Nigel's Photo Blog

  Dan Murphy’s Bar, Sneem , Ring of Kerry This evening, I am focusing on one of Ireland’s top scenic drives, the Ring of Kerry which covers a route encircling the Iveragh Peninsula in S.W. Ireland. The start point of Killarney is some 300 km/200 miles S.W. of Dublin. I have always covered the route in a clockwise direction as follows: Killarney with Lakes of Killarney and views of MacGillicuddy’s Reeks (mountains). Muckross Hous e and gardens. Here visitors can avail of a horse-drawn, Jaunty Car ride . Ladies View : Viewpoint offering stunning views of Killarney Lakes, with name attributed to Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting during visit in 1861. Torc Waterfall, close to Muckross House.   Torc Waterfall Moll’s Gap: Stunning views over bogland and mountains. Sneem: Very colourful and popular village through which runs the River Sneem. Good spot for a refreshment stop. Staigue Fort: An Iron-Age, dry-stone fort (about 2000 years old) set on a hill. Derrynane House, th...

  Above image shows River Sneem at Sneem This evening, I am reprising a private tour of the Ring of Kerry, a popular tourist route in SW Ireland.  As will be evident from the images, the trip was undertaken in wet weather, not unusual for the west of Ireland which experiences high levels of annual rainfall. First, we departed our lodgings in Castletownshend and then drove east, along narrow country roads to our first stop of Drombeg Stone Circle, a prehistoric site which originally comprised seventeen closely spaced stones spanning 31 feet in diameter. The stones in the circle slope upwards to the recumbent stone, the midpoint of which aligns with the winter solstice. Close to the circle are the ruins of two round stone-walled prehistoric huts. This site is one of the most visited megalithic sites in Ireland. Next, we drove west to Bantry and then N.E. traversing very rugged  scenery of the Sheehy Mountains via single track road. We encountered a sma...