Category: Places Explored
An Impromptu Venture: Going through the Gap of Dunloe and around by the Black Valley
20th December 2024 After the energetic tramping of the preceding days, my mind was fixed on an easier day. Though the morning began with cloudy skies, I was determined to make something of the day. My choice became the Gap of Dunloe, somewhere that I only glimpsed from a passing car thirty years before. One particular vista from the narrow valley was immortalised by John Hinde in a jigsaw puzzle that I completed when I was younger. The colours may have been embellished by hand, yet the scene centred on a bridge surrounded by steep slopes, and perhaps with a jaunting car in there as well, comes to my mind's eye as I write these words.
While much of my traipsing around Killarney in 2022 linked me to family outings from thirty years before, the day around the Gap of Dunloe and beyond was where this meme particularly took hold. It echoed a similar meme that took me back twenty years in Scotland. In the main, the latter linked solitary experiences, while the former supplanted communal ones with solitary counterparts. There are times when it is easier to imbibe your surroundings with no one else to distract you. At least, that is how it appears to work for me, anyway.
Again, being a year too early for improved bus services again comes to mind. The last bus of the day between Beaufort Bridge and Killarney did not leave so much of the day for being around the Gap of Dunloe given the time of my outbound journey. Services between Killorglin and Killarney cover more of the day these times, especially since route 279 complements Expressway route 40 by going via Killorglin between Tralee and Killarney. The limitation of a bus timetable played on my mind at the head of the gap, even if I could have made the return leg of my walk in the available time.
Between all that, I gained much from clouds breaking in the sky over my head. Quiet lanes led me from the bus stop past Beaufort and some ogham stones to reach Kate Kearney's Cottage, where horse and carriage tour providers had a terminus. My rambling involved sharing with others using various forms of transport: walking, cycling, motoring and equine. Even so, the unpeopled scenes that you see above were as they came out of the camera, something worth saying in an era when distraction removal has been made so much easier by the advent of Generative AI.
Such is the list of lakes passed on my way that the words "Pater Noster" come to mind in their geographical sense; the string of lakes are akin to beads on the string of a set of rosary beads, thus gaining the Latin words for Our Father, a pivotal prayer in Christianity. Going south, the list builds like this: Coosaun Lough, Cushnavally Lake, Augur Lake and Black Lough, each a "bead" on the "string" of the River Loe. All added interest as I went on my way, as much as the steep slopes rising around me.
Some were walls of rock, offering a sound mirror for passing tourists and their guides. While the delight of hearing echoes may marvel some, the pursuit runs counter to my desire for quietude. Thankfully, I only witnessed this happening lower down the valley and relinquished that experience to encounter the actual delights that sated me.
Inasmuch as it appeared that the sunshine would carry on for the rest of the day, that was not to be. It was as I neared the head of the gap that a passing rain shower caught me; it was as if it were trying to steer me into sticking with my original plan. However, the sight of a sign welcoming visitors to the Black Valley sunk my adhesion to that idea. Though Killarney was around twenty kilometres away on foot and I had only trail shoes rather than hiking boots, the prospect was one that I was not to surrender. Travelling under one's own power adds a certain amount of security anyway; all is under your control as far as your physical condition allows.
As the shower faded, I descended into a valley where I had not passed for around thirty years. This time, I was on foot and could soak in my surroundings, scenery, ambience and all else while following another section of the Kerry Way. It is challenging to do that so completely while travelling in a motor vehicle, as I was on the previous occasion in the area. The locality's church got a visit when I stopped a while on the way to Lord Brandon's Cottage. Cars were about as well horse and carriage tours, and I marvelled at where the former came from, especially when surprised by one that was behind me. It was not as if I expected a small convoy to pass me.
Though the boreen was not without its attendant delights, I was happy to leave all encounters with other traffic after me, at least for a while. Sadly, the sun ducked behind clouds around Lord Brandon's Cottage to foil attempts at photographic capture of the bridge across the Gearhameen River. In time, amends were made as I approached and passed Upper Lake on the way to Derrycunihy and Galway's Bridge. Though others were about, much was quiet too, and all was relished.
