Scotland July 21 - Glasgow

Glasgow Tour Bus ***

We decided for this trip to try out a tour bus that made circuits around some tourist spots and allowed you to hop off and hop on wherever you like. They also had a track that played throughout the ride giving you tidbits of information about the part of the city we were in. I liked this feature, but later on in the day (when we were just using it as a glorified taxi back to our parking garage) we had a live operator on an intercom and that was much nicer and had a bit more personality as well.
We rode the tour bus around the city once then jumped off to wander the streets.

Ruthven Lane *

There was a set of vintage shops that we stopped at that were pretty cool. There was a craft fair going on and we bounced around all the different shops, taking a bit longer in a costume shop where we tried on all manner of strange period clothing. Frankly though, the prices were a bit inflated.

Cafe Nardini ***

We stopped off at a little place on the corner that looked like an old-fashioned ice cream parlour to have our first proper bite to eat. We both enjoyed our food thoroughly, but were once again confounded by the process of ordering and receiving food. That or I was impatient from being jet-lagged.
Janet Dreamcrusher happened to like the waitress’ hair, and since something about extended periods of exhaustion make me immune to shame, I was the foreign ambassador who asked for it. I think we made her day though, because she was gracious enough about it as I asked the Dreamcrusher about the angle she wanted.

Necropolis ***

The Necropolis in Scotland is also referred to as the “Merchant’s City” or the “City of the Dead”. It is a hillock upon which several of the ‘merchant kings’ of Glasgow were buried often astride of monuments of themselves dedicated by their surviving relatives/friends/children. It'll take a fair amount of time to walk the grounds, especially if you like taking pictures like us. The views from the top of this huge graveyard are breathtaking and wonderful, definitely something to stop at and take a walk through. After all, how often can you say that you tread over the graves of the 1%?

St. Mungo’s Cathedral **

The Cathedral beside the Necropolis is beautiful and also the site of once of the coolest things I read on our trip, a little quote from Rober Louis Stevenson - “I never weary of great churches. It is my favorite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral.” Inside is the tomb of St. Mungo and several incredible tombstones and crests that decorate the ceilings and walls. Cathedrals and churches always have some mystical feeling to them, and St. Mungos supplements it with an epic feeling of vastness.

High Street **

High street is bustling and easy to get to, has plenty of places to grab a bite and shop, and the major mall and car park are right there close to the center of town. It’s an easy place to drop off the car for the tour buses or just putz around and explore some high end clothing stores or just people watch.

Clanadonia - Tribal Music Dudes **

We happened upon a drum and pipe band performing in the street and had a seat. As with most drum circle kind of bands they really are meant to be seen live, and watching them and their infectious playing was a lot of fun. They played very upbeat music and the guys look like they genuinely enjoy what they do, so give them a listen if you get the chance.

Hanoi Bike Shop ***

What can be said about Hanoi bike shop besides “wow”? Nestled around a corner in an unassuming bohemian section of the city, our Frommer’s guide had highlighted it as delicious but we hadn’t really planned dinner out. We went there more on a whim than anything else, and after moving off the balcony due to cold temperature and winds made our order.
I got a sweet potato curry and a jasmine rice while the Dreamcrusher ordered pho. Before our food came in we were given an oil that we were warned was extremely hot and could be used to up the ante on our meal. I’m used to people being a little delicate when it comes to describing heat but something about their manner made me second guess myself and I only dropped a teaspoon into my curry when it arrived, for science.
Thank. God.
Just a teaspoon was a much bigger kick than I expected, and if I had gone with my first impulse to slosh half the cup in I’d probably have died on the bikeshop floor clutching my throat and begging for water.

Botanical II **

We shot back over to the botanical gardens to burn off the last of our energy and checked out the local vegetation in the upper gardens and played around on a children’s playplace. Unfortunately the plays and such weren’t running on Sundays so we missed out on that, but had they been that’s where we would have parked it in the grass and trees.

