Our last stop in southwestern Ireland before heading back to Dublin was the Dingle Peninsula, and the town of Dingle itself. This was actually my favorite part of the trip - it had the quintessential patchwork green fields, the beautiful ocean, and was much quieter in tone than Killarney.
We said goodbye to Killarney after breakfast and made the ~60 minute drive to Dingle, during which we made our sojourn over the Conor Pass. It was pretty early in the day still when we arrived so our room at the Bed & Breakfast that we were staying was not ready, so we decided to drive around the Dingle Peninsula itself, which is a drive of about 30 miles. When we had stopped at the top of Conor Pass, there was an Irish musician selling his CDs in the parking lot, so we bought one from him. It was wonderful to listen to the folksy Irish music as we drove through what can only be described as movie-like Irish countryside. It was green and lush, with yellow heather lacing throughout the hedges and fields. We could see sheep grazing all throughout the drive, and the whole scene just seemed very idyllic.
We stopped along the shore and walked for a bit on the rocks and through the long wind-swept grass, just enjoying the breeze and the smell of the ocean. The Dingle Peninsula is the most western point in Ireland and arguably in Europe itself, and so it’s incredible to just look out at the ocean and know that there’s nothing between you and North America but thousands of miles of frigid Atlantic water.
We headed back after a couple of hours to the town of Dingle, and walked around, looked at the quaint buildings, got some ice cream at Murphy’s Ice Cream (a place we had discovered in Killarney as well). The ice cream shop uses all local Kerry cows for the cream and has unusual flavors - but the simple sea salt vanilla was one of my favorites.
The masts of Dingle Harbor
After we checked into our bed & breakfast, we went out for sunset to some old castle ruins along the water. It was peaceful, with the waves lapping up along the shore and we got some muted but pretty pastel clouds highlighting the sky.
The next morning, we put together a small picnic lunch from a nearby grocery store, drove down to the tip of the peninsula, and boarded a boat at the Dunquin Pier, a very unique stone pier that twists and turns down to the water. We took the boat over to the the Great Blasket Island and spent a few hours walking the island. The Blasket Islands, now uninhabited, was once populated by a small group of people, the most being 175 people. They lived an extremely hard life on an island that had severe raging weather on a frequent basis, without even a doctor to care for them. By 1953, there were only 22 people left and the government evacuated all of them, determining that the island was no longer fit for habitation. Now, there are only ruined stone buildings, a small cafe and visitor’s center, and a rare seasonal hostel to stay in. It is a rugged island, but amazingly beautiful with lots of wildlife that we just did not have the time to spend any length of time looking at. If I do ever make it back there, I will go better prepared with a long lens and perhaps even a tent to camp overnight. We took the 45-minute tour but just walked around the island, had our lunch, and just enjoyed the physical exertion of hiking the hills and looking at raw nature.
Inside Blasket Island ruins
Sheep grazing on the windy hillside of Great Blasket Island, overlooking a rough ocean.
Our trail along the hill of Great Blasket Island
We headed back to the mainland and went to the beach for a little while to walk around, then headed to Conor Pass for sunset. I won’t get into that story, you can read all about it!
Our time in Dingle was amazing and the weather was spectacular. If you’re like me, I tend to go to one place for several days and immerse myself in the culture there. This was a slight break from that, because we went to Killarney first, then to Dingle, each for 2-3 days. Travel habits are wonderful, whether it is how you plan your itinerary, how you pack, or what you tend to eat. But don’t be afraid to break habit when it makes sense. Flexibility is so key in travel, particularly if you tend to not do long bus tours like myself….I hate being kept to someone else’s schedule.
Break away from your habits for just a little while and see where the adventure takes you!
Stay tuned to hear a little about Dublin!