Crossing the N72 got me onto a track leading towards where I had been the previous day. Going straight ahead instead of turning left for Esknamucky Glen would have landed me back in Kenmare again. Since Killarney was where I was headed, turning left and retracing eastbound steps was my lot. If I had wondered about my trail shoes dealing with a rough path, I need not have worried. Merrell build their wares well, as I had plenty of cause to discover during 2022.
That small cascade where I could not linger the previous day became a lunching stop for me. Humanity and civilisation felt very far away in the blissful spot. Though overcast skies lay over me, that did nothing to take from the respite offered by this uncelebrated and unpeopled spot. Once I got going again, I was not minded to once more climb Torc Mountain after what the previous evening brought me while I was up there. Sticking to the trail sufficed, and I descended by a busy Torc Waterfall. If I was hoping for the place to be quiet and unfrequented at the time of day that I was passing, it was not to be.
Another crossing of the N72 ensued, this time for a passage by Muckross House and Muckross Friary that had me being more present with the exercise. It offered a chance to make amends for any self-perceived slight at how I passed through the place the previous evening. There was a chance to pause at the ruined friary too, so there was no rushing. Savouring the delights of a summer evening was what it was all about, particularly when the clouds again parted to release more invigorating sunshine.
That approach pervaded the rest of the way, too. Going via Maurice O'Donoghue Park adjusted my course, so I ventured through Knockreer for what I though might be the last time. As I was moving with less fatigue than 24 hours previously, I wondered if impromptu long distance walking with lighter footwear was paying its dividends. An impulsive decision had granted me more than I would have dared to seek; the length of the route seemed overly ambitious during a spell of planning. This was a day that was memorable in so many good ways.
Kerry Way and Torc Mountain: A Highland Trek from Kenmare to Killarney
19th December 2024 In one respect, my longer stay in Killarney was a year too early. 2023 brought an enhanced bus service between Killarney and Kenmare. That would have made for an earlier start along the main hike of my second full day in Kerry: the section of the Kerry Way between Kenmare and Killarney. The later start may have meant that I had longer around Killarney before setting off, yet the long Irish summer evenings meant that there was no major impact in the end.
If I was too early for making use of better bus services, I was optimally timed for avoiding overtourism. A stroll through Knockreer this past July brought that home to me. While it might have been a later arrival from Cork that put me in the time slot for hotel guests being conveyed on horse and carriage tours by jarveys, I was left with the impression that jarveys owed nothing to passing walkers and cyclists. Convoys of them were going my way, and it did not feel very comfortable at all. The 2022 forays avoided all that in a world only slowly emerging from the pandemic tourism nadir.
Unless I have some business to do, I tend not to loiter around Irish towns if I can avoid doing so. That was how it went for me in Kenmare, so I set to finding the route of the Kerry Way and ascending a back road leading unyieldingly uphill from the town. As it did so, I was treated to ever expanding views of Kenmare River and nearby Beara Peninsula on any rest breaks that were needed. The quietude of my surroundings was a marked counterpoint to extensive commercial business ongoing in the town that I left behind me.
Not many others passed me in the opposite direction as I ventured further into the hills. As I did so, it was what surrounded me took up my attention in place of what lay behind me. Gradients also eased to make for less demanding progress along the boreen. It was as if I were passing through such an emerald idyll past which it was rude to rush. Many photography stops ensued as I closed in on Peakeen Mountain and Knockanaguish.
Leaving tarmacked boreens behind me, I took to the gravelled track leading me between Peakeen Mountain and Knockanaguish. It was hereabouts that the skies clouded to limit photography, and a rain shower overtook me to provide the only wetting of the day. Nevertheless, it soon passed to let me imbibe the delights of the bucolic surroundings. It really was special to have such a place deserted and to allot me one of the best lunching stops that I have ever enjoyed. That Windy Gap was not living up to its name made the experience even better.
After that elevated lunching spot, a descent was in order on a track leading to Galway's Bridge and Derrycunihy. However, that was not the direction to be following for Killarney, so I turned right to ascend to Esknamucky Glen; the name of the glen means place of the pigs in Irish (Eisc na Muicí). Before getting, someone going the other way asked for directions to Lady's View, an inquiry that surprised me. A consultation of the map revealed that they were not so misplaced, though a walk along the N72 did not strike me as anyone's idea of pleasure.
