The route that brought us to Dingle Town was quite spectacular, rimming the sea--as we've come to expect on this trip. Our inn for the 3 nights we're in Dingle is about 15km from Dingle Town. It is located on the Wild Atlantic Way, on a bluff overlooking the sea. The Dingle Way trail also passes here, which has allowed us to claim a bit of time along this well-regarded path.
Dingle Peninsula juts out 40 miles from the Irish mainland and is the farthest west point in Europe. To say this is a lovely setting would be an understatement. The landscape is dramatic, and the sea is king.
Looking west from our inn, the Three Sisters:
Looking north along the Dingle Way trail in front of our inn:
On Monday, it was misting, so we decided that would be a good time to visit Dingle Town. It's a busy place, with lots of shops and things to attract tourists. But it is also the business center for this whole region, so there's lots going on. Our inn owner had told us which shopping areas to avoid and where to find the higher quality things. It would be easy to part company with one's money, but I remained strong. Holden Leathergoods was terribly tempting. They make some beautiful purses. Fortunately, they were expensive enough I was able to get myself out the door empty handed. Then there's the fellow who makes exquisite gold jewelry based on the standing stones and other ancient ruins so numerous in this area. Those pieces, while very appealing, were so expensive I didn't even make it in the door.
One highlight was a visit to a little cheese shop, where they had quite a display of local cheeses. The young woman behind the counter graciously allowed me to take a few pictures, "especially because you asked," she said.
As the weather lifted a bit, we decided to drive to Dunquin to see the Blasket Center. But we missed the turn and found ourselves on the narrow Slea Head Drive (the loop is all part of the Wild Atlantic Way). We drove this rather harrowing road back in 1987 and remember some hairy bits. We can now say we've once again driven the Slea Head Drive and lived to tell the tale.
Our host had warned us to drive this portion that starts out of Dingle Town and goes along the sea cliffs CLOCKWISE. We'd also read that advice in several guidebooks and articles. That is because it is precipitous and narrow, and the tour buses are required to drive it in that direction. So, being the good little rule followers we are, we set off in that direction. And, to be fair, most people on the road were doing the same.
But not everyone! There is nothing that requires you to go a certain direction. These are open roads, after all. And wouldn't you know that someone driving a van would be one of the ones to decide he had to navigate this challenging portion of the drive counterclockwise. We met him at a particularly narrow spot, and four cars (two each going in both directions) became a logjam. The two primary vehicles in the pickle were us and the van. Each of us had another car on our rear bumper. On our immediate left was a stone wall, on the other side of which was a rather harrowing plummet to the sea. We didn't think we were going to have that problem; it was the paint job on the rental car that was at issue. On the other side of the dreaded van was a rock cliff face rising up. Not very forgiving surfaces.
Even though I was practically wearing the imprint of the rocks on the stone wall on my left, I told trooper Jerry that he could get a bit closer. He managed to squeak backwards a few feet; the van driver squeezed past us and we inched forward, all of us holding our breath. I think I've had nightmares like this--no way ahead and no way back. But we made it, so apparently there was indeed a way ahead. Thank heavens! No more of that for awhile.
If you look closely, you can see the road and a car coming along.
That being said, there were some awfully pretty views along the drive.
We eventually made it to the Blasket Center for a good background on the harsh life on Great Blasket Island, which is just offshore. It was evacuated in 1953, by which time the population had dwindled to just 20. Interesting film, pictures, and stories of the isolated life on the island.
Tuesday was our day to visit some of the ancient ruins near our inn. (Dingle is dotted with monastic ruins, standing stones, beehive huts, and ring forts.) We went to see Gallarus Oratory, built over a thousand years ago. It is made of mortarless rock and is still watertight.
We also visited nearby Cill Mhaolcheadair, built around 1140, but including some standing stones that date back to the 6th century. There is an "alphabet stone" and an ancient sundial.
While we were wandering through this site, we were being serenaded by some noisy young lambs, which gave it an interesting twist.
We drove to Ballyferriter to try to find the old hotel we stayed in when we were here all those years ago. There has been so much building in the area, we couldn't recognize much. We learned that the hotel has been closed for a long time. But our detour took us by a charming pub, which turns out to be the home of West Kerry Brewing, a craft brewery. We had a glass of their excellent porter and got to have a nice, long conversation with the owner/brewmaster. I picked up a map of a dozen or so craft breweries along the Wild Atlantic Way, and almost all of them are ahead of us as we move north. We have a new goal!
We've had a lovely visit to Dingle and are so glad we decided to come here again. It will be hard to leave this spectacular area, but Wednesday we head toward Galway and Connemara.
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