1 to 8 August 2023
1 to 8 August 2023
Tuesday 1 August. We leave The Bridge Field aire on the Dingle Peninsula and drive to Dingle town. Beautiful views as we head from the north coast to the town. Find a parking spot on second attempt and walk into the town to explore. Buy a couple of flat whites and head to the harbour. The town was an important trading port in the 16th century with merchant ships trading wine and other goods with ports in France, Spain and Britain. Apparently it has 50 pubs (for a population 2000) which makes sense given the number of overseas visitors we see/hear, especially Americans.
The hoped for walk on the beach is cancelled due to wet weather, so we write blog, read, study Italian.
Go to the pub at 6.30 - busy, so we're glad we booked. I have a 'Dingle' gin (and tonic) and then we have dinner (fish n chips and a burger, followed by sticky toffee pudding). Slightly disjointed service but friendly. Quiet night, parked alongside several other mo-hos in the car park.
Wednesday 2 August today we're heading for Killarney which is about 75 Kms/47 miles.
a. packed and
b. not mo-ho friendly.
By the time we've driven round the town two or three times, including down one road that was only inches wider than the mo-ho, with the mirrors turned in, we're grumpy and decide to head for the motor home/ caravan camp site a short drive south. I get the full camp ground induction (local shop, Chinese takeaway, pub, loos, laundry, grey and black water disposal, local cycle routes, local places of interest…. enough already!) and then we're shown our pitch. A sea of white mo-hos and caravans. Good facilities and I use the laundry, but undercook it with the dryer so we end up with clothes and towels hanging off the mo-ho.
In the evening we each have a (shop bought) pizza for dinner.
Thursday 3 August today is not a good day as both of us have upset stomachs (no details needed - we've all been there) and feel poorly. Not sure what has caused this as we ate separate food last night. Most of the day spent snoozing. Went to reception to see about staying an extra night - the weekend coming is a Bank Holiday so they are full, but they manage to find us a 'non EHU' place for Friday night.
Friday 4 August I was hopeful that I'd feel well enough to walk into Killarney but not so. And I was so looking forward to a mooch around some shops. I'm up to changing the bedclothes and taking them to the on-site laundry. Nap in the afternoon after we move the mo-ho to the new location. Nice morning but rain through the afternoon. Storm Antoni is expected tomorrow bringing more rain and very high winds to Ireland before it moves east to GB. Two bits of toast for dinner.
Saturday 5 August wake early and feeling a lot better. Pack up and have brief chats with our Irish neighbours on one side and French neighbours on the other. Leave about 10.30 having taken advantage of the grey waste disposal point. Buy fuel just down the road and stock up with bread and veg.
It's definitely windy today and I have persuaded John that we should not be driving a high sided vehicle around the Ring of Kerry on a day like today. So we head to the village of Ballyvourney a few miles inland where there's a car park where we can stay overnight.
Pretty car park next to a river and we go for a walk through the woods above. There's clearly been high wind as there's a lot of leaves and twigs on the path and we see a tree that had snapped very recently.
To the Mills pub a two minute walk away. It's packed with people having a late lunch - big portions. The barman is English from Leicester and went to university in Wales like me (Aberystwyth, not like me). Just one drink as John's tummy still not 100% and back to the mo-ho.
The park is used by dog walkers and I love the sight of the woman who has colour coordinated clothes to match her black and white hound.
Sunday 6 August. The wind has dropped today and so we're off today to drive the Ring of Kerry, a route along the coast of the peninsula west of Killarney. We're going anti clockwise i.e. north coast first. Belated word from the wise - if you drive this route go clockwise so you're on the 'sea side' of the road and can see more and pull in easily to look out areas. It's very beautiful.
We forgo breakfast at the pub and I make myself an omelette. On the road and stop to buy a Sunday Times paper (Irish edition) which has a half page article about how the bad weather is affecting shop keepers and restaurants along the Wild Atlantic Way as the customers just aren't coming.
Drive through Killarney again, which provides an interesting couple of minutes following a rental car - it doesn't stop at a red traffic light and nearly mows down some pedestrians (who are suitably vocal to the driver) then almost immediately drives onto a mini roundabout without stopping for the car already on the roundabout…. Fortunately they quickly disappear out of our road.
Try then to visit the Gap of Dunloe, an achingly beautiful valley from what we can see of it. Unfortunately the rest of the world and his wife have also decided to come and have a look and there's nowhere to park, so we leave.
