Friday, August 17. 2007
Friday, August 17, 2007 The day started out with good intentions, but it did not happen the way I wanted. The plan was to see the island of Skellig Michael, with the backup plan of the Ring of Kerry should the weather not allow the boat to get out to the ancient monastery a mere 12 kilometers off shore. Since the ports, where which I could hire a boat to get out to the islands, were along the route for the Ring of Kerry, it seemed an efficient plan.
Let me preface this by saying that the Ring of Kerry had a similar unwritten rule like the Dingle peninsula, only the direction of preferred travel was counterclockwise or anti-clockwise as they called it here. I’ll explain more on this later.
Heading out right after breakfast, having gotten up extra early to make sure my files were ready for uploading, I wanted to get down to the Skellig Experience visitor center as soon as possible to find out when and if the boats were running. Once in Castlemaine just east of my B&B, the route was to take the N70, which was the road designated for the Ring of Kerry, southwest to meet the R565 just south of Cahersiveen. The R565 branched off the Ring of Kerry and was the road to get to the Skellig visitor center. It was also the road designated as the Skellig Ring. The two rings interlocked together in sort of a chain.
With my being on the road just before 9am, it was smooth driving all the way to the visitor center, with the N70 being a two-lane road with intermittent shoulders and in good condition. As I passed the town of Glenbeigh, which was just wet of Killorglin, the scenery took on a different look, with many trees to be seen. There were both deciduous and evergreen trees making for an interesting landscape.
About five kilometers out of Cahersiveen I found the interchange for the R565 and the Skellig Ring. After a few minutes on this road, I found the visitor center situated across the channel from Portmagee on the south end of Valencia Island. It was just on the other side of the bridge that connected the island to the mainland and Portmagee.
Finding the car park for the visitor center almost deserted, having arrived a little after 10am, I secured the car and was headed for the visitor center in the shake of a lamb’s tail. Approaching the building, I found it to have a unique architecture with an arched roof that was covered with a grass lawn. Looking at it, I thought they must have had a heck of a time trying to mow such an oddly shaped surface. Had they tried using sheep to keep the grass down, they probably would have had some casualties both in sheep and the humans on which they fell.
Once inside I learned that it was possible to sign up for the island trip here as well, making it one-stop shopping for Skellig Michael, which is actually spelled Mhichil in Irish. The boat ran once a day leaving at 2:30pm and returned a couple of hours later. I found out that there were some private charters close by that headed out at 10am, but it was too late for me to consider that option.
The curator at the counter told me that the boat captains, who had headed out earlier to judge the seas, would be calling in a report around noon as to whether or not it would be possible to make the afternoon run. With plenty of time on my hand, I signed up for the boat ride and paid the admission to the visitor center exhibit, which included a film about Skellig Michael.
After seeing the delightful film about the history of the ancient monastery, I went out to look at the exhibit and take in some more information to prepare me for the journey out to the small, rock island on the ocean. The monastery had its beginning in the 7th century and was home to early Christian monks for over 600 hundred years.
After reading the information placards and photographing some of the interesting life-size and miniature dioramas of the tiny monastic community, I was informed that the boat ride had to be canceled due to weather. Thanking the curator for letting me know, I told him of my return tomorrow to try again, explaining that it was my expectation it could happen and that the weather was not something anyone could control.
Deciding to go ahead with the run on the Ring of Kerry, I figured that it would be fun to finish the Skellig Ring, which would reconnect me with the N70 just a little further south from where I had left it to go to Portmagee. As I left town, I saw a sign which said that coaches were not allowed on the Skellig Ring. “Hmmm,” I thought, the road must be really hairy if they won’t let buses on it.
And that it was, with it being essentially a one-lane unimproved road that had a steep climb to the top of a coastal elevation. It took much cooperation on the part of drivers for small cars to be able to share the road, so it was obvious that buses or lorries would not be able to make the trek.
