other.

Walking toward Cahergal Fort.

It is likely somebody of importance lived here 1,000 years ago.

Not too many visitors to the fort today.

We climb up the walls on the very uneven rocky steps.  The skies darken and there's a brief shower.

Gerry on top of the fort wall.

We walked through lovely countryside to Ballycarberry Castle.  The cows don't seem to mind us being in their territory.

Moo.

And soon we are Ballycarberry Castle, once home to the McCarthy clan.  The castle was built sometime in the 15th Century and is the largest caste on the Iveragh peninsula.  Ancient and run down, but worth seeing.  (And we couldn't argue with the price of admission - zilch.)

I feel like I am in a fairy tale. 

The castle from another angle.

We enjoyed our extra day in Cahersiveen and are glad we took a day off from the trek.  It was fun to sight-see.

Four Days on the trek are behind us - Five Days ahead....  We rinsed out our socks, and they are semi-clean, ready for the trail tomorrow tomorrow.  I hope we are, too.