When we began planning our trip to Ireland, I knew I wanted to visit the Ring of Kerry for its awesome views. I was also a little worried about all the online advice I had read about the drive – some said to head counterclockwise to avoid oncoming tour buses and others advice to head clockwise to avoid getting stuck behind a slow tour bus. And I saw more than one post that described the drive as treacherous. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when James and I headed out from Kenmare heading clockwise along the route.
We stopped early on in our drive to take in some beautiful views from the roadside and were pleased with the many spots to pull over for scenic views as many of the other places we’d driven did not allow extra room on the road for stops. As in many Irish towns, we found that if we hit the road early there was little traffic. We didn’t pass a single tour bus on our drive and faced hardly any oncoming cars.
As we had skipped breakfast, we decided to stop for an early lunch in Waterville, a small village along the route with a waterfront park. After a quick bite, we wandered into a few shops and enjoyed the waterfront park before continuing on the road.
Originally, we had planned to visit Valentia to see the Skellig Experience (since we had already determined that an actual trip to the Skelligs – featured in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens), but we decided to stay on route to the Bog Museum in Killorglin. The museum itself wasn’t very impressive, but we enjoyed talking with the college student who was working there who asked us all about our travels and told us about his experience studying in America.
When we first arrived, we were the only people at the museum, which is made up a few historical structures and a demonstration of how peat is used for fuel. We also saw a few bog ponies, the small horses that were traditionally used to harvest peat. A few other folks arrived as we were leaving. The experience reminded me a bit of the San Benito County Historical Park – perfect for history buffs or school children – but certainly not the most exciting experience of our trip.
From Killorglin, we headed back to Killarney and onto Cork, where we had a two-night stay ahead of us. We arrived late in the afternoon to check into our hotel and headed off to explore the city a little. I had hoped to visit the English Market, a building full of food stalls – seafood, fresh meat, vegetables, as well as ice cream, chocolates and prepared dishes, among other culinary delights. Unfortunately, the market closed early at 6 p.m. so we did not have much to explore on our first day in Cork.
Andersons+Ireland 