Today was a rather dismal day. It rained on and off all day long. There was a VERY heavy, low cloud cover. We drove the Ring of Kerry which is supposed to be gorgeous. It goes along the coast of the Iveragh peninsula. We couldn't see much of anything! It was a kind of disappointing day!
Ladies View is a scenic point along a portion of the Ring of Kerry drive, in Killarney National Park. The name comes from the admiration of the view given by Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting during their 1861 visit to the area. It is a spectacular panoramic view of the Lakes of Killarney. The view was not as great as it could have been on a clearer day but it was still pretty. There was a nice shop at this spot where we did some damage...
The Kenmare Stone Circle (The Druid's Circle) is probably the largest in southwest Ireland. It dates back to 1,000 B.C. The circle is
composed of 15 heavy boulders: 13 standing and 2 laying down. At the
center is an impressive boulder-burial with a giant capstone measuring 6ft 6in x 6ft x 2ft 6in. The weight of this capstone is almost seven tons. At least 30 laborers would have been needed to put it into
position. Stone Circles were built during the Bronze Age (2,200-500 B.C) for ritual and
ceremonial purposes.
Views along the coast on the Ring of Kerry:
Staigue Stone Fort is a partly ruined round stone fort, located on the Iveragh Peninsula. The fort is thought to have been built during the late Iron Age, probably somewhere between 300 and 400 AD, as a defensive stronghold for a local lord or king. It is situated at the head of a valley opening south to the sea, surrounded by a ditch over 8m wide. The fort's walls are up to 18 ft high in places, 13 ft thick at the base and 90 ft in diameter. The interior is reached through a 1.8m passage roofed with double lintels. It represents a considerable feat in engineering and construction. It was built without use of mortar. Inside is an elaborate system of stairways leading to terraces and corbelled cells in the wall reached by passages.
More views along the coast:
We absolutely loved all the stone walls in Ireland. They were everywhere!!! There are over a quarter of a million miles of them! They are built without mortar.
We kept seeing the sheep with colors painted on them. We finally asked a farmer about it. He said that each farmer paints their flock a different color. That way, when looking out over the fields, you know where your sheep are, if they are out of your fields or if someone else's sheep are in your field. Pretty good idea!!! But it looks kind of funny...
Loher Stone Fort: probably the property of a local chieftain in the early Christian period around the 9th century AD.
Ballinskelligs Castle is a 16th century two story tower
overlooking Ballinskelligs Bay. Its purpose was to protect the bay from pirates, and possibly in order to charge a tariff on incoming trade ships.
The Old Barracks is a former Royal Irish Constabulary (Police during British occupation) Barracks. The building was burned by anti-treaty forces in 1922 & has been restored. This building seems quite out of place in Kerry but there is a story that the plans for it were mixed up with a barracks to be built in India. It was designed and constructed between 1869-1871.
This was a cool building we could see from The Old Barracks. Not sure exactly what it is...
Nice view from The Old Barracks. Love the train tracks and the bridge!
Ballycarbery Castle is situated high on a grass hill facing the sea. The present ruins were constructed in the 16th century. (that sounds funny - like they built the "ruins"... ha ha ha) The castle was surrounded by a high wall with less than half still remaining. Ballycarbery Castle was featured in the 2010 film Leap Year starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode. It was very picturesque and we loved all the ivy on it!!
We are staying in Dingle Town on the Dingle Peninsula for 2 nights. It is a nice, quiet small fishing village. We walked down to the town center and had a seafood dinner at the Lord Bakers, the oldest pub in Dingle. It was a rather fancy, sedate pub, but the food was great!
We are staying at DeVane's Bed and Breakfast. We have the attic room (you can see the windows of the room on the roof). It was a nice place and the owner was very sweet!
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