If I was expecting a gravel track all the way through Esknamucky Glen, disappointment would have been my lot. Since the surface of the trail is at times uneven along the lower slopes of Cromaglan Mountain, I was glad to be wearing boots. The aforementioned hill might make for a pleasing outing, especially after I opted not to reach its summit, and it is far from being the highest in the area by a long shot.
Only for someone else already being there, I might have dawdled near a small lake and an attendant waterfall on an off-trail break. It would have been well-placed after all the care with foot placement that preceded it. Instead, I made for the track that brought the idea of following the Old Kenmare Road section of the Kerry Way to my notice in the first place.
That was on a claggy day trip to Killarney from Tralee the previous June. Then, I made my getaway from a human throng that centred on Muckross Road to reach the top of Torc Mountain, despite the lack of any views because of the low cloud base. My passing the same hill in better conditions meant that I could not decide against making another ascent, even after the ups and downs of coming all that way from Kenmare.
The added exertions were amply rewarded. Some Americans making their descent shared their astonishment at what they saw; the word "awesome" got used. As overused as that term might be, the panoramic views that I had missed on the earlier encounter were all there to be savoured. All of Killarney's lakes lay below, from Upper Lake to Muckross Lake to Lough Leane, along with Lough Guitane near Glenflesk and nestled beneath Mangerton and its neighbouring hills. This was a spot on which to linger, yet there was a good distance to walk to get to Killarney, and I needed to get going. That would have put paid to any designs on reaching the lower west top of the hill, should they ever had existed.
Conscious of time, I made my descent over boardwalk and pitched path, hardly a great combination for scurrying downhill when one's fear of tumbling takes control. Once on the track below, I rejected the prospect of a descent by Torc Waterfall for a gentler gravelled, and later tarmacked, one following the course of the Old Kenmare Road before crossing the N72 into Muckross.
By this stage, my recollection is that things had degenerated to a sort of zombie trot. Fatigue was to blame at the time, though I now wonder if time also was of the essence. Whatever was the combination of causes, it felt rude to be scurrying past Muckross Friary in the state of mind that I had entered by then. After travelling several more kilometres, I was back at my accommodation, ready for a good night's rest after an often stunning day.
Lakes and Legacies: A Circuit via Knockreer Park and Meetings of the Waters
18th December 2024 The great thing about being based somewhere is that you never need to worry about making the last bus, coach or train back when your base is elsewhere. In Killarney's case, this matters if you are coming from Cork or Limerick, and less so if Tralee is where you are returning. It also is how I got so much out of my Scottish escapades, so repurposing that approach in Ireland was sure to pay dividends. It was as if I were in the Irish counterpart to Aviemore, though things differ substantially in Killarney.
My first full day in the area began cloudy, yet I was more than happy to let the day develop in its own time and add some editing to the photos that I would make. When you seek sunlit visits, you make it possible for the conditions to do just that. Patience is what is needed then, particularly when a midday rain shower comes your way.
It was in that spirit that I continued from my accommodation into Knockreer Park. Along the way there, I passed through Killarney House and Gardens, which offered an escape from street-side strolling. My objective at this stage was to get to the shore of Lough Leane and follow that on the way towards Ross Castle. In some ways, this was a reprise of the route taken during the day trip from Limerick the preceding April, albeit with numerous variations.
One of these was not to linger around historic Ross Castle but to potter around adjoining Ross Island, a lakeside peninsula despite the name. Along the way, I visited such spots as its disused copper mine, the Governor's Rock and O'Donoghue's Library. On the way back towards the castle, I shadowed Ross Bay. The strolling took me into quieter recesses away from the castle, which I was again to pass on the way to Muckross.
While the horse-racing fraternity may not agree with me on this, I reckon that it would add a lot to be able to cut across the racecourse to avoid going along Muckross Road so much. Hoteliers then might have cause to complain if I suggested a footbridge across the River Flesk to go through their grounds. My day trip to Killarney from Tralee at the start of the preceding June would have benefitted greatly from such a diversion that avoided most if not all of the throng that descended on the town that bank holiday weekend.
However, there is a partial concession to this thoroughfare avoidance in the form of a cut-through from Ross Road to Muckross Road near where the latter crosses the aforementioned river. This goes through a residential area before skirting the racecourse stabling area and crossing Maurice O'Donoghue Memorial Park. Anything is better than nothing, I suppose.
