Ireland is like the Lake District, the Yorkshire Moors AND loads of limestone thrown all over the place. The people are incredibly friendly and helpful, the beers are tasty though I did not like the Guinness, and the B&B's where I stayed were on the whole real value for money. Average was € 60 incl. breakfast which was good value. Very comfortable clean large rooms, helpful hosts and good breakfasts, whether full Irish or continental. Also very centrally located, except for Galway but that was my fault as I did not read the city map correctly. In America, I found that the inconsequential was made important. I found after my Irish trip that the Irish were responsible for this as they are experts in blarney - the art of talking or misleading one into its importance!! Its amazing how often the truly ridiculous became a place of touristic importance! But its fun seeing new things, new places and learning local blarney.
Killarney
lies in the South west corner of Eire. Surrounded by lake lands and 25,000 acres
of National Parkland, the single impression one takes back is of an amazing
green rolling countryside with heavy thick clouds which are in a wide range of
colours, of driving rain or suddenly a drizzle, of a people who have perfected
the art of blarney even though the Blarney Stone is elsewhere. It’s beautiful
and definitely worth visiting. There are three main lakes stretching between
the valleys in the mountains of Macgillykuddy’s Reeks mountain range. Loch
Leane is the largest lake linked to the middle lake known as Muckross Lake and
the Upper Lake at a place, rather delightfully called The Meeting of the
Waters. As with any such place, one has a lot of outdoor activities to enjoy
and in the evenings, you can attend a ceilidh or traditional Irish gathering where music with traditional instruments is played at one
of the many pubs.
A view off the centre of Killarney with its colourful houses.
Killarney is the starting point for any one of the four most famous of Irish tours – the legendary Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula with its picturesque towns, a tour of the Iveragh Peninsula, or the Beara Peninsula with its golden sands, wild coast lines and hidden valleys. It also happens to be a centre for the Irish language, so different from the Welsh or Scottish tongues.
I had to choose between Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula as I had a time constraint and after lot of discussion with locals, I chose the Ring. This is a tour of 170 kms, or 120 miles, and the tour is generally undertaken in an anti clockwise direction. I learnt later that it’s due to the narrow lanes high up in the area so that cars can effectively see the large tourist buses which need the space to maneuver. The tour follows the coastline of the Iveragh peninsula, along the Banks of the River Laune to Killorglin along the southern shores of Dingle Bay to Kells and Cahirclveen where one can see Valentia island. These Irish names and their spellings are difficult so I am constantly referring to my notes! The Ring continues to Waterville and along the coast via Coomakista Pass and Derrynane and then onto Sneem; one goes to Kenmare and up the mountain road to Moll’s Gap, then via Ladies View back to Killarney. Each of these unusual names has a meaning behind it.
i decided to go for DeRos Tours - i had been to their office the previous evening and liked the idea that this family run company, with its warm welcome, would be the right choice. I was not wrong. We had a great tour. I sat on right side which
is the driver’s side of the coach, out of sheer habit as generally that’s the
best side for a view. But as we went anti clockwise, I missed the best views
for photography which were on the left side.
The Ring of Kerry
tour began at 10.30 am and lasted until 5.30 pm .
1st stop – Bog Village –
the local council has created a whole village with homes of various people in the 18th and 19th century, based on their jobs - turf cutter, blacksmith, farmer, labourer and a thatcher. Its really interesting to see various homes and crafts which made up a village a hundred years ago. There was also a section on boglands.
Each of the homes, be it labourer or farmer or landlord was interesting. Each had its own peculiarities. Also on display were their tools and means of livelihood. On one side was a film show detailing how peat was cut and dried for firewood. They had bog ponies and the wolfhound as live exhibits.
This is the inside of a landowner's cottage, from the items in it. It could also be that of a thatcher as they were in high demand in those days. It is compact and has a mix of every day items as well as personal things.This house also had an upstairs section.
One of the new learnings on this trip was seeing the Irish wolf hound in its natural surroundings.A really scruffy looking animal. May be a good hunter but nowhere near as attractive as other hunting dogs. Must be nightmare to remove ticks from the animal.
The farmer began with a
brief introduction on the demo and at the end, answered a few questions from
us. The sheep went up the hill chased by two dogs, one at each side. Then
with his special whistling technique, the farmer instructed the dogs on
bringing the sheep downhill towards us. Once again, the dogs, in turn, took a
few sheep through various exercises to show how the whistling technique works.
A Border collie
sheepdog costs Euro 130 for a pup, Euro 800 – 900 for a dog who would actively
work the fields and help the farmer collect the sheep , and Euro 9,000 for a
sheepdog which wins competitions!
The sheep dogs took a bunch of sheep up the hill and down again. Circles and straight lines - different permutations to show how good they are in handling stubborn animals. We saw different breeds of sheep too. I liked the three variety.
We passed Waterville – the highest point
725 ft in mist and clouds - and of course the rain. Really lousy weather for sight seeing.
See that cow on the roof of the ruined house!
Famous Irish saying – “20 years
growing, 20 years blooming, 20 years declining and 20 years stooping!”
Lunch at Scariff Inn – had soup and
egg sandwich. Weather cleared and we could see the countryside. Rolling hills
and sheep. Large restaurant area and they have tied up with tour companies as
all coaches stop here for lunch. Large souvenir shop too. The lunch options
were quite good – soups, mains hot and cold items as well as local desserts.
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| A rock wall outside the pub |
In Irish, when you hear the word
‘cahr’ it refers to a fort built of stone and which is inland. However, if it’s
‘doon’, it’s a fort built in stone and on a cliff’s edge. – more as a sentry
post. 
Sneem village at 4.30 pm – it has won
many awards for cleanliness. Rather colourless and listless in my view.
Saw Black pudding for the first time at a
butchers…
made from pigs blood. Looks revolting but the Scots and Irish love it - for breakfast too !! A few days later in Scotland, I saw a burly Scottish guy eating a chunk for breakfast. I felt shy asking him about its taste but he was relishing it.
Killarney National Park. Photo op was
at ‘Ladies View’ – where Queen Victoria’s Ladies in Waiting would check out the
spot for her before she came to relax. 
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| The bleakness of the place is striking. |
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| Sunlit trees from the coach window |
I should actually have planned for at least two more days in Killarney
as I missed quite a few sights. Remember all tours in Ireland start at 10.00
am. There are NO half day or afternoon tours - I had to cancel Cork as I found
in Galway that there are no tours in the afternoons, they all start from 10 am
onwards. But this is an opportunity to come back again as I loved Ireland. Its a beautiful place.
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Text and photographs are copyright of the author. No part of any article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com