Day 9 - On the Ring of Kerry
Today we headed out of Dingle with Killarney National Park as our big stop of the day. First a quick stop at Inch Beach so we could all see that yes, they have beaches here in Ireland! LOL In fact the Dingle Peninsula has many stunning beaches. They say that the surfers like this beach, but we did not see anyone surfing this day.
This part of our drive is called the Ring of Kerry. "The Ring' is a popular day trip in Ireland - very scenic! Beautiful views as we drove to Killarney. I think pretty much everyone was excited for our bike trip in Killarney National Park, I certainly was! Killarney National Park was the first national park in Ireland, created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State in 1932. The park has expanded since then and is now over 25,000 acres of lakes, woodlands, caves, mountains, and have the only red deer on mainland Ireland. The park was designated a UNESCO Bioshphere Reserve in 1981 due to the diverse habitats and the wide variety of species located here.
Upon arrival we met up with our guides. We were given our bikes, helmets & safety instructions and then we were off. What a beautiful place this is. We stopped along our ride several times - once to go through a cave! and other times to hear our guide tell us about the nature around us. About half way through our ride we stopped to explore the Torc Waterfall. Beatuiful!
I loved Killarney National Park and if I ever get a chance to travel this way again, I would like to spend a couple of days here exploring. I hope you can tell by the photos how amazing this place is.
Our afternoon was a drive to Port Magee with a stop at Ballcarberry Castle. As we were getting out of the van, a man came up to us and asked us if we wanted to hold a baby sheep - YES! of course we did. He opened up the van he was driving and there were two little lambs! FUN! We all took turns holding them. Then it was off to climb around Ballcarberry Castle.
Our day ended in Port Magee a very small fishing village where we would take off on the water tomorrow~
Day 10
Skelling Islands today. The options were to take a boat over to Skelling Michael and climb to the top, take a boat trip around the Skelling Island or to go on a drive with Nick. Our little party split up in to the three options. I went on the trip around the Islands, which was beautiful. We had lovely weather to be out on the water.
Little Skellig Island is home to the Gannet. This is Irelands larges seabird with a wingspan of two meters. there are nearly 70,000 of them nesting on this Island.
The Skelling Islands recently gained fame when the last scene of the latest Star Wars movies was shot there. The shops in this small fishing village all have Star Wars 'stuff' in them!
After lunch we hit the road headed towards Kenmare. We stopped at Derrynane National Park on the way, where we had several options - walk on the Beach, stroll through gardens (Derrynane National Historic Park, plantations and garden walks were laid out in the 18th and 19th Centuries) see the Daniel O'Connell house OR walk through the Fairy Forrest! Kelsey & I went to the Forrest!
Derrynane House is the ancestral home of one of Ireland’s most famous historical figures, Daniel O'Connell, lawyer, politician and statesman. Situated on 120 hectares of parklands on the scenic Kerry coast, the House displays many relics of O'Connell s life and career. The main street in Dublin, O’Connell Street is named after him.
Last stop of the day was in Kenmare, a beautiful little town. Strolling the town before dinner, we found a lovely, well kept Stone Circle. Stone circles were built during the Bronze age - 2,200-500 BC, for ritual & ceremonial purposes. Some studies have indicated that they were orientated to certain solar & lunar events, such as the position of the son on a solstice. The Kenmare Stone Circle has a burial monument known as a Boulder Burial in the center. These are rarely found outside of south-wester Ireland and this is the biggest stone circle in the south-west of Ireland. This seemed like the perfect place for a walking meditation, so I took a few moments to do so.
Back to our hotel and a lovely dinner in its restaurant with Anne & Kelsey. There was some fine Irish folk music to listen to and dancing by two little girls ( maybe 5 & 7 yrs old) that were eating dinner with their parents. We knew that Kelsey was a Irish dancer, but had yet to see her display her skills. This night we were able to encourage her to get up and dance with the girls. They were enchanted by her dancing and tried to copy her steps. She kept it simple for them and it was quite the treat to watch. The smiles on the girls faces said it all.
Kenmare is a picturesque heritage town, the area is rich in tradition and is home to all types of artisans such as weavers, potters & silversmiths. Kenmare is famous for needlepoint lace which is still made here. This is a lovely town to wander through the brightly colored shops and window shop.
Another wonderful day in Ireland, only 2 more days left on this fabulous tour!
