The long spell of fine weather we'd been enjoying finally ran out on our last night in North Wales. It rained heavily on our early morning drive through Anglesey to the ferry terminal at Holyhead. Dublin looked dismal when we docked at the harbour, but the rain stopped and we had an easy drive across to the touristy town of Killarney. Well, it used to be a town when we passed through on our honeymoon 37 years ago. It is a busy city now and the most common language we heard in the streets around the apartment was Polish.
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| Why is the sky so low? |
We woke to see a grey sky but no rain. When Billy Connolly first took his children to Scotland they asked "why was the sky so low?". Well, our sky was low too. We set off for Kate Kearneys Cottage to walk through the Gap of Dunloe. While mainly a walking path it is a shared space, with bikers, some locals in cars, and quaint jaunting cars. These little horse-drawn carts are really popular here, and care is needed walking up the road to avoid the "exhaust" left on the ground.
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| Walking towards the Gap of Dunloe. |
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| A jaunting car. |
The track winds up the steep-sided valley passing several small lakes and crossing lovely stone bridges. There was a strong cold breeze at the top, where we turned around rather than walking down the other side of the Gap into the less scenic Black Valley.
The views back down to the sea were dappled with sunshine one minute and shrouded in dark clouds the next. To avoid a shower, we ate our sandwiches in the car and had a coffee in Kate Kearneys Cottage bar.
With time to spare we stopped at Ross Castle on the way back to Killarney, to walk around Ross Island. The castle is very well preserved and has a commanding presence on the shores of Lough Leane. There are signs of ancient history everywhere, including remnants of a 4500-year-old copper mine.
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| Jaunting car in Killarney. |
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| Lough Leane. |
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| Ross Castle. |
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| Ross Castle. |
On our second day we did a roady around Dingle Peninsula. Wind farms are highly visible on the distant hills beyond Tralee and are a reminder that even green energy has an environmental price.
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| Castlegregory Beach and Brandon Bay. |
The drive over Conor Pass towards Dingle was particularly pretty, with rugged hills, steep cirques resulting from the last Ice Age, hanging valleys and small lakes.  |
| Peddler's Lake (Lough Doon) near Conor Pass. Ireland once had glaciers. |
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| Stone walls marking the edges of an abandoned settlement below Conor Pass |
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| Brandon Bay from Conor Pass. |
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| Rain showers sweep Dingle Bay as we descend from Conor Pass. |
Dingle is really touristy these days, full of colourful bars, restaurants, souvenir shops, and booking offices offering boat trips to the Blasket Islands.
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| Dingle. |
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Dingle.
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Dingle.
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Content with a wander around in the sun, we headed back to Killarney to watch the rugby. We detoured a little to pay homage to the famous Irish seaman Tom Crean (second officer on Shackleton's ill-fated Trans-Antartarctic Expedition), who was from Annascaul. He was born there and owned the pub when he died. We had a Tom Crean beer in his South Pole Inn and checked out the fantastic collection of memorabilia.
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| Ireland really is green. |
After staying at the apartment to watch Argentina beating Wales, we went out to a cozy pub (there were a lot to choose from) to secure seats for the big game. The atmosphere for the AB vs Ireland match was unbelievable, and slightly unnerving for the only Kiwi in the bar. What a game! I sneaked out at the end quickly, not quite sure what might happen, tense from the amazing finish.
Early the next day we set out to circumnavigate the Ring of Kerry, in perfect weather. It was cold though, 4 degrees C, which is about 20 degrees cooler than this time last week. Winter is close.
Some of the highlights are the amazing coastal views, including seeing the Skellig Islands where Luke Skywalker hung out in the "The Force Awakens" Star Wars film. It was a rare privilege considering the usual weather here.
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| The Skellig Islands from St. Finan's Bay. Apparently, the water was freezing. |
Another highlight was getting to walk around the very cool circular forts which wealthy landowners and chieftains built a couple of thousand years ago to defend themselves against raids from neighbours. So much for borrowing a cup of sugar from next door. The farmer at the entrance to the path to one fort tried to get us to pay to pet his lamb!
We returned to Killarney, to see France's WRC hopes dashed by RSA. Another intense match which had us on the edge of our seats till the end.
It was sad to pack up for our last day in Ireland, but we called in to Glanmire on the way to Dublin to have lunch with Molly in her new flat, which is modern and comfortable. Apparently, it is not a flat, it is a house. In Ireland a flat is a really scungy house. She was starting a new job teaching as soon as her paperwork was processed. The wheels of the government departments turn slowly everywhere in the world.
We hugged goodbyes and headed north for a last proper pint of Guinness and the overnight ferry to Liverpool. Fingers crossed for a calm crossing.
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