This time we're in Ireland's West Coast join us as we drive the Ring of Kerry
and tour the Dingle Peninsula.
The Ring of Kerry is a scenic drive around the Iveragh Peninsula in
southwest Ireland County Kerry. Flying into Shannon Airport from London we got
a sense of the scenery cork, is about equal distance as an alternative but
either way it's an hour and a half's drive before arriving in the peninsula.
Our first stop of the day was Ross castle in the Killarney National Park.
This 15th century fortress is surrounded by stunning grounds under lake. Parking
is free and so is walking the trails a charge is made if you want to tour the
castle. There is lots to do whether it's a horse-drawn carriage boating on the
lake or a boat tour taking you further afield.
Mucross house is just a few miles down the road.
This 19th century mansion hugs the shores of Muckross Lake. We were
surprised to find that that again it's free parking and free to walk around the
grounds, 9 euro 25 five if you want to tour the house.
The gardens are extensive and in a formal style much of which were
landscape ready for a visit by Queen Victoria in 1861. Greenhouses, a walled
garden and various trails give visitors plenty to see and do this is a great
place to bring a picnic.
Torc waterfall is a 200-meter easy hike from the carpark.
Approximately 20 meters high it's best seen after heavy rainfall.
Just a mile from Muckross house you can even walk from the grounds on one of the trails
Climbing into the hills away from the National Park the roads get more windy
and interesting as we head to ladies view.
Panoramic views of the lake and
national park are a reason to stop at ladies view. With a small gift shop and
cafe you can also stop for a bite to eat as we did.
Hugging the coastline we continue our drive now we only have one day to cover
the whole route so it's not possible to stop everywhere, but as you drive along
you'll find places to pull over for a moment and enjoy the scenery.
Heading to one of the furthest points on the peninsula Park Plaza provides views
of the Atlantic and also Skellig Rock famous in its own right are highlighted
recently as a filming location in Star Wars last Jedi
Not easy to see today due to the weather conditions but you can take a boat trip
out and walk over the rock.
Leaving Skellig behind we drove the winding roads back to the main ring road
now heading towards a stone Fort and castle we couldn't resist a quick stop
at this lovely sandy beach.
BallyCarberry Castle is located in an area known as "over the water" by the
locals sitting high on the hill the ivy-covered 15th century building is now
closed to the public so sadly this was as close as we could get. It's probably
the largest most impressive castle on the peninsula.
Half a mile away from the castle in between the flocks of sheep are 2 stone forts.
A short hike from the carpark, the partly reconstructed stone fort sits
on a massive rock foundation on the hill. Its stone walls enclosing an almost
circular area 70 feet in diameter.
Standing on the walls you get panoramic views of the area and Ballycarberry Castle.
During our drive we've only shown you a small number of the many amazing sights
and stops around the Ring of Kerry. A weekend is really not enough to see what
the area has to offer.
Heading for Dingle our base for the night, inch beach was our last stop of
the day five kilometers of sandy beach is a favorite with surfers and even with
the overcast weather people make the most of this beautiful spot.
In part two of our video we check out the nightlife in the fun and colorful
town of Dingle, then take the Sleu Head drive to see if it's even more stunning
than the Ring of Kerry. Make sure you like and subscribe to be kept up to date
on our latest videos, until the next time happy travels from the memory seekers.
you