After visiting nearby Cahir Castle, we continued our drive down into Cork County with an eye out for Paleolithic monuments. Our first stop was at the Drombeg Stone Circle. We braved intermittent rain squalls to inspect the circle and some waterlogged wells (or graves).
Then we drove to Bantry where a bit of Googling and review-reading directed us to a very acceptable seafood restaurant.
We took an adventurous mountain road over into the Kerry Peninsula at Kenmare but quickly pursued our quest for ancient stones at the well-preserved and beautifully sited Staigue Fort.
We proceeded around the Ring of Kerry admiring the scenery but reflecting on how our Big Sur Coast Road in California has more precipitous cliffs. We located Leacanabuile Stone Fort on the next small peninsula to the west. Excavation has revealed a series of stone buildings within the main walls. Although much stonework has been repaired or rebuilt, it is clearly an ancient site.
We drove further north to circle the Dingle Peninsula where we viewed the Dingle Golf Club, walked over a headland to inspect the gorse and some rock flowers, and paid a small fee to visit some beehive houses in farmers’ back yards.
Looping south again, we drove into the center of the Iveragh Peninsula to Glencar where we spent a pleasant night after a surprisingly good dinner in this isolated old hostelry, The Climbers Inn. The next morning we set out on a ten mile walk on the Kerry Way up a thousand feet into the McGillicuddy Reeks to peer over into the Bridia Valley and in the opposite direction toward Carrauntoohil, Ireland’s highest peak.
We had a rocky climb up Lach Road, a drover’s road that crosses into the Bridia Valley. It was a steep climb up and a wet and rocky one back down. But we also passed through a mossy green wood.
Worn out after our ten mile Kerry Way walk, we drove to Listowel and walked another mile to a high-class restaurant meal.