Ring of Kerry

Ireland's greatest tourism cliché is the Ring of Kerry, a 177km (110-mile) route around the Iveragh Peninsula, where scores of tour buses thunder every day in summer. But taking your own car makes all the difference: Follow the road clockwise (the buses go counterclockwise) and you'll have the road less traveled, with room to enjoy the postcard-perfect seacoast views that made the Ring a tourist draw in the first place.

Without stops, the circuit takes 4 hours; plan for twice that so you can stop and explore, not just snap photos out your window. Driving south from tourist-choked Killarney on N71, you'll enter spectacular Killarney National Park, where the mountain scenery has an almost Wild West grandeur. From the road, you gaze north over the memorably named range of Macgillycuddy's Reeks; Ireland's tallest mountain, Carrantuohill, at 1,041m (3,415 ft.), crops up in the distance. Stop to savor it at Ladies View, a scenic overlook, where Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting raved about the panorama on a royal vacation (thus launching Kerry's tourism industry). Detour south to Kenmare, a neat little town on Kenmare Bay, where a Bronze Age stone circle stands intact around a dolmen tomb. At Kenmare Pier, from May to October, Sea-Fari Cruises ☎ 353/64/42059; www.seafariireland.com , runs 2-hour excursions to spot dolphins, sea otters, gray seals, and herons.

Wind on down the coast to Sneem, Ireland's most colorful village, literally—the kids will be delighted to see all the houses painted in vibrant shades of blue, pink, yellow, purple, and orange. A few miles past Sneem, signs point to Staigue Fort, 3km (1¾ miles) off N70 on a narrow one-track road. A huge hit with my youngsters, this circular fort was built around 1000 B.C. of unmortared rough stones, big enough to shelter an entire Iron Age clan. At the western end of the peninsula, Waterville is an improbably Mediterranean-looking resort town, where Charlie Chaplin often summered; there's a super beach here, a good (if windy) spot for a picnic. Detour from the main road to Portmagee, where a bridge leads to Valentia Island and The Skellig Experience ☎ 353/66/947-6306; www.skelligexperience.com; Mar–Nov only. Its displays and audiovisuals delve into local birds and plant life, in particular those of the two tiny offshore islands known as the Skellig Rocks. These are Skellig Michael, a rock pinnacle towering over the sea, where medieval monks built an isolated monastery; and neighboring Little Skellig, where vast flocks of gannets and other seabirds nest in summer. Cruises out to the Skelligs are available from Valentia.

Continue on N70, with Dingle Bay on your right. On this north side of the peninsula, open bog land constantly comes into view, a terrain formed thousands of years ago from decayed trees. The atmospheric Kerry Bog Village Museum in Ballycleave ☎ 353/66/976-9184; www.kerrybogvillage.ie , was our favorite stop: a cluster of thatched-roof cottages showing what life was like in Kerry in the early 1800s, from the blacksmith's forge to the roof-thatcher's dwelling to the turf-cutter's house (for centuries local residents have dug up the peaty turf to burn in their fireplaces). The life behind the postcard views—that's what we were after, and we got it.

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An example of a scenic view along the Ring of Kerry.

Ladies View, a scenic point along the Ring.

Scenic view of the Ring of Kerry in the south west.

The Ring of Kerry (Irish: An Mhór Chuaird) is a tourist trail in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. The route covers the 179 km circular road (N70, N71 and R562), starting from Killarney, heading around the Iveragh Peninsula and passing through Kenmare, Sneem, Waterville, Cahersiveen and Killorglin. Popular points include Muckross House (near Killarney), Staigue stone fort and Derrynane House, home of Daniel O'Connell. Just south of Killarney, Ross Castle, Lough Leane, and Ladies View (a panoramic viewpoint), all located within Killarney National Park, are major attractions located along the Ring. A more complete list of major attractions along the Ring of Kerry includes: Gap of Dunloe, Bog Village, Rossbeigh Beach, Cahersiveen Heritage Centre, Derrynane House, Skellig Experience, Staigue Fort, Kenmare Lace, Moll's Gap, Ladies View, Torc Waterfall, Muckross House, The Blue Pool, Ross Castle, Ogham Stones, St Mary’s Cathedral, Muckross Abbey, Franciscan Friary, Kellegy Church, O’Connell Memorial Church, Sneem Church and Cemetery, Skellig Michael, Beehive Cells and the Stone Pillars marking an important grave.^[1]

There is also an established walking path named The Kerry Way, which takes its own route, and a signposted Ring of Kerry cycling path which uses older quieter roads where possible. The Kerry Way roughly follows the scenic driving route of the Ring of Kerry.

There are numerous variations to the route taking in St. Finian's Bay and Valentia Island which the official driving ring misses (the official cycling route takes in Valentia Island). The Ring of Kerry has much to offer in terms of attractions. As well as some fine beaches, it also offers the Gap of Dunloe, Bog Village, Derrynane House, the Skellig Experience Valentia Island, Molls Gap, Torc Waterfall, Muckross House and Ross Castle.^[2]

"The Ring" is a popular day trip and numerous bus companies offer trips during the summer months. As the narrow roads make it difficult for tour coaches to pass, all tour buses run in an anti-clockwise (or counter-clockwise) direction, traveling via Killorglin first. It is recommended that car owners travel in the opposite direction, going first to Kenmare to avoid delays caused by tour buses. In 2008 satellite navigation systems were blamed for directing bus drivers in a clockwise direction around the route.^[3]

References

1. ^ The Ring of Kerry
2. ^ Tour of Munster
3. ^ Sat-Navs sending Kerry bus drivers astray

External links

• Ring of Kerry image gallery Flickr
• Ring of Kerry Maps and Photos
• Moving Postcards Ring of Kerry

Further reading

• John Crowley and John Sheehan. The Iveragh Peninsula: A Cultural Atlas of the Ring of Kerry, 2009. Cork University Press. ISBN 9781859184301. 

Coordinates: 51°56′56″N 9°55′03″W / 51.94889°N 9.9175°W / 51.94889; -9.9175

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