Day 16 Friday 29th May 2009 The Ring of Kerry

Day 16 Friday 29th May 2009. The Ring of Kerry. County Kerry.
The Ring of Kerry is reputed to be one of the top scenic drives in Ireland and we are of great expectation. Soon after we started we were driving through a suburb with some of the best looking houses I have seen in Ireland; they were not the usual uniform, grey or white but of a wide spectrum of colour, shapes and sizes with well tended flower gardens and lawns. Our first stop was at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club. As we drove in through the nice greens we could observe some small dear sitting in a group. (As an afterthought they may have been statues.) We then passed through narrow, tree lined lanes before reaching open country with hills in the background. The driver quoted one as being over three thousand feet. At our first photo stop; a grassy roadside with a rocky stream below us I could observe Rhododendrons amongst the yellow flowering gorse bushes growing wild amid outcrops of rock. The Rhododendrons were flowering two shades of red. Evidence could be seen of an old railway. We passed through two villages before sighting the sea from a vantage point atop a high cliff. The streets in the villages were narrow; buildings were of many different shades; there were three in a row that were outstanding i.e. lime, dark red and the dark green. We passed through several more such villages before our driver stopped so that we could take a picture of a typical Irish peat bog. Our next stop was at a delightful seaside beach resort called Waterville. Charlie Chaplin apparently stayed here so the village commemorates the fact with a statue of on the waterfront. The sun was shining, the grass was green and pleasant to sit on and the sea was deep blue, but we had to move on. The bus slowed as it climbed up a steep hill; neat stone fenced small paddocks with houses sheep and cattle scattered over the terrain as it sloped away from the road down to the sea. The driver stopped at the top of the hill for a photo opportunity. He warned us to be aware of the wind; he was correct; it certainly blew straight from the sea up to the top where we were. We could look back where we had come from and forward to where we were going. Up ‘til now the landscape had been very pretty, rolling country, wild flowers stony creeks and paddocks sandy beaches and blue sea with rounded mountains as a backdrop. We were now leaving this behind us; the landscape was becoming more rugged; the mountains steeper and rockier and lakes were appearing. We were driven down a narrow road towards an ocean beach where at the end was a rich man’s large stone holiday home in a pretty garden setting; it was called Derrynane House. We next stopped at a pretty little village for lunch. I think it was called Kenmare we sat in a small park to eat it. We were entering the lake district of the Killarney National Park. Our next stop was at Muckross House; a large grey stone and castle like building. The house is decorated in the Victorian style of its heyday. It’s richly appointed rooms, the lavish lifestyle of the 19th century landowning classes comes to life as you walk in the footsteps of Muckross Houses most famous guest, Queen Victoria. Before finishing we visited Ross Castle on the shores of Lake Killarney. The boutique hotel we are staying at is very nice. It has internet at €5 for two hours. This night I was able update my diary on the net. Killarney is a nice town with a population of around 16000 who live in very nice houses with pretty gardens; NZ style, not joined together as we see in other towns.