Once at the summit, the road began a slight descent and headed toward the coastline. It was a magnificent view once close to the water, with the rocky edges and crashing surf. Soon the road headed inland to reconnect with the N70. Along the way I saw several bog fields which were actively being quarried and passed several large mounds of cut turf, which seemed to be stacked for drying before shipment. Apparently this area did not fall under the bog protection act of the EU.
Driving slowly down the rural road, I encountered a dog heading my way that was walking on the road to my left, which would have been his/her right. Upon seeing my car, the little guy, or gal, moved to the left side of the road to allow me to pass. It seemed that even the animals respected the proper driving etiquette. It’s a sad day when a dog is smarter than a tourist, but then again it did not take much. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to get photographic evidence for those skeptical readers.
Looking at my map, I noticed several smaller roads branching off from the now R566, and saw that I wanted to transition to the R567 to take me back to the N70. Somehow I either did not see the sign or there was no sign to be seen, and found myself back at the R565 where I had originally departed the N70. I had gone full circle! A little perturbed at my navigational error, I went ahead and got back on the N70 continuing on the Ring of Kerry. It seemed a good idea that if the Skellig boat did not run tomorrow, I would try to drive the Skellig Ring once again to find out where I had gone wrong.
Continuing down the road, I noticed the weather to be getting rainier and the visibility was decreasing with every kilometer. It seemed that today was not the day to consider any scenic touring, which only perturbed me all the more. It appeared that Mother Nature was not going to give me good sightseeing weather today.
This was a shame because the run around the Ring of Kerry had the potential of being as magnificent as the Dingle run yesterday, if not more. Still stopping to take photographs, it did not take much of my imagination to envision how the landscape would look had it been clear and sunny weather. As you will notice in the photos I took today, it is possible to see some of what the scenery had to offer.
Despite the rain and occasional fog with low clouds, I got an idea for which parts of the Ring were the most scenic, and thought to return before my departure next Wednesday to get some proper photographs. The areas of the Ring I found to be the most interesting involved the section from Waterville to Cathair Donall and from Kenmare to Killarney. It seemed to offer the most interesting landscape and the most nerve-wracking of roadway.
Okay, as I promised, the rest of the story on the counterclockwise requirement. First of all, let me tell you that the entire stretch of road in the Ring was a two-lane road in varying degrees. At no time was it a one-lane road like the one I described at Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula. So that was not the issue for the directional preference.
What I did notice, was that the two-lane road had become so narrow that should two large vehicles meet, it would have been almost impossible for them to squeeze by each other. Having said that, it seemed to me that the counterclockwise flow of traffic was a rule adopted for buses to follow, and not necessarily cars. A bus and a car could have made the squeeze, but it would be a little unnerving for an inexperienced driver.
There were, in fact, cars taking the clockwise direction and doing just fine. It seemed to me, however, that if drivers wanted to minimize frustration, it would be advisable to not go against the grain. So the bottom line is that you can do the Ring of Kerry in a clockwise direction, but just be prepared to work a lot, while possibly terrorizing your passengers in the process.
As I approached Killarney, I noticed the Lady’s View, which I had mentioned in my post about the Gap of Dunloe, and stopped to glance down at the lake on which I had traveled earlier. It was easy to spot Lord Brandon’s Cottage and the town nestled beside the Gap. The weather still made for a somewhat hazy picture but it was still discernable.
Once back in Killarney, I stopped by the internet café to upload yesterday’s data. Sitting in the comfortable office-style chair in the darkened room, as I was uploading my photographs ever so slowly, I yawned and thought that tomorrow would be another chance at making the trip to Skellig Michael. With the Ring of Kerry under my belt, the island was the last, but most important site left for me to visit in Ireland.
To see more photographs related to this post go to the Photo gallery and click on the links for “Skellig Michael” and “Ring of Kerry.” Please note the IMG_####.jpg files are in high resolution to enable clearer enlargement.
