Home / Trips / Ireland / Day 9 - Ring of Kerry 133

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We started our trek around the Ring of Kerry this morning headed towards Killorglin. Before there, we stopped at the Kerry Bog Village where they had a display of houses that were used by peat farmers. Continuing on, we encountered some rain, but it looked like it wouldn't last long. Driving today is a little bit easier than yesterday, the roads are still narrow, but I have more confidence. One of our side jaunts on this trip was towards the Valentia Island. This island has only been accessible by a road bridge since the 1960s. We weren't quite sure what to expect but were pleasantly surprised by a park that had access to Geokaun Mountain and Fogher cliffs. The wind was wicked and cold on top of the mountain but well worth the amazing views. The road to the top was also very steep at points. After leaving the island we stopped and had lunch at The Moorings @ Bridge Bar in Portmagee. The salmon dish here was so delicious. After leaving our side jaunt, we headed back onto the Ring of Kerry road. The two other stops were at the Derrynane House and the Staigue Fort. The road back to the fort was about 4km and very narrow. On our way back out, we encountered two people on the road who were asking where they could turn around, although they were hard to understand. Turns out they had driven a large tour bus down the road and didn't know where to turn around. After the Fort (and passing the stuck tour bus) we continued our trek and stopped in Kenmare. We were going to eat dinner in Kenmare but it was still fairly early and no restaurants sounded enticing. From Kenmare to Killarney we stopped twice, once at Moll's Gap for some good views and then again at the Torc falls. The falls were located within the Killarney National Park. Back in Killarney we rested for a bit at the hotel, a typical pre-dinner theme and then found another Irish Pub for typical Irish food.