Emerald Isle - The Journey Continues

This excursion leads me to Ireland or as the English like to refer to it, the Republic of Ireland. Okay…whatever, the south bit.  This story picks up on the twelve day tour from Cork to Killarney to Galway and back to Dublin with many others stops along the way.

Drombeg stones are found at the most southern tip of Ireland. In fact you can see the sea from these stone circles. Drombeg is the largest stone circle on the island of Eire (*ahem, that means Ireland) and quite possibly the tallest as well, even though it’s no Stonehenge…

During the winter solstice many druids attend the festivals to perform ancient dances at the stones. Just for fun I tried my own dance and pushed on a boulder to see if I might have luck traveling through time on the Autumn Equinox (Outlander fans will understand this). I’m still here...

Drombeg Stone Circle

 To the other side of the country now! Killarney National Park is roughly three times the size of Wicklow so give yourself plenty of time to explore. Torc falls is a nice hike in the park and only about a five minute walk from the car park, easily accessible and a great photo opportunity.

Torc Falls

 Do the day trip through the Gap of Dunloe viewing majestic mountains and valleys with lakes and streams on horseback. For those less adventurous try the horse drawn carriage ride. This trip leaves daily and runs from 10 -4pm. If horseback riding be prepared to do it English style. Cheeky buggers. 

Gap of Dunloe

Holly the horse takes us through the mountains

The carriage ride ends at the lake and drops you by a cottage which is a great little spot to have a cuppa or lunch before boarding the boat to Ross Castle.

Ross Castle

 As luck would have it, (mentioned in previous Ireland post -PS.I Love You) we set out across the five miles of lakes until the boat motored no more and we were literally dead in the water, bobbing along and awaiting a rescue boat. Unlike the film, we had atleast one oar. To which some Yankee in the boat hollered, “This MUST be an Irish boat. It only has one oar. If we paddled, we’d be going in circles!”

But alas, we were rescued and continued on our journey. After visiting Ross Castle (for a small fee), we caught the bus back to the car park in which we started the Gap of Dunloe tour and went home to laugh about our excursion over a cup of tea. 

A trip to Killarney wouldn’t be complete without seeing the Ring of Kerry which is about 200 mile loop at the most westward sticky-outie bit of Ireland. Said to be the most beautiful scenic drive in all of Ireland and the closest you will get to New York without being on a ship. We started anti-clockwise to reach the beaches near Rossbeigh. Nice sandy beach near a very small village and great place for walking the pooch.

Rossbeigh Beach

There is a lot to see and do on the Ring of Kerry, so give plenty of time (days) to explore. We drove it in one day but were still able to see quite a bit. Hop the ferry to Valentia Island (this is a five minute ferry and by all rights you could probably swim across but you want to take your car/ bike to drive around the island) to see the Grotto and the lighthouse. Note there is a fee to see the lighthouse, but you can take plenty of photos from the narrow, windy, steep, you-get-the picture,  dirt road up above. 

Valentia Island Lighthouse

Travel the island loop and take the bridge back to the mainland to continue on the Ring of Kerry (this avoids paying the ferry fee and also I think I broke the car trying to get on my first ferry- there was lots of noise from under the bonnet and a horrid burning smell- I think I drove off with the hand brake still on. Not to worry, we just parked the car for a wee bit and had lunch til the smell went away and all was well).  

Head next to Sneem via the N70. This is a good place to stop for ice cream and admire the art in the park (don’t forget the gift shops) then onwards to Kenmare and finally to where you began in Killarney. 

Now running the West coast of the Emerald Isle; we were off to Galway which I found very different than in the pictures. Imagine my surprise when I expected sleepy, green, rolling hills with lines of stone walls and came to a lively seaside town.

County Galway

Town of Galway

Since it’s a long way to Galway we broke up the drive with a quick stop at Kinvara. Find the free car park across the road and walk less than ten minutes to the entrance of the Dunguaire Castle. Better viewed when the tide is in. Pay a small fee to see the feudal castle in all its glory and learn of the bitter history inside. They still have medieval banquets that visitors can book and dress to play the part. No corsets for me thank you! 

Dunguaire Castle low tide

And what’s a trip to Ireland with stopping at the Cliffs of Moher? No entrance fee but you must pay to park in the vast car park/parking lot. Pardon me, I can’t remember if the Cliffs are wheelchair accessible, I just remember lots of stairs! A large tourist building houses cafés, restaurants, a museum and gift shops for all your COM memorabilia. On a side note, if you walk the dirt path along the cliffs avoid contact with the wire fence. My sidekick learned the hard way that the fence has an electric current running through it to keep the wandering cows at bay. 

Cliffs of Moher

Back to Dublin to finish this tour with proper Irish ending…a pint of Guinness and shot of Jameson. Whilst driving in the city of Dublin is not advisable (horrible traffic), driving with any alcohol in your system is not tolerated at all! Take the bus around the city or walk as the Jameson distillery and Guinness Storehouse are only a short distance apart. Learn how to pour your own pint of Guinness and then take it to the sky bar to enjoy whilst overlooking the city of Dubs in 360 degrees like the rich and famous have (Tom Cruise was there among others).

