Ring of Kerry

We awoke to snow this morning. Not a lot--less than an inch, but it looks so good. Or, I should say, it makes everything else look so good. The sun did come out and we saw patches of blue sky although the clouds moved in now and then and, occasionally, we'd have a very light and very quick snow shower.





As promised, I will tell you about our trip to the Ring of Kerry on the Thursday we were in Dingle.





The day we went to Ring of Kerry it was much brighter than the weather we had experienced, although that's not to say there were no clouds and we had no rain. Still, relatively speaking, it was a fine day for an outing. Kerry is the peninsula north of Dingle, but both peninsulas are part of County Kerry.





We drove on a circular route around the peninsula, hence the name, the Ring of Kerry. We made many stops for photos as the scenery was really gorgeous, as we were nearly always driving beside the sea. We made a stop for lunch in the village of Caherdaniel. We pulled into the old churchyard there and walked across the road to a pub that had a roaring peat fire going, which felt mighty good. In fact, we were able to get a table beside the fire. Our lunch was particularly delicious as the menu was quite adventurous for a wee out-of-the-way place.





The rest of the day the drive just got better and better. Kay and Boris had us stop at Staigue to see the Staigue Fort which dates back at least 2,000 years. As with many of these ruins, no one is sure exactly when it may have been built. This fort (or fortified dwelling) is quite large and sits on a gentle hill with a commanding view of the ocean in the distance. It was made of flat stones put together seemingly without mortar. It seems amazingly sound even today.





As we headed on around the mid-point of the ring, the scenery grew even more dramatic. Don took the photo at the top of today's blog with his new camera. The combination of the setting, the lateness of the day, and the clouds and mist made the sea and that rocky island appear even more mystical.





Finally, we came inland a bit to travel through a forest park. The twisty road climbed ever upward until we came to a lookout point from which we could see the Lakes of Killarney (pictured here). As you can see, it was late afternoon and the sun was casting an orange glow. We had a day of varied and dramatic scenery which sustained us through the long, dark drive back to Dingle.





I built another peat fire which we enjoyed as we sipped our single malts and nibbled on a variety of snacks we had managed to accumulate. We went to the nearby hotel for dinner and then repaired to John Benny's again for music by himself and another guitar player, who's surname was Binney. The other guitar players we had heard were very good but this fellow was a virtuoso.

John Benny promised us that it would be a brilliant day on Friday and so we toddled up the hill to bed, looking forward to a sunny and warm day.