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| a stop on our bike ride in Killarney National Park |
Today we headed out of Dingle with Killarney National Park as our big stop of the day. First a quick stop at Inch Beach so we could all see that yes, they have beaches here in Ireland! LOL In fact the Dingle Peninsula has many stunning beaches. They say that the surfers like this beach, but we did not see anyone surfing this day.
 |
| Marie on Inch Beach |
This part of our drive is called the Ring of Kerry. "The Ring' is a popular day trip in Ireland - very scenic! Beautiful views as we drove to Killarney. I think pretty much everyone was excited for our bike trip in Killarney National Park, I certainly was! Killarney National Park was the first national park in Ireland, created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State in 1932. The park has expanded since then and is now over 25,000 acres of lakes, woodlands, caves, mountains, and have the only red deer on mainland Ireland. The park was designated a UNESCO Bioshphere Reserve in 1981 due to the diverse habitats and the wide variety of species located here.
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| path in the forest |
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| Amazing tree tunnel path |
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| everything is so green here!! |
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| Creek running through the park |
Upon arrival we met up with our guides. We were given our bikes, helmets & safety instructions and then we were off. What a beautiful place this is. We stopped along our ride several times - once to go through a cave! and other times to hear our guide tell us about the nature around us. About half way through our ride we stopped to explore the Torc Waterfall. Beatuiful!
I loved Killarney National Park and if I ever get a chance to travel this way again, I would like to spend a couple of days here exploring. I hope you can tell by the photos how amazing this place is.
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| path to the cave |
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| our guide |
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| Marie & I in the cave |
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| I loved this bike ride! |
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| Kelsey & I at the waterfall |
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| Anne & Kelsey |
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| Torc Waterfall |
Our afternoon was a drive to Port Magee with a stop at Ballcarberry Castle. As we were getting out of the van, a man came up to us and asked us if we wanted to hold a baby sheep - YES! of course we did. He opened up the van he was driving and there were two little lambs! FUN! We all took turns holding them. Then it was off to climb around Ballcarberry Castle.
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| Ballcarbery Castle |
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| Baby Lamb! |
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| Anne & Kelsey |
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| view from the castle window |
Our day ended in Port Magee a very small fishing village where we would take off on the water tomorrow~
Day 10
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| Port Magee- our hotel for the night |
Skelling Islands today. The options were to take a boat over to Skelling Michael and climb to the top, take a boat trip around the Skelling Island or to go on a drive with Nick. Our little party split up in to the three options. I went on the trip around the Islands, which was beautiful. We had lovely weather to be out on the water.
Little Skellig Island is home to the Gannet. This is Irelands larges seabird with a wingspan of two meters. there are nearly 70,000 of them nesting on this Island.
 |
| those white dots are Gannet |
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| Skelling Michel |
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| Skelling Michel |
The Skelling Islands recently gained fame when the last scene of the latest Star Wars movies was shot there. The shops in this small fishing village all have Star Wars 'stuff' in them!
After lunch we hit the road headed towards Kenmare. We stopped at Derrynane National Park on the way, where we had several options - walk on the Beach, stroll through gardens (Derrynane National Historic Park, plantations and garden walks were laid out in the 18th and 19th Centuries) see the Daniel O'Connell house OR walk through the Fairy Forrest! Kelsey & I went to the Forrest!
 |
| Fairy Forest |
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| Fairy home |
Derrynane House is the ancestral home of one of Ireland’s most famous historical figures, Daniel O'Connell, lawyer, politician and statesman. Situated on 120 hectares of parklands on the scenic Kerry coast, the House displays many relics of O'Connell s life and career. The main street in Dublin, O’Connell Street is named after him. 
Last stop of the day was in Kenmare, a beautiful little town. Strolling the town before dinner, we found a lovely, well kept Stone Circle. Stone circles were built during the Bronze age - 2,200-500 BC, for ritual & ceremonial purposes. Some studies have indicated that they were orientated to certain solar & lunar events, such as the position of the son on a solstice. The Kenmare Stone Circle has a burial monument known as a Boulder Burial in the center. These are rarely found outside of south-wester Ireland and this is the biggest stone circle in the south-west of Ireland. This seemed like the perfect place for a walking meditation, so I took a few moments to do so.
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| Kenmare Stone Circle |
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| Kenmare church steeple |
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| Dinner Music |
Back to our hotel and a lovely dinner in its restaurant with Anne & Kelsey. There was some fine Irish folk music to listen to and dancing by two little girls ( maybe 5 & 7 yrs old) that were eating dinner with their parents. We knew that Kelsey was a Irish dancer, but had yet to see her display her skills. This night we were able to encourage her to get up and dance with the girls. They were enchanted by her dancing and tried to copy her steps. She kept it simple for them and it was quite the treat to watch. The smiles on the girls faces said it all.
Kenmare is a picturesque heritage town, the area is rich in tradition and is home to all types of artisans such as weavers, potters & silversmiths. Kenmare is famous for needlepoint lace which is still made here. This is a lovely town to wander through the brightly colored shops and window shop.
Another wonderful day in Ireland, only 2 more days left on this fabulous tour!
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