  Learn about the process of brewing and about early day hazing as a cooper (they stuffed them in their new casks filled with wood shavings and stout and rolled them through the city til they thought the newbies were initiated!)

Mr. Guinness and his wife had 21 children! Twenty-one! *shakes head* No way José! Ten children survived and carried on the legacy. Interesting fact: Guinness bought the rights to Wicklow National Park water supply for his stout as he said the water was a very important ingredient in the brew. Remember that if you also visit Wicklow.

Jameson distillery is much less commercial and quieter than the Guinness plant, but just as enlightening and if you’re lucky you can get invited to take a whiskey taste test and become a Certified Whiskey Taster at the end of the tour!

Emerald Isle- Getting there

Perhaps a better title for this blog would be Adventures in Europe or better yet Euro trips? I’ll start considering other suggestions. This excursion leads me to Ireland or as the English like to refer to it, the Republic of Ireland. Okay…whatever, the south bit.  A twelve day tour from Dublin to Cork, to Killarney to Galway and back to Dublin with many others stops along the way. I will try to keep this blog as short as one can writing about a 12 day journey with friends. *Cue music for The Lord of the Rings.*

Arriving in Dublin airport, not bad. Finding friends at airport check! Getting rental car..eek! After waiting in the queue for what seemed like hours we finally get a car (only to learn they lost our reservation & I did pre-book. Top tip: NEVER use SIXT car hire!) Behind the wheel, my American mates can appreciate this, on the right side and ready to go; mind in Ireland they drive on the left side of the road like in England. This now comes naturally to me but not so natural to my American co-pilot who is hanging on dearly for her life as we round the corners in roundabouts whilst traffic comes at us “from the wrong direction”. She also enjoyed the little windy country lanes where you can’t see five feet in front of you going around the curves at 80 kph with eight foot hedges on either side of the road. NOT! Even if you wanted to, you can’t pull over when a lorry (tractor trailer) or farm tractor comes at you head on. I advise if you’re not ready for this, please stick to the boring motorways (Interstates).  

About motorways, leaving Dublin to head south you only have one option - the M50 (this is a toll road). Tolls are paid online within 24 hours. SIXT car hire told us to blow through these and they would pay them (first time I should’ve known something was amiss with this company). Second was the broken cigarette lighter/car charger which we discovered half way into a forested national park with no phone reception and a dead GPS. Oh yes, the Garmin came from the car company too and for a fee of almost $120! With no way to charge the Sat nav or find my way (driving and reading a map not advisable- how did folks do this before technology?) I ventured to the nearest Tesco (Wal*mart of the UK) to find a home charger for the Garmin but not before spending some time at Ireland’s tallest waterfall in Powerscourt. This little stop is just outside Dublin in county Wicklow.

Powerscourt Falls

Powerscourt Falls are part of larger grounds that include a posh hotel and golf course. Follow the infamous brown tourist signs to the falls (especially if your GPS is broken) and park in the large car park which is free however, there is a small admission fee upon entering the falls area.

Powerscourt Hotel sits up high and you can relax in the restaurant having tea whilst feeling like you are in the clouds. Cool.

Next stop is Wicklow National Park. If you have seen the movie PS. I love You, you will recognize some of the scenery as part of the film set. (Keep reading to learn how this trip became more and more like the film. I pulled the Irish band leader, we got stuck on a boat in the middle of a lake....)

 Be sure to check out the old monstatic settlement near Glendough!

Headed south to Waterford (this is a great little stopping point to have lunch and then onwards to Cork. Waterford is the oldest medieval city in Ireland. You can tell by all the Vikings displays. Wander around the town (reminds me of Newport, Wales –see story Casnewydd, Wales Dec 2011) and check out all the gothic and medieval architecture. Learn the role the Vikings played in the history of Waterford. 

Blarney castle was next on the list. Climbing the castle in pursuit of the Gift of Gab. Make your way to the top of Blarney Castle up the winding stone staircase (not for the faint of heart or claustrophobics) and reach the famous Blarney Stone. You can queue up to kiss it for the gift of gab but this requires you lay on your back whilst someone holds your feet and you hang upside to pucker up. Personally, I went through the motions for a picture but didn’t care to get my lips anywhere near that overly slobbery slab of limestone. Just hanging upside down a hundred feet in the air was enough for me! The castle has many rooms to explore on your way up and great views of the town of Blarney from the top. Want a darker adventure? To the bat cave then! Blarney castle was built on a cliff to ward off enemies and has a secret passage that runs underneath the castle and leads out to Badger’s Cave. Don’t leave without seeing the rest of the castle grounds. There is much to see and do from the Round tower, to the poison garden (who knew rhubarb was toxic?) and even the rock path- lookout for the Witches Stone. Don't worry the witch only comes out at night and the castle is closed after dark!

"Kissing" the Blarney Stone

Blarney Castle

Have fun stormin' the Castle!