Scotland July 20th - Glasgow

Scotland!

“Wait Chris, didn’t you just go to a land of some sort right near there?”
“Why yes, I went to Ireland last year.”
“Well, what made you go to Scotland?”
“I just had to try flying over a small expanse of ocean in a plane powered by fan blades!”

It was myself and Janet Dreamcrusher off on another adventure in a celtic nation. Oh yes, the trip to Scotland was a whole different beast from my trip last year.

Aer Lingus x2 ***

I don’t know if we were doing something wrong or just being too cheap, but we ended up with a layover in both directions. I’m not sure if it would have been easier to fly into London and drive up to the land of the Tartans, but we just swallowed our pride and took the two layovers in stride. After all if we stopped over in Dublin then we’d have ample time to pick up some Jameson Truffle chocolate bars (this line of thinking will be important later).
Our first flight is straight to Dublin airport from JFK at 5:30p Friday night. The flight is simple enough, but try to patiently board a second plane at 6am in a foreign country without losing your mind and get back to me. If you think that’s too easy, try taking a bus to the plane which is about the size of… a bus with wings and two giant fans glued on.

 

I mean, what you really want when you’re in a hollow metal tube six miles into the atmosphere is two giant explosion tubes to propel you across the earth using invisible fire

Getting into Scotland we faced our next hurdle: this year we decided to pick up the car immediately.

Alamo **

As if switching planes after not sleeping for a full night wasn’t bad enough, we also had to wait on line for our car rental as children slept crashed out on the waiting benches. They looked how I felt, but much more at peace with it. Everyone was helpful though, so there was that.

Glasgow - Where is our hotel? *

We learned from Ireland that the signpostings for the major cities from the motorways would be pretty dynamic and fit our needs fairly well, unfortunately the cities in Scotland weren’t laid out as simple as Ireland. We probably spent a good hour in the area of our hotel while being unable to find it, going so far as to ask around 6 people. We made slow progress until someone grabbed a “Glasgow A-Z” book that pointed out the general area of the city we were supposed to be in. Another half hour of searching got us there - a half hour fraught with wrong turns and tizzies, but after we got it once we never made a wrong turn again.

We had a rocky intro - it was around 12 and we were looking to see if we could get in early. It was then that we were told that our check-in time was an hour later then it was on the website (3pm). That would have been okay except we’d been awake for 18 hours and were pretty exhausted. We went back into town to search for things to do in the meantime.

Botanical Gardens ***

The Botanical Gardens run multiple plays during the summer weekend in the greenhouses, which many people were taking advantage of and having a good laugh at a Shakespearean comedy. Unfortunately we agreed if we’d sat down for a moment we would pass out and wake up looking like well-dressed and under-equipped backpackers, so we decided to continue a garden tour.

Walking through the gardens we were able to swing around to the lower paths which led us along a river walk with outdoor body-weight workout
equipment. It was fun for a lark and made me wonder if that sort of thing appears anywhere in America. After getting through a rousing circuit we continued on to a well-deserved rest at our hotel room.

The Belhaven ***

Despite the introduction, we made it back around 3p and got to our room on the second floor. It was awesome! Huge vaulted ceiling and a view of the streets to die for. We had what we referred to as the ‘Balcony Room’ because we were situated over the entrance of the hotel which had a small overhang. The room was beautiful and was nicely located to give us a quick trip into the parts of the city we liked.

The breakfast was nice and easy without any huge surprises, which made for an easy introduction. The last thing you need getting into a foreign country is an early-morning introduction to some foul foods you'd never even consider eating at home like blood pudding or something... :)

We often grabbed our morning fruit to go as a mid-day pick me up, which made for a nice snack as we made our way around the city. All in all once you find it the Belhaven is great coming and going.

Ireland Friday August 10th - Ballybogey

Downhill Estate & Mussenden Temple - ***

The National Trust group is currently trying to conserve the grounds around the Mussenden Temple and Estate. Also inside is the Downhill Forest and a short nature walk.

