It takes a full day to circumnavigate the peninsula, even though it's only a little over 100 miles in total. There will be mountain vistas and sea views along the way (not to mention some Amalfi Coast-like cliffside drops), and several stops to make.
Some of the sights along the way are:
- Glenbeigh, a seafront town where the streets are lined with palm trees and the beach is sandy. Kerry Bog Village (web site here), a group of reconstructed cottages dating from the 1800's, is located here. Glenbeigh is also known for its annual festival featuring horse races on the beach. I love the name of this year's festival president - Mary McGillicuddy. You can read more about the festival and races here.
- Cahersiveen, which overlooks Valentia harbor, bills itself as the capital of the Iveragh Peninsula. The town is famous for being the birthplace of Daniel O'Connell, the "liberator of Ireland"; the harbor was an infamous refuge for smugglers and privateers in the 18th century. Visit Cahersiveen web site
- Valentia Island was the first place in Europe to have a permanent telegraph link with North America, via an undersea cable in 1857. In use for 100 years, the cable ran from Foilhomerrum to Heart's Content, Newfoundland.
- Skellig Michael is generally described as "inhospitable". Michael is one of several islands that make up the Skelligs, and it's famous for the remains of a monastic community that was built there in the 6th and 7th centuries. There are 600 steps carved into the cliff face (for perspective, the climb up to the dome of the Duomo in Florence has under 500 steps). The monks abandoned the island in the 12th century.
Discover Ireland's article on the Ring of Kerry
Some You Tube videos on the Ring of Kerry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3A7hSgHQgE&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycgpd4-8FmM
No comments:
Post a Comment