Happily, we finally made the long trip from Galway city to Valentia Island at the tip of the Iveragh Peninsula earlier this month. This involved driving past Limerick on to Killarney, before hitting the fabled Ring of Kerry in an anticlockwise direction (that is, towards Killorglin rather than Kenmare - see the first map further on!). We spent a few days in Valentia, before continuing on the Ring towards Waterville and Sneem back to Galway, and I can't emphasize enough how lovely it all is. Although it was an epic journey, the whole trip was wonderful and the scenery is just as spectacular as the guidebooks promise. I can envisage it all getting a bit crazy at the height of tourist season - I can't imagine how difficult navigating those roads must be in a big massive tourbus, and I feel for tourists not used to the Irish road network (often windy and occasionally terrifying) - so I'd recommend travelling off-season if at all possible.
So, why choose Valentia Island in particular? If I'm being honest, I think its far away-ness and the poetry of its name were major factors. In addition, to make it all even more romantic, Valentia Island is one of the coastal weather stations named in the BBC Shipping Forecast, which I have waxed lyrical on previously... what's not to love?!
Getting our bearings!
Valentia Island
There are many other places to see on the island, including a slate quarry, which was originally founded in 1816 and is still operational today. Although this hasn't been remodelled as a tourist site as such, it was very interesting to see and Anthony was in his element. I liked this a lot, never having been in such close proximity to a proper working mine before, and I learned that Valentia slate was (and is) used all over the world in buildings such as the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris and Westminster Cathedral. On our second afternoon, as the day was brighter and even sporadically sunny, we decided to take on Bray Head and walk up to the watch tower that was constructed in 1815. This was a really lovely walk and we were rewarded with wonderful views of the Skelligs (see the picture at the top of the post).
The Skelling Ring
Ring of Kerry
The first half offers serious close-up sightings of all those Iveragh Peninsula mountains I mentioned above, and I really enjoyed seeing the weather moving over these, and how the colours changed in a blink of an eye from purples and blues to browns and oranges. The road then opened up to the coast, offering beautiful views across Dingle Bay to the Dingle Peninsula. We continued on to Caherciveen (this can be spelled three different ways; I hope I've picked the right one!), which is the birthplace of Daniel O'Connell, a hugely important figure in Irish history, before getting our first introduction to Valentia Island in the distance as we drove on to Portmagee. It was early evening by the time we arrived here and the low sun showed off the green fields and mountains and little houses and sheer loveliness of the island as we approached; it made my heart glad!
In the second half of the route, the coastline section between Waterville and Caherdaniel is incredible, but I also liked travelling inland further on as the landscape felt wilder and more remote. Although the centre of the Ring of Kerry appears to be composed nearly entirely of mountains, I could spot an odd house perched here and there way off in the hills along the entire circuit, and I marvelled at the people who make their homes in places like these. I've always thought of myself as a country rather than a city dweller, but I'm not sure I would be brave enough to live here... I guess it's a personality thing and it conflicts me. I like to see signs of humanity when I look out the window and to be close to services and cafes; on the other hand, dense, urban living is kind of unnatural and highly stressful. Seriously though, what must it be like to live in the shadow of the mountains and possibly not see another person all day? In the same vein, I've recently been reassessing my lifelong ambition to have a home beside the sea - I love the sea because it makes me feel and think profoundly, but maybe that's something that should be indulged every now and then as a treat. Too much thinking and feeling could become exhausting. I hate to admit it, but I'm slowly starting to accept that I may be somewhat shallow for an isolated way of life, close to nature - I'm hoping there's a happy medium; maybe living in a little town close to a big city, with the Atlantic within walking and hearing and smelling distance... wouldn't that be ideal?! Anyways! On we went, stopping for an ice-cream in Sneem (such a pretty town) and nearly causing a car-crash on the Kenmare-Killarney road because It. Was. All. Too. Beautiful. Honestly, I was overwhelmed; the mountains and views were everywhere, and there was a rainbow, and my camera and I were completely giddy for about an hour. We pulled in at Moll's Gap to catch our breaths, and also found a good quiet spot down the road just before Ladies' View (this was more crowded) to drink it all in...