From our base in Killarney, we took ourselves off on a day-trip around the Ring of Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The main route is 179km long, although there are some detours that can be made on windy country roads, but only by cars.
Click on map to magnify
Driving in an anti-clockwise direction around the ring, our first scenic stop was where the road meets the sea on the north coast of this peninsula, just past the villages of Glenbeigh and Rossbehy.
View across to the Dingle Peninsula
There are plenty tour groups on large coaches also making this trip, but they have to stick to the main drag…making the windy country roads a pleasurable escape from those pesky big buses. Our first little foray was to Valentia Island, reached by bridge from Portmagee. Valentia is the site where the first permanent telegraph communication line joining Europe to the USA from 1866 and was used until 1966.
From Valentia Island looking south across to Portmagee
View to the north-east of Valentia Island from a spot called Bré
Valentian sea cliffs
Across the Foilhummeram Bay to the Skellig Islands
The village of Portmagee
Continuing along the coastal track from Portmagee, we stopped in at “The Best View of the Skellig Islangs”. Not a free view, but a good view nevertheless.
Amazing cliffs at the Skellig Island view-point
View past the cliffs and out to the Skelligs
The smaller of the two islands is called “Little Skellig”, and rather imaginatively the larger one is called “Great Skellig” or, more interestingly, “Skellig Michael”. It plays host to a Gaelic monastery, founded around the 7th Century and, since 1996, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Skellig Islands
Rejoining the main ring route we stopped at the car park at Coomatloukane, where we viewed the Lohar Ring Fort on one side, and the beautiful view across Iskaroon to the south.
Gorgeous views south of Coomatloukane car park
Caherdaniel Ring Fort
We also stopped in at Staigue Ring Fort, before heading up to Moll’s Gap and then onto Ladies View. Ladies View is named so after the admiration shown by Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting at this location whilst on their visit to Ireland in 1861.
Ladies View to the west
Ladies View to the east and the Lakes of Killarney
August, 2010
this looks pretty amazing
Thanks Laura – I think it is both pretty and amazing
Stunning scenic shots Lu. Portmagee looks very pretty.
Thank you Meanderer. We were very lucky with the weather. The sun might have actually been too bright – I got a lot of over-exposed clouds due to the glare!
Gorgeous photos! I was in Ireland and found it to be so beautiful. I love how green it is. The greenness almost hurts your eyes. Have you been to Iceland before? A place that reminded me of a cross between Ireland and New Zealand…
Thank you Nicole! I LOVE the greenness of Ireland
I’ve not yet managed to get myself to Iceland, nor to New Zealand for that matter. I’d love to go to both countries. I was hoping to get to Iceland before the winter sets in this year…but work just keeps getting in the way of my plans 