The Ring of Kerry |
Sample Itinerary
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- On this famous scenic tour the route winds over mountain roads, by sandy beaches, through villages with names translated from the ancient Gaelic language- names like Caherciveen, Derrynane, Sneem.
- Departing killarney we continue through Beaufort, here there is ancient "writing" of Ireland, two-thousand year old Ogham carved on a group of stone pillars, (depending on the group size a stop can be made). Continuing on we will pass through Killorglin, where each year since pagan days a Puck goat is crowned as king and reigns over the 3 day "Puck Fair" (in August)!
- Nearby, visit The Red Fox Inn and Kerry Bog Village Museum. The bog village is an award winning recreation of a rural 18th century Irish village. Step back in time to thatched cottages, an old black smiths forge, The turf cutters house, stable dwelling and a dairy house.
- Next we will then make our way for the seaside town of Rossbeigh and its here we get our first view of the ocean. There is an optional stop to view Brendan Ferris award winning Sheep Dogs and his 10 breeds of sheep from around the world at work. An impressive exercise in precision work. Continuing from here along a high cliff road over Dingle Bay and then sweeping back into the mountains onward to Caherciveen, The birth place of Daniel O’ Connell. Depending on your coach size a visit to Cahergal Ringfort in Caherciveen may also be possible. This is a brilliantly restored example of ancient Irish Ring Forts.
- Near Caherciveen, beyond Ballinskelligs Bay you’ll see the craggy rock-islands known as the Skelligs, 6th century hermit monks who retreated there, carved stone steps to the summit and lived in stone beehive huts, 800 windswept feet above the ocean.
- Leaving Caherciveen we travel on toward Waterville. A place so loved by the actor Charlie Chaplin and so frequented by him that a statue was erected on main street in his memory. The picturesque village seaside village is an ideal place to take a stroll and have lunch.
- On our way to the remote award winning village, Sneem, we drive up over Coomakista Pass giving stunning ocean views to the south and north. Then on by Derrynane Estate, Irelands smallest national park. It was the home of Daniel O'Connell, the "Liberator". Education was forbidden to Catholics under the tyrannical Penal Laws so young Daniel was sent to college in France. There he saw the bloodshed of the French Revolution & was forever afterwards against violence. Using only his legal and oratorical skills he won Catholic emancipation for Ireland in the early 19th c. Almost every town in Ireland has a street named after him. The House, now excellently restored, contains a museum with many of his personal possessions on exhibit. (Open year round, stops are possible with small coach groups only).
- Now on the final stretch back to killarney we travel up hill amongst Ireland's highest mountains, the Magillicuddy Reeks, you'll descend from Moll's Gap past Ladies View. So named because of the Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting who express their enjoyment of the location during a visit some one hundred years ago. Plenty of photo stops along the way before we continue along the three "Lakes of Killarney" and back into Killarney town.
