This, for me, was going to be the highlight of our trip to Ireland. Those other peninsulas were nice but today we had John with us to show us Dingle off the beaten track. John is our friend Joe’s Dad and he has lived in Ireland since 1995. He’d been to visit us in Broadway with Joe last time he was over and he’d talked about all the highlights of Dingle which I’d captured on a couple of post it notes.
He’d driven all the way over from Cork to take us out and he came in the car with Jane and me whilst the others followed along in the second car. Luckily the start of the Dingle Peninsula is much nearer at Bennerville Windmill. We were on the road by about 8:45 as John wanted to make the most of the day. He came armed with a huge book on the Archaelogical Survey of the Dingle Peninsula. Crikey.
As we started the drive we had sunny views of high mountains including Mountain Brendan which is the 2nd highest in Ireland. As we drove John told us how he’d originally fallen in love with Dingle , back in 1986 he’d lead some long cross peninsula walks for young offenders from Birmingham , about 50 in total. This had been their alternative to being locked up and had been life changing for many of them. Their route took them for 14 nights across the high mountain ridges and all the way to the Great Blasket Island where they’d plant their flags and pennants.
John warned us that he had two issues 1) glaucoma which means he can hardly see through his right eye and 2) he is hard of hearing. I was doing the driving with John as my co-pilot and his hearing issue meant that we were often shouting at cross purposes! John’s tour was a bit of a magical mystery. He had a very definite plan as to where we would go but was somewhat reluctant to reveal it. This meant I had to make sure that Adrian was following me in the 2nd car all the time. John also admitted to a third slight issue which was that although he used to live in Tralee, he hadn’t visited the Dingle Peninsula for ages! So his directions would involve some low key humming as we approached a possible turn or stop and then him suddenly shouting ‘TURN!’.
Our first stop was a non-descript lay-by where we were lead by John up a boggy lane towards some mountains. It wasn’t entirely clear how long we’d been walking but it soon became very clear that we were not all wearing footwear suitable for boggy hopping! We were up here to admire some Bronze Age rocks and rock art called ‘cup and ring’. John made it show up better by rubbing it with grass. This form of prehistoric art has been found all over Europe and also in Hawaii, Australia, India and Mozambique. It’s a small world.
To be honest though we were all a little bit more impressed by the view which was magnificent 180 degrees of mountain and 180 degrees of coastline.
Next we drove up the Connor Pass. In places it was one way and very narrow with over hanging rock face but there was at least a sturdy wall to keep us safe. At the top we had fine views over Harp Lake and down to the sea.
Then it was an easier drive down into Dingle Town. Dingle is a very nice feeling town and we parked up and had a little mooch around. It’s all very colorful again and John took us to see Dick Mack’s with its walk of the stars outside (Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Robert Mitchum) . Like other establishments here it’s a shop on one side and a bar on the other. This particular one is a cobblers! Dingle also has a number of nice galleries and a busy harbour where the little fishing boats now take tourists to see Fungi the Dolphin in the harbour.
We had a refreshment break here and then got on our way again. I made John do a detour down to Ventry Beach which is a huge expanse of sand. I’d read that we might find seaglass here but after 5 mins searching only Adrian found 1 piece!
From here we took the very scenic Slea Head drive and had great views over to the Great Blasket Islands, one of which looks like a sleeping giant. We stopped at Krugers Bar for a swift half as it is the most westerly pub in Europe! It was very traditional and had lots of pictures on the walls from when they filmed Ryan’s Daughter and more recently ‘Far and Away’ around here.
Next was one of those hum hum hum TURN moments as we swerved off up a grassy lane and through a gate where it said ‘no parking’. We parked and Pam was a little disappointed that the building remains were just that and not a set from Stars Wars. We had a little wander up and then down towards the cliffs. Here was a relic of the school building from Ryan’s Daughter. A lovely spot perched on the cliffs. Only John slid down the cliffs a bit to try a spot of fossil hunting….
Next we stopped at beautiful but wild Clogher Beach where the waves were crashing and swimming is permanently banned because of the dangerous cross currents. The weather had now gone off and it only added to the drama.
Next we went to the Gallarus Oratory but we didn’t want to pay the 5 euros entry fee so instead Jane and I followed John through his ‘private’ entrance through two gates and down another grassy lane enclosed by a gorgeous fuschia hedge! The building is a small arch shaped pod with dry stones walls. It was very cosy inside. It is apparently the only one of its kind and no one really knows when it was built or why.
By now we were all fading again and we drove back along the lovely lanes which are lined with beautiful hedgerows of monbretia, fuschia, buttercups, vetch and other sweet wildflowers. We had another fuel stop in Dingle and then car 2 decided to go home via Dunnes for tea. As we left Dingle we passed a long queue outside a small white building. John explained that it was not a queue for bingo but a queue to attend the wake of a well known sports presenter Tommy Gorman. There was a police road block guarding the way it was obviously only going to get busier. In fact it was on the news on RTE1 when we got home.
John decided we could have one more stop to see Inch Beach on our way back. Another stunning stretch of sand with surf sparkling in the late afternoon sun, mountains as a backdrop and the sun shining through the clouds which were rolling in. We took a few snaps and then dashed back to the car as it started to rain.
It had been another lovely day with John as our excellent and kind guide. But all that driving and chatting was exhausting and broken, I hauled myself into the hot tub to recover. I love a hot tub in the rain. 😁
Where shall we go to next? 