We have been traveling along what is known as the Wild Atlantic Way, a route that traces the Atlantic coastline, which is a large portion of the Republic of Ireland. In many places, you have to seek out the Way. Sometimes, it's fairly regular roads, but more often it is little (and by that I mean tiny) roads that head off along the hills and cliffs. To say that it is beautiful is an understatement.
As we left Ballymaloe in southeastern Co. Cork and headed for Bantry in western Cork, we took the scenic coastal route rather than more direct roads. It's a slower way to go, for sure, but our goal on this trip has been to take things more slowly and get a better sense of place. We drove to Kinsale again and headed along the coast from there--to Timoleague (with its Franciscan abbey) and Clonakilty and Skibbereen. (It's hard to imagine a more Irish sounding town--you can't even say it without a bit of an Irish lilt.)
By the time we reached Skibbereen, our beautiful sunny day had turned into drizzle and fog. We opted to forgo driving out Mizen Head and kept on to our destination in Ballylickey, just beyond Bantry.
The entirety of the southwest of Ireland is made up of five major peninsulas--(from south to north) Mizen Head, Sheep's Head, Beara Peninsula, Iveragh Peninsula, and Dingle Peninsula--all part of the Wild Atlantic Way. The Ring of Kerry (a long loop around the Iveragh Peninsula) is the expected drive in this part of the country. It is Co. Kerry's primary attraction. We drove it in 1987, but in a thick fog bank. It is known for its traffic jams of cars and tour buses, and we didn't plan to go there again. The Beara is the adjacent peninsula. It is smaller but is said to have equivalently beautiful scenery--and without the buses.
Friday's weather looked more promising, so we decided to drive the Ring of Beara, the loop around the Beara Peninsula. Exploring the Beara has been a goal of mine since we were here in 1987. We had seen a bit of it and had driven the legendary Healy Pass, which is about a third of the way out the peninsula. But I wanted to see more of it.
By the time we were a third of the way along the southern side of the peninsula. The clouds started gathering and settling on the mountains that are the spine of this finger of land. I started to wonder if we were simply fated to see these peninsulas in drizzle and fog. We debated aborting our plan and saving it for the next day, but opted to keep going. Part of the drive was in a thin mist, but the clouds lifted and we were gifted with spectacular scenery. I don't expect to ever see anything more achingly beautiful than the far western end of the Beara.
But, to top off our day, we crossed over the Caha Mountains on Healy Pass, bringing us back to the south side of the peninsula. By then the sun was out, and the views on the pass were more spectacular than we had remembered. The road over Healy Pass is a very narrow track, and some portions are a bit breathtaking. You hope not to encounter very many vehicles, as the lay-by's (the places to pull out when you meet another vehicle on a one-lane road) are few and far between. But a prettier place is hard to imagine. All in all, a very heady day.
When Saturday's weather dawned sunny as well, we decided to try to extend our run of luck and drive a loop around Sheep's Head. The road was single lane practically from start to finish, and in places the steepness of the road and the drop to the sea was a bit scarifying. We were lucky to meet few vehicles. And, for once, Jerry was happy I'd asked him to pull off to allow me to take a picture, when a motor home came by while we were stopped. If we hadn't stopped, we'd have met up with them on the most challenging bit of road. Whew!
Sheep's Head, too, was a beautiful drive, and we were so glad the weather cooperated so we could see it. We had to laugh when the pass road we took over the highest portion of the Head was called "Goat's Path!"
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