A Million Shades of Green

Ireland. Home of the friendliest people on earth, even the passport control officer thanks you for coming. Where sheep graze contentedly in pastures on rolling green hills. Where breath taking views await you around every corner. Home of castles, famous stones, waterfalls, babbling brooks, Guinness, four leaf clovers and of course, rain.

In the spring in the Netherlands all the public holidays of the year are strung together in a space of a couple of weeks, starting with Easter and ending with Pentecost. Last weekend was the Ascension Day long weekend and like last year, we decided to get out for a long weekend away of exploring!

After yet another hair raising are-we-aren’t-we-going-to-make-it trip to the airport, we set off for the Emerald Isle. Our previous visit to Ireland included only Dublin and immediate surroundings. This time we headed down South, to County Cork and county Kerry.

We arrived quite late on the Wednesday night but this gave us a full day of exploring in Thursday. Wednesday and Thursday night we stayed in Cork city itself. Thursday dawned grey and gloomy but we set off into the city centre anyway with tummies full of a big cooked breakfast, the Irish way (read: soda bread, eggs and salmon). We were disappointed with Cork city; although there are a few nice main shopping streets, it is a very industrial town. Being right on the harbour you probably can’t expect much more. However, the country side surrounding Cork is quick lovely.

By lunch time the skies had cleared and we headed off to find a small town made famous by a ruined castle and a stone. Blarney is a short 20 minute drive from Cork and well worth the visit. The current Blarney castle is the third to be built on the site and was home to the MacCarthy family. The Blarney Castle grounds are massive and kept quite stately. There is a stream flowing through it and many sign-posted walks guide you around the grounds. We climbed the narrow winding steps up to the very top parapet, leaned over backwards, and kissed the famous Blarney stone. I am still waiting for the gift of eloquence to come flowing forth but here is to hoping it will still to come! On the way down we enjoyed exploring what is left of the castle and imagining what it was like for the family to live there, entertaining and being waited on hand and foot. Most of the rooms are not whole anymore, but there are signs everywhere indicating what each room was used for. After the castle we wandered around the poison garden, rock close where the witch of Blarney lives, and enjoyed a cup of tea with a scone at the stable yard.

Blarney Castle

Blarney Tower

Blarney House on the castle grounds

Boibs walking around the rock close

Thursday morning we headed to our next stop Killarney but the long way around! We took the scenic route along the River Lee, down to Bantry Bay (the original?) with lunch at Bantry House, along the Ring of Beare, joining up with the Ring of Kerry, past Kenmare, through the Lakes of Killarney and finally at our accommodation. It was a beautiful drive but the roads are very windy and there is no ways you can drive at the 100 km speed limit! We arrived quite late but in time for dinner and in the pouring rain! Our hosts were very gracious and met us at the car with umbrellas. In true Murphy style, the rain stopped a few minutes after we arrived. We now know why Ireland is always so green, how there can be so many different shades of green and why green is the national colour: it is always raining!!

View of the ruined fortifications at Macroom on the River Lee

Fields of sheep! In the Killarney Lakes area

Our very comfortable room overlooking Loch Lein. 

Thank you Loch Lein Country House Hotel for a great weekend break! 

Saturday arrived and our day for exploring the Ring of Kerry! It rained on and off the whole day but we still had a lovely day exploring. We were able to time our stops out of the car with the breaks in the weather! The ring of Kerry is the road that goes around County Kerry. It is about 180 km long but will take 3 hours to do at the fastest. But of course there are many cool places to stop along the way so no one does it in 3 hours.

Our first stop was the Gap of Dunloe, which means gap of the commonland. It is a narrow mountain pass between Macgillycuddy’s Reeks and the Purple Mountain. The River Loe connects the five lakes in the area. It was really beautiful walking around here with sheep dotted everywhere. It was so still and peaceful. A real highlight of the ring.

