The Dingle Peninsula

So much to see.  So little time!  We left our farmhouse for the day to explore the Slea Head Scenic Route.

Prehistoric Beehive Huts

Our first stop was at the Prehistoric Beehive Huts.  According to what we learned, these were probably once single family dwellings.  They were built in a circle, with each layer of stone placed a little closer to the center than the one under it, until there was just a small opening at the top that could be closed with one stone.  No mortar was using in building these huts (called corbelling).  It's hard to say how old they are, because corbelling was used as long ago as 3100 B.C. and as recently as the 1950s!  The huts on Slea Head Drive were probably built in the 12th century, when the Irish people were pushed off the good land out to the edges of the Dingle Peninsula.

Ryan's Daughter Beach

Next stop - the beach where parts of Ryan's Daughter were filmed!  Have you watched the move?  I loved it!  I watched it before our trip, and was very excited about seeing some of the places used in the filming.  We looked for the schoolhouse where Robert Mitchum (as Charles Shaughnessy) taught and lived, but we couldn't find it.  Either it has been torn down, or we drove by it without recognizing it.

                                   Don't do it Art!                                  Denise and Art are making a cairn of their own.

Dunquin (Dún Chaoin) Pier

I had seen this pier in so many pictures before we visited Ireland, and was excited to visit it in person.   We walked down the steep path to the pier, where the ferry leaves to take visitors to the Blasket Islands.

Gallarus Oratory

This tiny church was built around the 7th or 8th century, and resembles an upside-down boat.  It was built and used by local farmers, and is made only of local stones fitted together with no mortar.  It has remained waterproof and in near-perfect condition, and has not been restored because it has not needed it.  It has withstood the elements for over 1200 years!

Kilmalkedar Church Ruins

Kilmalkedar is a medieval early-Christian site known for its 12th century Romanesque church and several interesting artifacts such as an alphabet stone, sundial, large stone cross, and Ogham stone.  I didn't get a picture of it, but the Ogham stone at this church has a hole in it, and it supposedly was used to make deals.  If you touched fingers through the hole in the stone (which was over a grave) the deal would be binding until death.  (Maybe like swearing on your relative's grave?)

The stone cross in front of the church

                                 Tim is examining the sundial.             Beautiful Romanesque doorway

Across the dirt road from the church is St. Brendan's House, or the Priest's House.  I really wanted to explore it, but a locked gate blocked the entrance.

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So much to see and do on Slea Head Drive on the Dingle Peninsula, and we did about all we could do in one day.  But...

"Tomorrow is another day."

Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind - she was Irish, right?

The Dingle Farmhouse

Yesterday we traveled on the Dingle Peninsula on our way to our next accommodation.  We had read that while the Ring of Kerry is the most popular tourist destination, the Dingle Peninsula is just as beautiful and not nearly as crowded.  I cannot vouch for that, because the only part of the Ring of Kerry we explored was the part through Killarney National Park (which was breathtakingly beautiful!), but I can tell you that Slea Head Drive on the Dingle Peninsula did not disappoint!!

So very beautiful.

After traveling over some of the most beautiful, narrow roads ever, we arrived at The Dunbeg Farmhouse, or Jack's House, on the tip of the Dingle Peninsula.  We had looked forward to this since we started planning our trip.  OH MY GOODNESS!  We were not disappointed.

The house is located in the village of Ventry.  It overlooks the water, and sheep graze on the hill between the house and the water. 

Our view!

Although our hostess, Mary, had a coal fire burning when we arrived, the house was really cold.  She left enough coal for maybe one more fire, and when we had used that, we bought more at a store in Dingle Town.  (Turns out they sell coal in the grocery store!)   In what I thought was an unusual arrangement, our hostess read the electric meter, and when we left we paid for the electricity we had used.  The house did have electric heat in addition to the fireplace, but we never really did warm up.   It was very cozy sitting by the fire wrapped in blanket/throws, and we very much enjoyed our evenings here!

Sure did enjoy our cold evenings by the fire!

We slept warm, and woke up this morning so thrilled to be in this farmhouse by the sea!

One of our neighbors - it was lambing season!

The yellow building is our house - the kitchen to be exact - and the stone building is the barn out back.

Tim and Art on the road in front of our house

Tim learned how to use the coffee machine!  Mary, our hostess, left fruit, bread, and marmalade for us.  We set out to explore after our delicious breakfast of toast and lattes!

 Can't wait to come back to our farmhouse tonight!

Killarney National Park

This morning we left the lovely Thatch Cottage, and decided to drive into the town of Kenmare to see the Kenmare Stone Circle we had read about.  We each deposited 2 euro into the "honesty box" and walked back to the circle of stones.  This one is supposedly unique because it is egg-shaped instead of round.  Stone circles were built during the bronze age (2,200 - 500 BC), and were used for ritual and ceremonial purposes.  I'm sure we just don't understand the subtleties, but we just weren't impressed.

We left Kenmare and traveled on a portion of the Ring of Kerry towards the Killarney National Park through the most beautiful mountain range, pulling over whenever we could to enjoy the views - and take pictures of course.

We were excited to see snow on the mountain tops in the distance!

This is what we dreamed of when planning our trip.

The Lakes of Killarney, as seen from The Ladies View.  This overlook supposedly got it name because Queen Victori'as ladies-in-waiting were so awed by the view during their visit in 1861.

We entered the Killarney National Park, and our first stop was the Torc Waterfall.  Such a beautiful (short) walk to the falls.  We were fascinated by the beautiful green moss everywhere.  AND we encountered another hail storm!

 

Next stop - Muckross House.  We had planned to tour the house, but the next guided tour (no self-guided walk-throughs allowed) was an hour later.  We decided instead to walk down to the lake and through the arboretum and stream garden.  SO BEAUTIFUL!  There just never seems to be enough time!

From the gardens, we drove to Muckross Abbey.  This was our favorite thing!  The Abbey is an ancient Irish Monastery, and also a graveyard.   It dates back to the beginnings of Christianity in Ireland, with the first monastery supposedly having been built in the 6th century.  The buildings there now are ruins of a Franciscan friary that was founded in the 15th century.  The monks of Muckross Abbey were driven out in the 1650s by the infamous Cromwell in his efforts to rid Ireland of Catholicism.   The graveyard next to the abbey is still used as a burial ground.

We left Killarney National Park and drove towards our next accommodations on the Dingle Peninsula.  We did not have nearly enough time in the park, and would definitely come back should we ever find ourselves in Ireland again. 

And I'm thinking that's a good possibility!