Our day began with a 2 hour boat ride to Lord Brandon's Cottage before a 7 mile hike over the Gap of Dunloe to Kate Kearney's Cottage where we caught a bus back to Killarney.
The route provided by Hillwalk Tours would have had us walking back along the same route past Muckross House that we had exhaustively trod the day before, so we decided to strike out on our own after the boat ride and climb up over the Gap of Dunloe to Kate Kearney's Cottage where we were told we could catch a bus back to Killarney — if we walked quickly.
Along with a family from Annapolis, we boarded a small boat with their rented bicycles. They were planning to take the same route we were over the Gap of Dunloe. At first the lake seemed deep and full, and our guide spun tales of leading tourists in the past when the heavy wooden boats were powered by oars, not an electric outboard like ours.
Soon we came to a narrow pass under a beautiful stone bridge that would take us into the next lake — except that the water was too low to float through with us aboard. So most of us walked over to the next lake and waited for our boat to meet us.
After crossing the second lake, we disembarked and walked beside the river to Lord Brandon's Cottage. It had started as a hunting lodge but now serves tea to contemporary folk.
From here, the actual hike began. I remember the days when the Gap was a rough dirt track that barely qualified as a road, kept that way, I am sure, to protect the livelihood of the jaunting car drivers who took tourists through the famous Gap. They still do that, but now they have to dodge the occasional car. We were early in the season and mostly had the road to ourselves.
Probably the most inclusive warning sign I have ever seen suggested that although fully paved, the Gap of Dunloe is not for the faint of heart.
Jaunting cars still make their way along the Gap from Kate Kearney's Cottage, and the drivers certainly still celebrate Auger Lake and the stone bridge above it. Our walk down was pleasant enough, but the next day I was very glad we had an early start so it was still cool coming back up the Gap, our first of three passes for the day.
Rhododendrons provided a welcome burst of color along the roadside. We took our late lunch beside Auger Lake under unfailingly bright sun.
As we moved further out of the mountains it became clear that Ireland was in a drought. Black Lake had dropped visibly below its normal levels. At the end of the road to Kate Kearney's Cottage where the jaunting car drivers waited for passengers, we had an hour or so before our bus took us back into Killarney. We had walked 7 miles over the first pass of our trip.
Full photo album for Ring of Kerry — Segment 1
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