Ring of Kerry

When we arrived in Cahirciveen the sky decided to empty itself. On the bright side we found a really nice little cafe serving homemade carrot soup and special toasties served with wonderful coffee.

Around the town should have been very scenic but we could see little because of the rain and mist. We spent some time exploring the renovated Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Barracks which was an impressive Schloss-style building. The area all around here had a chequered history in all the troubles that Ireland has seen not unrelated to nearby Valentia Island where the first cable-link between Europe and America was located. In addition The Liberator, Daniel O'Connell, who almost single-handedly gained emancipation for the Catholics of Ireland, is celerbrated by a most impressive church almost exceeding the authority of Killarney Cathedral. The displays in the Barracks told us everything we needed to know.

On our way out, popped in to the Tourist Information Office and discovered we had missed a Poetry Slam the night before in a local bar. We did pick up the programme for the Bantry Literary Festival though. If I had known of either of these events beforehand may have been able to plan ahead to attend one or other. Still there was a chance we could catch something in Bantry before the festival finished.

Carried on round the west of the Ring but visibility was still poor though the hint of spectacular views was still there. After Waterville the road narrowed dramatically as we negotiated a pass through the mountains towards Caherdaniel. The mist and poor visibility made going possibly scarier than it ought to be with only our imaginings of what off the precipitous side to the road. With some relief we pitched up for the night at the camp site.

After settling in, we biked it down to O'Carroll's Cove for a beer and as it turned out in time for the Uruguay-Holland match in the World Cup. Next day P set off early in the reverse direction and discovered the wonderful beach at Derrynane by the home of The Liberator. I was called down in the van with the canoe. At the village, turned down to the beach and succeeded in arriving at a gate blocking entrance to tall vehicles. We had to give up on that so retired again to the camp site. The return trip not quite as uneventful with more traffic on the single track road.

That evening we headed down again to O'Connell's (after checking at the next-door Hotel, their extortionate menu for a very limited selection of grub). Had a homely meal and retired to the bar to watch the other semi-final, Germany vs Spain.Met a couple of Northerners who recommended a beach further on at Castle Cove. But it was not to be...

The rain started at 8:00 am. Serious rain this time, not the shower we had had in Cahirciveen. By lunchtime not only was the rain not slackening but I believe it got heavier. 3:00pm we called it day: started packing up and head for home - it was clear the weather had turned. By 4:00 we were on the road for Kenmare and Killarney; unfortunatly we picked what must be the worst road in Ireland: barely passable as a two-lane highway, only in rare parts could the van safely keep to its own side of the road, worse was the surface - full of potholes and so badly surfaced with holes, yumps, bad cambers, you name it - the Kenmare Road had it all.