Ireland - Day 5

Today we drove the Ring of Kerry and Valentia Island.

The Ring of Kerry (Irish: An Mhór Chuaird) is a tourist trail in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. The route covers the 170 km circular road, starting from Killarney, heading around the Iveragh Peninsula and passing through Kenmare, Sneem, Waterville, Cahersiveen and Killorglin.

Popular points include Muckross House (near Killarney), Staigue stone fort and Derrynane House, home of Daniel O'Connell. Just south of Killarney, Ross Castle, Lough Leane, and Ladies View (a panoramic viewpoint), all located within Killarney National Park, are major attractions located along the Ring.

A more complete list of major attractions along the Ring of Kerry includes: Gap of Dunloe, Bog Village, Rossbeigh Beach, Cahersiveen Heritage Centre, Derrynane House, Skellig Experience, Staigue Fort, Kenmare Lace, Moll's Gap, Ladies View, Torc Waterfall, Muckross House, The Blue Pool, Ross Castle, Ogham Stones, St Mary’s Cathedral, Muckross Abbey, Franciscan Friary, Kellegy Church, O’Connell Memorial Church, Sneem Church and Cemetery, Skellig Michael, Beehive Cells and the Stone Pillars marking an important grave.

The scenery is just spectacular, and the weather was perfect for the drive.

 

We stopped at Ballycarberry Castle:

And a nearby fort, which is a stone circle used as a residence by chieftains:

We were chased off the property by a herd of marauding cattle:

 

 

On Valentia Island we went to vist a tetrapod walkway site preserved in the stone.

 

The site is of international importance, being well dated at older than 385 million years; the oldest in situ tetrapod trackway in the world. About 200 prints represent the passage of one or more tetrapods, primitive four legged vertebrates, across the soft sediment of a large river floodplain in Devonian times. It is a key record of the important evolutionary step of vertebrates leaving aquatic environments and breathing air on land. This site has the scope to fire people's understanding and appreciation of geology that ranks with the best the world has to offer. 

This is an example of a two lane road on the island:

 It was a great trip, but it definitely took the whole day to drive the ring and visit all the sites.  We stopped in Portmagee and ate at the Morrings.