The Estate itself is a sprawling stone fort on the road to the Temple and is easily one of the coolest things I saw in Northern Ireland. We tromped around the grounds. There was a wild viking running about on the walls trying to scare us as well, always a pleasure.

The Temple itself is a circular stone building on a cliff edge along the Northern coast and there’s probably only fifteen feet between the edge of the building and the edge of the cliff. I of course jumped on to it and ran around the outer perimeter trying to get some pictures but there wasn’t a lot to capture out there since I was clutching the wall and trying not to have a wee on to the shore.

We hopped a barred off fence into the Downhill forest and walked along the upper paths over the valley just taking in the extraordinarily beautiful day. The paths through the forest were not to be missed.

Dunluce Castle - ***

We probably picked the best day to visit this attraction and the best time of day (mid-morning) because there weren’t a lot of other tourists and we had plenty of time to line up fun shots amidst the ruins of this iconic castle. They have a looped video detailing the history of the castle as it passed hands among the Ulster, McQuillan, and MacDonnel families.

The castle is built on a stone peninsula overlooking the ocean on the Northern Coast. The castle proper is separated from the old town of Dunluce by a bridge that connects the two landmasses. Passing among the ruins really gets you thinking about the kind of conditions that people lived in, and it’s also a great place to take pictures of the coast. We separated and met up fifteen minutes later to bounce back and forth.

Go see Dunluce, if not for the natural beauty, for the fact that it’s a big part of Northern Ireland’s history. And, as always, beware the vikings lurking…

Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge - ***

Carrick-a-rede is a short ride out from Dunluce castle and is a short hike from the parking lot to the bridge. Don’t forget to buy your crossing ticket before you leave or you won’t be allowed to cross teh bridge when you arrive! Along the way you’ll be treated to plenty of goats lounging along the path and great vistas of the bridge and your fellow pilgrims.

Actually crossing the bridge is completely safe but you will be queued and waiting for a short period as only eight people are allowed to cross at a time. Make sure to make an attempt at getting any crossing pictures you want in both directions, it will be considered rude to stop your fellow daredevils for the ‘perfect pic’.

The bridge leads to a smaller island with practically no safety fences; for the most part it’s just you and your finely tuned sense of balance (further honed by lingering hangover symptoms). The island, however, is beautiful and peaceful, we laid out on a grassy knoll and just soaked up the rare sunshine for a good half hour before turning back and snapping our last pictures of the fabled rope bridge.

Torr’s Head - ***

Something tells me this one is a nice secret ferreted away from the prying eyes of the public, because I didn’t remember coming across any information on it while I was searching for things to do in the North. I could be totally wrong though; the only reason we had any clue of it’s existence was because our hosts at the B&B raved about it long enough to catch our attention.

It’s a ways off the beaten path and we got a little lost on our way. Never fret, however, as stopping basically anywhere and asking something will bolster your confidence in short order. Once you leave the town proper you’ll encounter a series of blind, harrowing turns on roads that are not much wider then your average smartcar. Those will take you practically to sea level you’ll arrive at the landing for Torr’s head.

It’s a small parking lot with a dilapidated 3 story building flanking it which opens a hike at a worse grade then the ride down. You’ll be in for a good stagger up to the bungalow at the top, but if you make it there on a clear, cool day it’s worth every step.

The small building had, at the time I was there, a ladder up to the roof which you can climb up to look across the ocean. That day we were actually able to see the next destination: Scotland!

Ireland Thursday August 9th - Ballybogey

Leaving The Villa Maria was upsetting, it was our longest stay and we had an awesome room, the proprietor was an amateur photographer and we walked out every morning to pictures of all her wonderful trips along the walls. Ireland is, unfortunately, meant for this level of activity. Stay in one place and really enjoy it.

