More from our Ireland adventure along the Wild Atlantic Way. Having visited my sister to get the leaking skylight repaired, we started again in Kenmare. It was not the most exciting town, but we had a peaceful night near the stone circle, and the stone circle was worth a visit. There was a Hawthorn near the circle which had been turned into a wishing tree. My favourite wishes were “Biden to win and Trump to lose in 2024” – which sadly didn’t happen and “Peace in Ukraine and the Middle East”, which sadly isn’t happening either many years and months on, respectively.
From here we ended up on Valencia Island and the Skellig Visitor Centre. The sea was very blue and so serene, it felt like we could have been in the Caribbean, apart from the chill.
Skellig Michael looks amazing. It is an island west of County Kerry, and the name Skellig means splinter of stone in the Irish language. In the summer months you can get a boat out to the island, and walk up the 600 feet to a disused monastery near the top. At this time of year the island is covered in nesting seabirds, especially puffins. It looks like a very strenuous walk, and not for the faint hearted, but we have added it to our to-do list and we will return in the summer months, so we can climb all 618 steps to see the monastery and the birds. Even though we didn’t make it to the island, it inspired one of the adventures in my book, Sleeping Giants, and was the first stop for my grandchildren on their adventure.
We did make it up all the way up to the top of Torc Waterfall, in the Killarney National Park. Not as challenging as Skellig Michael will be, but very beautiful.
It was after the waterfall we had what was probably our scariest drive. Neil was driving and we were looking for a park up near Rossbeigh Beach. We started up a narrow road, level with the sea, but the road became narrower and steeper very quickly. We were driving right on the edge of the drop into the sea and, had we met another vehicle, there was nowhere for us to go. Neil hates driving on high roads so as soon as he could pull over, I took over driving. As soon as I did, the road became wider, flatter and turned inland. We never did find the park up, and although I was happy to go back round and have another look, Neil was not! We ended up parked on the side of the road, but had the most incredible views and it was so peaceful.
We completed the Ring of Kerry with a visit to the Kerry Cliffs. The wind was fierce and the cliffs were stark but beautiful. Another site to revisit in the summer months, when they are full of nesting birds. Staigue Stone Fort was an interesting excursion. With the Atlantic Sea back to doing what it does best, with huge waves buffeting the coast, the 2000 year old hill fort was built without mortar and is still, for the most part, standing. It must have seen some incredible storms.
Seem was a very pretty village, with its multi-coloured houses, and the seafood chowder from the Village Kitchen was heavenly. It tasted of the Atlantic. Seafood chowder is my favourite Irish dish and one I ordered every time it was on the menu. Something I really should learn to cook. We ended up in a pub at Inch Beach, who kindly let us stay the night. It was probably more expensive than a campsite, as one quick drink turned to a few. I was able to get hold of a local riding school and book a ride on the beach the next day.
In all the years I rode and we owned horses, I had never ridden on the beach, so I was very excited. I was given a lovely skewbald gelding, about 16hh, called Jester. He was very solid and very kind, so I had a lovely ride. He liked to lead, by quite a distance, so we stayed ahead of Neil and the owner for the entire ride. Luckily, being a riding school/trekking horse, he knew where we were going.
We rode back through the dunes, along steep and narrow paths. All the views were wonderful, as this is apparently the longest beach in Ireland. It seemed to stretch away with no end, and as Jester liked to be in front, it felt like it was just me and him, the sand, the sea and the sky. It was a perfect day for me, as I miss riding so much.
Neil had fun too, on another smaller skewbald called Pa. He was very sore though, when we got back.
From here we had a look at the bee hive huts, built in 2000BC, and we had our first problem with the heating. The temperature had dropped, and the heating did not work. We stopped at a cliff top viewing point, with the back of the van emptied onto the road side, while Russ talked Neil through possible issues and solutions. Luckily it was just a fuse, and we had a peaceful and warm night.
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