Beara Peninsula

We were on a whistle-stop drive now

Approaching the end of the peninsula found a wonderful little inlet at Billeragh. The sea was incredibly clear and a wonderful shade of green. Above the cove there was a perfect camping spot, designed for a couple of campervans but by now we were on our bikes.

Billeragh and the Ring of Kerry

We headed for the end of the peninsula and Dursey Island and surprisingly found the only cable car in Ireland. It was mobbed with sight-seers and quite a queue waiting for the cable car. The car looked like an old Fiat 500 that had seen better days; the island did not appeal so we passed on the trip.

Ballaghboy Cable Car

By the time we returned to the van, the day had warmed up and the beaches near Billeragh had filled up with surfers and water boarders. It was something of a squeeze to get the van past the parked cars. We were on the road again, along the north coast of the Beara Peninsula. The most magical view of the whole trip was just around the corner: the sun lit up the beach at Ahillies and with the backdrop of the mountains, it looked spectacular (the photo doesn't even come close to how good it looked). We didn't expect to actually reach it and despite its colourful buildings, it didn't quite live up to expectations

Allihies

Continuing along the coast, the views over to the Ring of Kerry were awesome and after Allihies we hardly passed any settlement of any consequence till we approached Kenmare. But we did not pause, the weather was closing in and headed for Moll's Gap

Salmon Fishery on approach to Kenmare

The descent from Moll's Gap through Killarney National Park cannot fail to impress. We stopped at our usual view points and although nothing has changed since the last time we were here, it was just like seeing it all for the first time again.

Causeway at Killarney National Park

Be did track down the causeway that looked ready to collapse and despite a few running repairs still sagged reluctantly under the weight of traffic.