We had a long day ahead of us and unfortunately there isn’t much to say. We were driving all the way from Galway to Dublin then up through to Northern Ireland. We were ambushed by the conversion to the pound at a gas station with a broken ATM! Luckily I had the foresight to take ~30 pounds out when we did our money conversion. I’ll be doing a separate post on how to get around Ireland by car to better explain how this went, but suffice to say we lost a day and many hours to this drive.

Take it in parts if you must, trade with your other driver if you can legally, and get some soft serve at the midway point, just for your own sanity.

Side note - Northern Ireland stinks! No, just kidding, but we did happen to visit during the one month out of the year they are allowed to harvest animal dung. We had some very stinky drives because of that.

Kilmail Country Chalet - ***

The country chalet is hidden away off a main road inbetween a few nearby towns and, as advertised, is centrally located to most of the main coastal sights. You can stay one day over in this area and trust yourself to the owners. We took their advice several times and even pegged on a sight at the end of the trip that really tied everything up perfectly.

Portrush - **

Cute little town that we stopped in for dinner. A big pain in the butt at dinner time though! Most of the places had more then a forty-five minute wait. We ended up finding a nice restaurant on the second floor of a theatre that had some good food.

Giant’s Causeway — ***

We took the advice of our hosts and checked out Giant’s Causeway that night. The causeway is a natural phenomenon created by volcanic activity off the northern coast creating several huge clusters of stone pillars you can climb on and take pictures from.

There's also a cultural center at the top of the path that leads down to the causeway. While we were there it was closed but it looked very modern and sleek and I'm sure there's a ton of information there. We would normally had to pay for parking but there was no one there for it besides two guys who were clearly employees but couldn't be arsed to have us pay since they were on their way out. Hey, I'm not complaining!
 A friendly tip though: the big clusters of yellow flowers are called Ragwort which happens to be poisonous.

Do not try this at home, Vikings only

So unless your significant other is like a viking or something, and they find the flowers haunting the area to be cool and wants you to pick some, you may want to inform them that those flowers are toxic. (Seriously though, you can’t really hurt yourself with these unless you’re eating them fairly regularly. But I think I’d play the straight man on this one)

Ireland Wednesday August 8th - Kinvara

Galway - **

Galway was a chill town with an active medieval quarter we wanted to check out along the way. We had planned for a little time to putz around and check out the shops in the area. I know Janet got her money’s worth in slammin’ dresses and there was a pretty cool Army Surplus store in the area. The quarter got pretty busy with performers and I think a major Irish (euro) soccer team was there kicking a ball around and taking pictures.
Parking was a bit of a nightmare and at one point between arrival and lunch I had to run back to the car to move it and put more time in. It’s a pretty busy place and if you’re not there early or at the right time, I’m not sure how you’d really find parking.
All around there were kids and adults setting up with instruments and singing. Once of the nicest places to eat turned out to be here. There was a small bistro at one end of the quarter where a young girl had set up shop across the street. We picked out this restaurant because the menu sounded good and it was a beautiful day.
We spent probably a good two hours there, listening to traditional irish folk music from a variety of instruments (she cycled through bagpipes and a flute). Sitting in the open-air restaurant and reading a book on the Kindle turned out to be one of my clearest memories of my time there.

Knappogue Castle Banquet - ***

To start the experience you drive in from an entrance far from the castle to a verdant green lawn lined with trees. Your first glimpse of the castle through the trees and the grounds are beautiful, I remember turning to the girlfriend and flashing her a shit-eating grin, proud of my ingenuity in finding the site. Once you’re squared away and parked you get to tour the gardens right outside of the castle. There’s also a separate garden you can check out early on any night the banquet is open so I’d suggest getting there early to check it out, we were told only good things.
Unfortunately we missed the other garden because we got there late but I had a great time just taking pictures outside and checking out the area. We were decked out for the experience in our Sunday bests (Janet wore one of the dresses she got in Galway and I had on the best sweater in existence).
We were ushered into a small room shared by every other tourist in County Galway. The show begins in this first room where you’re handed a complimentary cup of mead and given a little time to talk. We had a great time chatting about the Cliffs which we had so recently conquered and hearing about all the other things the people around us had been doing. They opened up with a choral piece about the show and the castle then moved us on to the main banquet room.
The food was delicious and they keep you placated with a never-ending supply of red or white wine for the duration of your visit. Throughout the meal right as you get tired of talking with people they start the show which involved more singing, dancing and folklore. Janet and I agreed that though the show bordered on goofy sometimes, it was fun overall. I liked it enough that I’d trust Shannon Heritage sites with a night of my vacation again.