Muckross is a significant distance from Killarney at around five kilometres. On the way there, it is mostly downhill, yet going uphill on the way back to meet a transport connection is not the best. Nevertheless, Muckross Road does have places for refreshing oneself if time is available for attending to such needs. The outbound distance and the dallying around other places meant my arrival in Muckross was tardy, all the more so given how much time I spent around Muckross Friary awaiting some sun to allow photos to be made. Thus, I found myself around Muckross House around 16:30, and I was having plans to round Muckross Lake. The length of an Irish summer evening meant that such designs were not as daft as they might have appeared.
The amount of available sunlight justified my persistence; this was to be an advance on the overcast outing that I weathered the preceding April. Much was put to rights during this circuit, and I lingered hopefully near Dinis Cottage and Meetings of the Waters in wait for sunshine to return after any cloudy spells. The waters in question were in good flow with currents flowing strongly from Upper Lake, Muckross Lake and Lough Leane at this well known confluence.
On the way back from Meetings of the Waters to Muckross, I got more than my share of recompense for what I missed during the previous encounter. Despite occasional pauses while the sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds, its appearances brought moments worth savouring. Thus, there was no cause for complaint as I crossed the N72 to pick up a path taking me destined for Torc Waterfall, only for my deciding to peel off for Muckross instead. That spared me some uphill travel and postponed any encounter with a busy spot for later in my stay in the area.
Though Muckross was sun blessed, there was a sign that not everywhere was dry. Dark rain clouds lent a dramatic atmosphere to any sightings of Muckross House. Looking towards the lake allowed a glimpse of a very different world. The juxtaposition of rain and sun in places only kilometres apart was striking.
My return to Killarney was to earn me a soaking as the rain clouds headed west. They soon left me to dry, and I arrived at my lodgings, not displeased with my day on foot. When so much was set to rights, it is impossible to grumble about passing occasional wettings. There was equally much that was peaceful and scenic, too. The tranquillity and lushness of my surroundings was more than amenable to my spirit.
Embracing what lies on Killarney’s doorstep
17th December 2024 For a long time, I had fancied spending more time in Killarney than a day trip. Many family ones have happened, I began to embark on a few of my own during 2022. When the time for a summer break came, and I did not feel ready to go further away, it felt like the ideal time to explore Killarney in more depth.
Because of the way that my time in Ireland pivoted around a weekend, there was an impact on accommodation choices. The result was that I divided my time between Killarney and Cork, shortening my time in the former, especially since I arrived in Ireland on a Tuesday. While a Sunday arrival might have avoided the Saturday night surcharge just as well and given me longer, that was not how things happened.
Still, having three full days of exploration brought innumerable delights my way in any case. The longer Irish evenings of summer also helped with this, ensuring that there was no need to rush because of declining hours of daylight. The continued ability to access the Muckross estate was another aid, particularly given how wonderful sunny Irish evenings can be.
Nevertheless, having another whole day or two could have fitted in an ascent of Mangerton as well as a visit to Tomies Wood. The former was addressed during the past summer, while the latter remains. Perusal of a map put the idea of an excursion to the latter from Meetings of the Waters, only for further reconnaissance to quash that daydream. Another visit to Killarney can take me that side of Lough Leane, the reputed lake of learning (apparently the origin of the name if a certain jarvey is to be believed; the translation from Irish certainly works).
Three Days on the Hoof
Following hindsight, I decided to split things up again in retrospect. Seeing a reading time exceeding twenty minutes was enough to do that after the first edit was shared with the world. Thus, each full day gets its own trip report; that means one for the day around Knockreer, Muckross and Muckross Lake, another for the hike along the Kerry Way between Kenmare and Killarney with a side visit to the top of Torc Mountain, and one more for that spur of the moment traipse from Beaufort through the Gap of Dunloe and Black Valley back to Killarney with added encounters with Upper Lake and Torc Waterfall. Each day of my stay brought its own unique experiences, and giving them their own space in the limelight only seems fair.
