The Ring of Kerry (7/8)

Apologies for the slow release of the blog.  We have had difficulty accessing the internet.

Sandie & Jeff declined to come on the Ring of Kerry drive as both had knee problems. We set off in an anticlockwise direction on the advice of the caravan park management as this is the direction the tour buses travel, and we wanted to avoid them as much as possible on the narrow roads. Our first diversion at Glenbeigh was to head for Rossbeigh for a walk along the sand spit. This stretch of sand heads approximately 2.5 km northwards towards the Dingle Peninsula, and almost opposite a spit from Inch which stretches south approximately 5km, the two of them forming Castlemaine Harbour. These impressive structures are very unstable, as in 2008, 400 metres of sand dune disappeared into the sea, while in 2011 the Rossbeigh Strand Tower which had been a marker for the harbour for over 100 years collapsed due to being undermined. It was estimated in 2013 that in the previous five years over 5 million tonnes of sand had disappeared from the sand spit. Obviously there are changes in the currents around the area and the means by which these unusual sand structures had been formed is now being reversed which is of concern not only to the locals (who are building rock walls to preserve their tourist attraction), but Castlemaine Harbour itself is a very important habitat for migratory wading birds.

The sand spit at Rossbeigh with the sea wall to protect it

We headed back to the main road via a very steep road only wide enough for one car, but fortunately there were passing places at frequent intervals. Having to back into one of these is obviously not unusual if a car is coming the other direction – which we were lucky enough to avoid.

The colours and variety of wildflowers in the
roadside verge were impressive

A little further along we diverted to take the ferry across to Valentia Island. We joined about 20 vehicles and a dozen or so bicycles for the 10 minute trip across and landed at Knightstown. This pretty little harbour town was not only the harbour for a small fishing fleet, but was being used by dozens of neoprene-clad children of all ages racing around both in and out of the water and using all sorts of different craft while seeming to yell at the tops of their voices. Several adults seemed to be trying to maintain some semblance of control.

Some of the children enjoying the summer camp

We found a map of the island and headed up to the highest point, Geokaun Mountain from where we could see the whole island – it is only 11km long by 3km wide. From there we could see to the north the slate mine which was one of the principle sources of income for the island. It was first opened in 1816 and found to provide a very good quality product was used for many notable buildings including Britain's Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral, St Paul's Cathedral and the Paris Opera (along with many billiard tables). It closed down in 1911 due to competition from the softer Welsh slate and a rockfall, and instead of staying to face a life of poverty, most of its employees chose to accept an assisted passage and emigrate to America. In fact after two ships sailed for the US, the school population fell from over 250 to just 56. The slate quarry reopened in 1998 with a very small workforce and provides its high quality stone for restoration work as well as new projects.

View north from Geokaun Mountain.  Slate mine under the brow of the hill.

Also to the north is the spot where in 1993 a student geologist discovered tetrapod tracks in Devonian mudstone believed to be 385 million years old and therefore amongst the oldest known traces of land vertebrates.

It was from this island that several attempts were made to lay the first transatlantic telephone cable, which was finally done successfully by Isambard Kingdom Brunel's steamship “Great Eastern” in 1866 with the shore station at this end being on the southern end of the island. This cable was so successful that it was in continuous use until it was decommissioned in 1966, exactly 100 years later.

The Skellig Islands from Geokaun Mountain

We returned to the mainland via the bridge at Port Magee, named after a notorious 18^th century smuggler who worked in the area dealing in contraband spirits, textiles and tea and tobacco. We had lunch here on the sea wall soaking up the beautiful sunshine for a change. 
 From this port you can catch a boat out to the Skellig Islands (which we could see from Geokaun Mountain). It is only possible to land on the larger of these two very precipitous rocky islands and that with difficulty. For this reason, the monastery which was created there probably in 7^th century and used for about 600 years has been naturally protected from desecration and is exceptionally well preserved. This UNESCO World Heritage Site shows the stone 'beehive' huts (clochans) perched above nearly vertical cliff walls which the monks lived in. The smaller of the islands is home to many seabird colonies.

Protected harbour at the western end of the peninsula.
Derrynane House was just off to the right.

The western end of the peninsula is quite indented, and at one stage we were able to look down on a couple of beautiful little bays with a large house off to one side. We later learnt that this was Derrynane House, the home of Daniel O'Connell who campaigned for catholic emancipation in the early 19^th century. Catholics were not permitted to sit in the British Parliament for over 100 years until O'Connell, who trained as a lawyer and rose through the ranks against prejudice, had the laws overturned and entered parliament himself. He then worked towards the removal of Ireland from the United Kingdom. His tactics were mostly peaceful (although at one stage he was forced into a duel in which he killed his opponent), and led the way for Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jnr.

View from Moll's Gap

Further on, we came to the lovely little town of Sneem, with its brightly painted buildings, but there were so many buses parked in the town square that we decided there would be too much competition for anything we might want to do or see so kept going, via the coast road, to Kenmare. Here Jill and Wendy found a lace museum, and the lady in attendance must have realised from their conversation that they had more than just a passing interest in it because she suddenly joined them and demonstrated at least five different styles of lacemaking, all Irish styles from different regions. Lacemaking is one of the projects Wendy intends taking up after retirement (in about four weeks time).  Nowhere looked enticing enough for coffee so we headed on to Moll's Gap which had both better coffee and better views.

The bus pushing its way through.

From here it was all downhill to Killarney. We stopped a couple of times for the view, dodging the buses which were also heading home. We were only trapped behind one bus (not a bad record).  It was amusing to watch it act like a bulldozer for us, making cars coming the other direct back off to allow it to negotiate a couple of the very tight bends on the narrow road. But the bus was not the only reason for our slow trip home. Despite the narrow roads and the traffic we passed numbers of cyclists all day. On this last stretch with traffic trying to go both directions it was very difficult to pass them, and so we travelled at cycling pace. This was not too bad behind the racing cyclists, but there were tourist cyclists on the road as well.

We went into Killarney for dinner at a pub that evening. Sandie and Jeff took a taxi (knees still a problem) while the rest of us walked to stretch the legs after the long drive. The taxi driver was asked to recommend a good place. He gave a couple of names, commenting that there were no bad ones as they would not survive. As we hadn't booked we only managed to find a table to accommodate the six of us on our third try. When Allan's shiraz order arrived, we were highly amused to see that it was an Australian wine, a small 185 mL bottle of Yellowtail – grown and matured in South Australia, bottled in Italy, imported into London, and drunk in Ireland! They also had kangaroo on the menu, but none of us took up that option. The walk back to the camp was a necessity after a very good meal.