Unfortunately at Knappogue we also had our car hit by someone. We didn’t catch them and had to call the Gardai to get a police report. They were prompt despite the obvious fact that we were tourists, did the normal ‘ask them questions to see how drunk they are’ thing and were generally pleasant. The Gardai get ***!

Ireland Tuesday August 7th - Kinvara

Cliffs of Moher - ***

 

Wow. Just, go. The parking is what costs you at the cliffs, the area is tastefully developed with a few artisan shops in the entrance area and a small cafe/cultural center a little beyond it for the hungry tourist. All along the developed tourist area are small points you can peer over the edge of the cliff and get some cute pictures.
There’s also a small lookout tower there up the steps that gives a great view of the tourist area and Atlantic Ocean. I’ve heard that they’ve had some difficulty with invasions in that area of the Irish Viking variety.
You’ll know the edge of the tourist area when you find a series of ‘No Trespassing’ signs, others begging people to ‘Seek Help’, and ‘Unstable Cliff Edge’ warnings. After all, it’s trespassing, and illegal, and no one I know would ever ever do something as foolhardy and dangerous as the 5.4 mile cliffs hike to the old quarry and further past that to the ancient stone lookout tower with the rotted out floors and crumbling edges on the dirt path that comes within an inch of plummeting, horrifying death. No one at all.

Unfortunately I’ll just have to use these pictures from someone who totally isn’t me that did the hike, sat down at the stone tower, ate an orange with his girlfriend Janet, then walked back along the path again. This guy probably dawdled in the quarry area with the visitor-made stone piles and added a few of his own before continuing along the cliff edge taking pictures and generally making a mockery of his own fear of heights.
So I definitely think the guy who did that hike would advise anyone interested in doing it to only do so in extremely good conditions, probably for them to leave in the morning on a day with a good weather forecast. The day he went he probably got back just in time for an incredible downpour to start which is just like the day before when he tried to get in later in the day. And he’d probably say if you’re planning to hike the cliffs to grab something from the cafe before you leave, but I know you would never consider something so foolhardy.

Ailwee Cave - **

(I am not cut out for cave pictures! Boo!)

This little cave was discovered in 1944 but remained the secret of it’s discoverer for nearly 30 years until 1973. It was developed from there into a small but intimate tour with a small gift shop in the area of several minor attractions on the way to/from the Cliffs. If you’re curious and you want to check it out I say go for it, but you’re not really missing anything if you don’t.

M'asal Beag Dubh Ba Restaurant, Round 2 - ***
Main Street, Kinvara, Co. Galway

Just delicious. Their pizza was awesome and we sat for more Olympic coverage.

Dungaire Castle - ***

Dungaire Castle often runs castle banquets but we were already signed up for one way in advance so we skipped over this aspect, but I’m sure it would have been a great experience. Instead, after a beer and some delicious food, we stopped off at the nearby parking lot and hoofed it over to the castle while stalking some teens. We walked the grounds around the castle and just appreciated the architecture of it, wishing we had a bit more time to really enjoy it.