A lot got packed into those few days, and the longer evenings of an Irish summer really helped with all this. The weather provided its own share of encouragement; it was all enough to make me proceed like a child in a proverbial sweet shop. Killarney just is that kind of place, from the allure of Ross Castle and the serenity of Muckross Lake to the stirring sights from the top of Torc Mountain. Such journeys only can be filled with moments of reflection and wonder, particularly at the Meetings of the Waters and amidst the vistas of the Gap of Dunloe. The serendipitous detour through the Black Valley on that last full day evinced a certain spirit of spontaneity. While a certain amount of planning is essential, it is those unexpected moments that are the very ones that become lasting, cherished memories.
One Last Foray Before a Departure
Before heading for Cork, I again returned to Knockreer for another circuit, one that was diminutive compared with the rounds that I had been doing the preceding three days. It was a way of saying farewell to a place that had given me so much during my stay there. The longer encounter had yielded ample rewards.
This was one extra chance to glimpse the unique mix of lakes and mountains that draws so many to Killarney. It is not for nothing that it is a favoured spot for me. Though parts can get busy, the place does have it quieter corners too, and I found a few of them over the years. Too many descend on the obvious attractions, leaving the rest for others who seek them. It is ever thus with so many scenic spots; connoisseurs are left with the best bits that need more effort to reach.
Travel Arrangements
My journey commenced in Macclesfield, where I boarded one train to Manchester Piccadilly and then another to Manchester Airport before taking a flight across the Irish Sea to Dublin. A delay to the arrival of my flight meant that I needed to take a later train to Killarney, changing trains in Mallow. The swiftness of Dublin Express services could not compensate for that, even if I did get to fit in an impromptu visit to the Phoenix Park. On the way to Killarney, there was added nervousness at Rathmore while adding the passage of a train coming the other way, especially when we were running late already. All was well in the end, though; I was none too late for my hotel reservation.
During my stay, I used Bus Éireann's network to explore the region. Travelling to Kenmare on service 271 got me to that trailhead for my hike along part of the Kerry Way back to Killarney. Going on service 279 to Beaufort Bridge set me up for the Gap Dunloe, from where I staged that unplanned hike back to Killarney using another section of the Kerry Way. Finally, the Expressway service 40 provided a scenic route through some of southern Ireland's verdant landscapes on the way to Cork for the next part of the sojourn.
A case for division
30th November 2024 In August 2022, I embarked on a longer break in Ireland without attending to any business matters over there. This became my annual summer getaway in the spirt of others that took me to Scotland, around Continental Europe and to North America. It also followed a longer stay centred in Galway during August 2018 that was accompanied by mixed weather as I explored parts of the counties of Clare and Galway.
Unlike the 2018 escapade, the 2022 counterpart was split between two bases because of cost consciousness. The first was Killarney, a place where I had long fancied spending more time. The day trips in April and June of the same year only whetted my appetite for such a venture. The resulting three-night stay and accompanying long days of traipsing gave much in the way of satisfaction, yet there are reasons for returning even at the time of writing these words.
The second was Cork city. Bantry, Whiddy Island, Kinsale and Cobh all featured, as did Clogheen and the Knockmealdown Mountains in County Tipperary. Temperatures were increasing all the while as I explored, reaching a crescendo at the end of the week before cooling down again. This was a contrast to the cooler weather around Killarney, with occasional wettings to remand me where I was.
These portions are so distinct that I am going to split the account of the trip in two. Since the accounts likely will be lengthy anyway, going about writing them in this way likely will make them more readable afterwards. Thus, I will bring to a close the relating of a trio of Irish excursions that set the scene for my traipsing this year.
Looking through the transport arrangements brought something home to me that I had not noticed before. My time in Killarney needed very little moving around: everything was near enough on my doorstep there. Thus, long days on foot either started from and/or ended at my accommodation; there was little need to go anywhere else. In Cork, I often left the city to visit other places. Shorelines were closer there than hills or mountains.
That contrast reminds me that my new base in Ireland needs supplementing with hotel stays in other places to make the most of what lies near them. While writing the account of a stay in Tralee, this really struck me; Dingle is not an easy day trip from Cork city when using public transport. Even West Cork is easier to savour with an accommodation base over there, and the same could be said for Galway, Mayo, Donegal and Wicklow. Much is nearby, and more is further away.