 Gap of Dunloe

The wishing bridge crossing over the River Loe

We continued on to a small island connected to Kerry by a bridge. Valentia Island is only 11 km across but home to some of the most amazing views and scenery! We stopped at the slate quarry with views over the bay. A farmer has opened his land so you can drive right up to and walk around the Fogher Cliffs. Wow! Really spectacular views and super windy! The annual triathlon happened to be on the day we were visiting so some roads were closed but we saw everything that was recommended to us (thanks Paul at Loch Lain!).

Boibs at Valentia Island

View of the Fogher Cliffs

It was so windy at the Fogher Cliffs! Couldn't even keep a straight face!

From Valentia Island we took a detour off the Ring of Kerry to follow the Ring of Skellig. Wow, amazing scenery; hills with every shade of green, sheep everywhere, rugged coastlines, winding roads, Skellig rock, hidden away beaches with slip ways. Just amazing. And the best part: tourist busses are not allowed on this road! We didn’t always know where we were going or what there was to see, but we found amazing sights anyway. Living in the unbelievably flat Netherlands, we are starved for mountains and sheer cliffs. This trip we were able to feast our eyes and stock up on images to last us a while =)

Skellig Rock

Places to stumble upon on the Skellig Ring

Views on Skellig Ring

We continued on the Ring of Kerry to the small but charming town of Kenmare where we found a lovely place to stop off for tea and scones. Noticing a trend yet?

Colourful streets of Kenmare

Between Kenmare and Killarney is Moll’s Gap and the Lakes of Killarney. Yet still even more wow! More amazing scenery, this time with lakes instead of the ocean but add waterfalls and streams flowing over rocky beads. Just beautiful. Closer to Killarney we found Ross Castle, home of the O’Donoghue clan and situated on the edge of Lough Leane. The castle was closed by the time we got there but we were still able to walk around it and take in the views from all angles. The grounds are open and people come to walk their dogs and bring their children to feed the ducks. It has a friendly and homely feel.

Our final stop for the day was Killarney, probably the biggest town on the Ring of Kerry and very lively on a Saturday night. We were able to squeeze into a local place, called Paddy’s of course, for dinner. The whole weekend we were in search of a traditional beef and Guinness stew or pie but so far had no luck. At Paddy’s we settled for roast leg of lamb instead and were not disappointed! What a great meal.

Views of the Lakes of Killarney

Torc Waterfall

Area surrounding Torc Waterfall

Ross Castle on Loch Leane

Our last day arrived and the last chance for Justin to try black and white pudding at breakfast. We were flying out of Cork again but had a little bit of time for some last minute exploring. We headed down to Cork and went a little further to the coastal town of Kinsale. Another charming little town of only two or three streets with brightly coloured shops and houses. Time for a last cup of tea and scone and to write some postcards! We also stopped in at the Charles Fort on the hill overlooking the town. Charles Fort is one of the finest surviving examples of a 17^th Century star shaped fort. It was still in use up until 1922 when it was burned by retreating troops in the Irish Civil War. But much of the fort remains and it makes for a pleasant Sunday afternoon amble.

A corner in Kinsale

Entrance to Charles Fort

Charles Fort overlooking the bay 

And then it was time to fly back to the Netherlands =(

It was a lovely weekend away and we had a wonderful time! Highlights of the weekend were Blarney and Blarney Castle, Gap of Dunloe, Valentia Island, Skellig Ring Lakes of Killarney area and Charles Fort. We definitely recommend exploring County Kerry! We look forward to exploring more of Ireland in the future =)

When we left, the Netherlands was experiencing some lovely belated Spring weather but this week it has cold and rainy again with more of the same forecast for the week ahead =( This weekend is also the last of the long weekends until Christmas. But we have a lovely trip to Switzerland in June to look forward to. Hope the sun finds us there!

This week Justin is in Vietnam for work. He is in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) and Ha Noi. Watch this space for a post on his so far very interesting time there!

Have a good week everyone!

x