Ireland Monday August 6th - Kinvara

Conor Pass - ***

If you’re going back up the way we were towards Galway and your vehicle passes the size restrictions just take the time to go through Conor pass, it’s a winding road in the highest mountain pass in all of Ireland and even in bad weather it’s beautiful. Looking out across the pass as we drove by was incredible, buildings in the distance look like scale models and you see a huge area of the peninsula at the stop off at the top.
Being the wearied veterans of more then a weeks worth of touristing the hell out of Ireland we opted out of the hiking trail that criss-crosses at the top, but I watched a few families make the trek and can only imagine the view they earned themselves.
Driving back down the pass roads is equally beautiful, including a view of a waterfall and rolling hills. We also stopped by a sheep in the road and he bumped around our car for a few minutes while traffic backed up all around us. The roads here were a bit tight so be careful driving in the area, you’ll never know when you have to stop around a corner or do some major backing up.

Shannon Ferry - **

If you’re in the mood to skip the drive through Limerick and enjoy a short boat ride, I definitely suggest the Shannon Ferry. We got there just in time for the boat to leave and despite my american credit card waging war on their readers (and winning) everyone was very nice.

We left early on this day to make it to the Cliffs of Moher and get it out of the way but unfortunately when we arrived a pea soup fog and awful rainstorm had beat us there. Knowing I didn’t want to miss out  on hiking dirt paths mere centimeters from a hundred meter drop because of something as slippery and wet as rain, I checked in with the parking attendant who advised us to come back a bit earlier the next day.

St Brigid’s Well - **

We stopped off at St. Brigids Well after the Cliff turned out to be a wash. It is a place of beauty and goal for people on pilgrimages for lost loved ones. The scene within the well is papered with pictures and stories, and it’s a very moving experience to read some of them. Out of respect I refused to take pictures in the well proper, but I did take the title picture just outside.

Villa Maria B&B - **

Maria keeps a beautiful home situated on the N67 inbetween the town of Kinvara and Kilcolgan. Along the walls are pictures she’s taken of the many sites of Ireland. The breakfast nook in the B&B is a wonderful and bright room at the front of the house and was a great start in the mornings.
It’s right near Kinvara and Mary was very helpful in getting us food and directions. The room was beautifully kept.

M'asal Beag Dubh Ba Restaurant - ***
Main Street, Kinvara, Co. Galway

What can I say? This place had some of the best food and beer we had on the entire trip and the servers were great. They played the Olympics while we were there at a respectable volume and even had a few chats about it while we watched. Go there!

Ireland Sunday August 5th - Ventry

Dingle - **

This sleepy town was fun to troll around in and have some relaxation time. I had envisioned this vacation with a tapering off of activity starting in the second week and Dingle was to be our first real calm stop.

Dingle is widely known for being a sleepy fisherman’s town where much of the signage still includes old Gael language. It’s also where Fungy, the famous Dingle Dolphin, hops about being entertaining in the bay. I personally had no desire to chill with any fish, but I hear he’s kind of a big deal.

We shopped about in the town, enjoying the haphazard arrangement of the main street and the different artisan shops peppered around. Go shop at the Strand House and check out the second-story cafe looking over the bay. They served some excellent pastries and soup, we spent a good part of an afternoon with books and coffee just relaxing.

Ring of Dingle (R559) - ***

We started ‘the route’ going from Tralee to the Gallarus Oratory out of Ventry, but got utterly lost three times. It was a trying start but eventually we got on the route proper and made it to the Gallarus Oratory. Note that the main road will turn away from Gallarus very suddenly and it’s not hard to miss because of it!

Gallarus Oratory - **

Gallarus was of interest to use because it was one of many well-preserved examples of early Christian religious buildings left on Ireland back in 12th century. They have a small tourist information center about a half mile off and they show a short loop video of information on it. The building itself is nestled away in beautiful countryside. If you’re at all interested in early architecture I’d go there and take a look, the stones were worked by very capable hands and the experience is cute.

“Crazy Freaking Promontory” - ***

Holy crap, there was no sign nearby that told us where we were, we just saw cars lined up on the side of the road in front of a flat area with some big rocks. We thought we’d stop and check it out because hey, tourists, and next thing we knew we were hiking up to some rocky promontories that dotted the area.

