Ireland Wild Atlantic Way – Day Seven

What a glorious morning!

The sun was up with warm rays and we basked in a little sunny corner, eating our breakfast, again in no particular rush. The view from our little grassy plateau was still amazing, but with the morning sun, had a whole new host of colours. This was the best campsite so far.

Hubby showered first and complained that the water clicked off as he was half lathered and had turned cold. I’m a steaming hot shower person and winced. But I waddled down to the shabby chic bathroom prepared. You basically had to be shower ready before you put your euro in the slot, which I did and dived in. Hubby had borrowed my shampoo and conditioner and hadn’t returned them, so I washed hair and body with hand wash super quick and then spent many minutes waiting for the click and a spurt of cold. In fact, I got bored and switched the tap off early. I had a lovely steaming hot shower though and even had a little area to dry and hang things. It was all very satisfying.

So we packed up and said goodbye to this little gem. We headed up the Healy Pass between Lauragh and Adrigole as it has excellent viewpoints over both sides. We were amazed just going up! We stopped on the other side which wasn’t as breath taking, but the road winding its way up was interesting. We turned around and headed back to Lauragh as we were heading to Kenmare and the Ring of Kerry beyond. This was an amazing panorama as the mountains gave way to woodland and the little inlets of water as we dropped down past Crevee Lodge campsite again – there were a few cyclists starting to go up the Pass and we wished them luck.

After a couple of false starts, we picked up the R573 coastal road and followed that to Kenmare – as usual, the scenery constantly changed. We dropped into Kenmare and liked it instantly. Purple street flags hung across the High Street, cafes had tables and chairs on the side of the road, in between parked vehicles and it was buzzing. We followed the free car park sign and realised there was a height barrier to the car park. This didn’t deter Hubby – I leapt out and watched as the Van limbo-ed its way under the barrier, there were just inches. Even the motorist behind helped by shouting “you’re good!” Just love the Irish – they are so friendly and helpful.

We parked up, wondering how we would ever get out again and sauntered back to the High Street. There was a little street market that we looked at and then continued to the High Street. There was a definite vibe. We wandered both sides of the road, bought some postcards and cards for impending birthdays, before settling at one of the roadside tables for a coffee and cake. I noticed a FatFace shop, thinking “typical, they get everywhere” and then realising that was probably the first British national chain I had seen since we arrived. All the chemists seemed to be independent (no Boots), no WHSmiths, no Mountain Warehouses et al. Maybe there were Irish national chains, but to us, it was a pleasure to see different shops in different towns unlike England where every High Street seems to replicate every other High Street and it’s tedious.

Happy, we wandered back to the Van and tried to exit out of the exit, but the barrier had a huge dent in it and threaten to scrape our roof, so we drove down to the entrance, slithered under the barrier carefully and with a lot of mouthed apologies and profuse thanking to confused motorists, we hit the gas and went to find the Ring of Kerry.

The day was becoming a corker – very warm and sunny. We followed the Wild Atlantic Coast route, admiring the scenery until we got to the little town of Sneem. Our plan to have a wander was thwarted by the place teeming with tourists and several large coaches parked on the main road. Far too busy for our liking. The Ring of Kerry is hugely popular and with Irish schools breaking up for summer at the end of the week and the forecast for a mini heatwave, it was only going to get busier. So we carried on. We had started to spot these brown signs pointing down small single track lanes with the word “Pier”. Unable to resist, we turned left down one marked “Gleesk Pier” and followed it. As usual, there were little plots with bungalows and houses dotted around, a myriad of lanes and tracks heading off from our lane and grass growing down the middle. At one hairy moment, we met a tanker – either the oil delivery man or the sceptic tank man – on a small bend, but serendipity bestowed a convenient drive for us to swerve into and we passed each other without further incident. Phew.

Gleesk Pier was some 3km from the main road, overlooked by a scattering of houses and came to a dead end. It was a small harbour with a slipway and a little grassy area to park. There were four cars there already. Hubby and The Pup went to investigate the area while I made sandwiches and put the kettle on for lunch. Three kids on their bikes, two collie dogs and a Jack Russell turned up out of nowhere and went swimming in the shallows which was lovely to see – kids playing outside! Further searching found a couple of derelict crofter houses, barely standing in between the rocks. The Pup made friends with the other dogs while we had lunch. What a lovely little place – tranquil and hidden. Just perfect. We packed up and retraced our steps, laughing at roadwork signs along this hardly used road in the middle of nowhere. It just seemed pointless.

Back on the main road, with hurtling tourist coaches (there were five in a convoy!!) we were soon coming up to Caherdaniel, another small town, but just before there were two campsites to check out. The first one, O’Carroll’s Cove was right on the beach with a bar which was nice and the other, Wave Crest had a shop and overlooked the bay. We plumped for this second one and just about got in. Only a few spaces left. The campsite was on a hill with little grassy knolls at different heights where you could park your camper, motorhome or put up your tent so we were all at different levels. Our pitch was a little way down and overlooked the sea and rocky headland. We had a wander – a modern ablutions block all smart and clean, a very well stocked shop and a pizza shed on site. We found the little stony beach and The Pup had a swim (later, hubby went swimming, but as I didn’t go, I can’t attest to that).

Across the bay, gannets were diving into the sea, catching fish – fascinating to watch the speed they hit the surface. The sun was still warm and we basked in the heat. The weather is due to get even better – we’ve been so lucky! I went and did some laundry – we packed just a week’s worth of clothes for our three week road trip to save space (even then it’s half the wardrobe as you need to pack for every contingency – heatwave, rain, cold, wind) so with our laundry bag bulging, I went to tackle the industrial washing machines and driers. It worked – I tossed the whole lot in, whites and darks and hoped the colours didn’t run or nothing shrank. I hadn’t dealt with this kind of washing since I lived briefly in a flat many years ago. Got most of it dried, though the Van still looked liked Widow Twankey’s with a few items that felt just a bit damp.

Hubby went to the Pizza Shed and got pizza for tea which we ate on our little grassy knoll. We had another wander around, noseying at all the different campers and motorhomes. We’re starting to see a lot more English number plates too on this headland. With the evening cooling and little gnats starting to bother us, we sat in the van looking out. Maybe we might see some stars tonight – Kerry is a designated Dark Skies Area and has hardly any light pollution. That’s if we stay awake long enough……..