Head along the coast on the N70 road enjoying views of the Dingle Peninsula to the north. Stop a couple of times to have a good look at the scenery and are intrigued, driving through the town of Cahersiveen, by a mural celebrating Monsignor Hugh O' Flaherty. He was a priest at the Vatican during WWII and apparently helped save over 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews.
Turn off the Wild Atlantic Way onto the Skellig Ring route at the far west of the Killarney Peninsula and park to visit the cliffs of Kerry. Whisper it but the sun has come out! Beautiful views from the car park
On then to the rest of the Skellig Ring which is not mo-ho friendly - a very narrow road, single track with passing places. Definitely butt clenching as the passenger.
Manage to contact Sean, who runs bookings for the camp ground where we want to stay tonight. The number given for him on the website is wrong so I have to do some work arounds. Two phone calls and a text later he's assured us of a space for tonight on Goosey Island in Sneem.
Arrive in Sneem, which is very pretty, squeeze our way past an Old Irish goat with HUGE horns being led over the river bridge, and find the camp ground; brief negotiation with the lady on the gate and then we're in. No loos or showers but there's a place to dump waste water - and we get a pitch right on the edge of the River Sneem which is just lovely. I go off to the pub up the road - not for a drink but to pay the $20 for the night's stay. I love that there's an expectation here that you'll be honest and pay up eg at 'unmanned' campgrounds, or if you go to the pub and can run a tab without leaving a credit card behind the bar.
Enjoy sitting by the river, then walk into town to the Sacre Coeur restaurant which is well recommended. And very busy, so we back track to the Stone House restaurant where we have a portion of sea bass, a burger and a bottle of wine at a cost, I suspect, of about a third of what we'd have paid at the Sacre Coeur. Served by the bustling owner and a charming Dutch girl.
Monday 7 August today is a Bank holiday in Ireland so we're not sure if the roads will be mayhem as per most Bank hols in GB, or ok. Turns out not to be too busy.
We set off to drive around the next peninsula south following the WAW. However the road is so lumpy (and we have an escaping cutlery drawer incident which is always scary) that we decide to go straight to Bantry.
Park at a designated mo-ho spot, an aire, with EHU on the quay. Quiet in the town, very few shops open. John points out that many of the restaurants have permanent outdoor seating areas, so it must be dry sometimes! It's not cold, thanks to the Gulf Stream. Go to the Boston Bar for a few pints - friendly table service and not expensive.
Back to the aire which now has all places taken - a mix of Irish, French, Brits and German mo-hos.
Tuesday 8 August. I have an in-mo-ho shower (loos only at this aire) but the water runs out half way through John's shower. Need to be more observant about how much water we have on board. We have a brief walk around the pier and then start the drive to Mizen Head, the most south westerly point of Ireland. Fascinating cloud formations to the north and a pretty drive but when we get to Mizen Head we are definitely in a cloud formation.
Walk along the path from the visitor centre and across a foot bridge. There have been a number of shipwrecks over the years and the steps taken to help ships at sea include:
A fog signal, established in 1909 so that, in foggy conditions a charge of explosives was let off manually at seven and half minute intervals. The explosives were stolen in an armed raid in May 1920 and the fog signal wasn’t re-established until February 1924.
Ireland’s first radiobeacon was installed in January 1931.
A powerful light was established at Mizen Head in 1959, to complement the Fastnet Lighthouse (1854) which is out at sea. We can't see the Fastnet Lighthouse until we're leaving as it's so cloudy.
Have a coffee and sandwich at the café then drive to the town of Schull. Very pretty holiday resort, with a yacht harbour, and once we find somewhere to park have a nice walk along the main street.
On then to Skibereen where we're booked into The Hideaway campsite for two nights, which we're able to extend to three nights.
Call in at a Lidl supermarket on the edge of Skibereen which is new shopping to us. Their wine's a lot cheaper than Tesco's…Their veggie sausages taste of nothing.
To the camp site and get set up - flat site, views of low hills. Have to pay a Euro for a 3 minute shower so I get €10 worth of coins from reception. I understand that limiting the time for a shower makes sense in terms of sharing the showers amongst the campers, but only 3 minutes??!
Once again this is a trip down memory lane for us. Such a gorgeous area. So good that you've made the best of it despite the weather.
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