 

Each successive one was bigger than the last and closer to a rolling, buckling death and so of course we hurried our way across! The weather being average for our stay was not rainy nor windy, but it wasn’t sunny either, so we didn’t get to enjoy it’s full majesty. I could imagine it being beyond words with the sun shining.

An Dunbeag (Small Fort) - ***

This sleepy little fort on the coast is situated at the tip of another promontory point and is another architectural draw from the early years of Ireland’s history. It’s built into the earth with drainage channels beneath for the wet climate.

Built much like Gallarus (and the Beehive huts, which we skipped) An Dunbeag is situated on the edge of another cliff and is a short walk from the main route. A parking lot is thoughtfully placed across from it and has a pub for the wearied traveler.

Ireland Saturday August 4th - Ventry

Ring of Kerry - ***

 

Ah, the fabled Ring of Kerry. Let me say that I think the Ring deserves to be driven rather then ridden, by that I mean take your own car instead of getting a bus. This lets you stop off at spots that the buses can’t fit a few short hikes out into more pristine landscapes. You also get to dictate where and when you stop. We only encountered the bus tourists for a short time in Sneem and only at the very end as we were leaving the town.

Buses are legally required to take the Ring counterclockwise heading to Kilgorin, so if you’re driving start your journey heading out towards Kenmare. We stopped at the small pullovers and easy hikes on to Killarney National Park property, even finding ourselves at the other end of Lough Leane where we had rowed out the day before. One particularly scenic spot, Ladies View, was a large rocky promontory leaning out over a lush valley framed by the mountains of the park.

Advertised on the Ring is a small holy well that we stopped off at to stretch our legs. It was a short hike into the woods and down a few paths before we came upon it, a natural well bubbling away with holy symbols and pictures of loved ones around it. The area is very serene and beautiful, upkeep is handled by the local township and it’s worth a stop off for some peace.





Sneem - ***
Sneem, Co. Kerry

Go here! It’s a town touched by tourism without yet being overwhelmed by it, in a picturesque area cut away from the hustle and bustle of other cities. Such a cute quaint little town and it’s small enough you could drive through without really registering it. Be warned: If you get to this point at the wrong time tourists will be crawling over every inch from the tour buses and the bridge (only wide enough for one car at a time) will be a mess to get through.
In the center of the North side of the town there’s a 100-year time capsule sealed in 2000 that’s just a fun little sight to see. It’s surrounded by houses and bars and close to the bridge sits a small estuary where the river that divides the town reaches Kenmare bay. The water there froths and swirls across the rocky ground and it looks just beautiful.
The other side of the bridge holds a bunch of shops and bars to hang out in. Several of the major GTS (Goofy Tourist Shit) acquisitions occurred in the shops in Sneem and some really great pictures were taken along the bridge and estuary.

Finish the Ring!

Finishing was a little hectic from here as we crossed paths with the tour buses. Many had arrived while we walked and only a few were coming in as we left so it was only for a short while, but we were treated to a glimpse of what we’d be up to at this hour had we gone around in their direction: lines of 10-20 cars stuck bumper-to-bumper behind each bus as they rolled into the sleepy town. Sour grapes avoided!
The rest of the drive was absolutely beautiful even though we felt the need to hurry and get through it so we could arrive at our B&B on time. It boiled down to spending less time taking pictures and a bit more time just looking at the places we were heading through, which might have been nicer.


Moriarty’s Farmhouse - **
Ceann Tra (Ventry) Village, Co Dingle

Ventry was a sleepy town on the Dingle Peninsula we stopped off at for our only 3 day stay and boy was I glad we did! Brid welcomed us in with tea, fresh scones and the best homemade raspberry jam I’ve ever tasted! Even though she was on her way out to church she was very helpful in suggesting us places to eat and things to do in the area.
We decided that some simple food was in order and got some Cup of Soups at the local gas station instead of taking on another massive pub dinner. Exhausted from a full day of driving and hiking around the Ring we sat back in our room to relax and read.