April 15 – 17

Another relatively short drive this day meant we could stop somewhere enroute but first we popped into Maison Gourmet next door for a couple of goodies to get us down the road before heading around the corner to the Kenmare Stone Circle.  This stone circle shows occupation in the area going back to at least the Bronze Age (2,200–500 B.C), when it was constructed.  The circle has 15 stones around the circumference with a boulder dolmen (an ancient stone monument made of two or more upright vertical stones holding up a large flat horizontal roof stone) in the center.

Back on the road, we stopped to take in a unique auto museum of the same name as the small town it is near, the Kilgarvan Motor Museum.  It’s a bit out of the way and accessed via a short steep gravel driveway with ample parking outside of what appeared to be a couple of older linked barns.  Owned and operated by the Mitchell’s, Joan and John (who greeted us that day), it is obviously a labor of love that has, realistically, outlived its ability to appeal to a larger audience. 

Open since 1985, all of the cars here were restored and maintained by John with some help from his sone.  Honestly, it was nice to visit but also sad in that we could see that its days were numbered once one of the parties passes away and given their age, that day might not be that far off.  Online reviews also remarked on this and some complained about the entrance fee of 7.50 Euros ($9), but we found the expenditure worthwhile to support the dreams of these two very nice people. 

Back on the road we made our way to Dingle, spending part of the drive along the peninsula bordering a stretch of the North Atlantic, a scenic route that took us into town and to O’ Niells Bed and Breakfast, another family run establishment and St. Steves recommendation, a block or two from the center of town.  Our three nights here would run 404 Euros ($467) which included a very good breakfast each morning.  After checking in and unpacking our luggage in our upstairs room, we hit the street and walked downhill seeking refreshment, finding it at the Dingle Pub. 

We sat at the bar and had an Irish Coffee apiece and speaking to a couple of locals (one who claimed it was her home pub) advised us there would be music that night and that we should come for dinner and stay for the tunes.  And so, after returning to the B&B for an hour or so, we made our way back to the Dingle, where we were advised the show would start at 7:00 pm and we would need to vacate our table by then.  In the meantime a musician set up shop in the bar area and we could listen in while we ate. 

As it was about 5:30 we didn’t see a problem with this and after being seated, ordered drinks, a gin and tonic for Joanna, a Carlsberg Lager for me and a Chicken Pot Pie to split.  Our waitress was distant when she wasn’t being mildly surly, but we shook it off and so turned our attention to the pot pie, which it actually wasn’t as it had a mashed potato topping, meaning it was actually a shepherd’s pie.  It was OK but not really large enough to satisfy our hunger.  Such are the vagaries of travel, portions sizes either too large or not large enough. 

Around 6:30 our waitress informed us we needed to clear out and although we protested about being told we could stay another 30 minutes, and in that less than charming manner she had, was adamant that at we leave.  To make matters even richer, later that week when I was reviewing the credit card transaction online (Costco Citi Visa), I noticed that they had over charged me by $10 or so (I’d kept the receipt).  I disputed the charge with Citi, and they immediately refunded the difference to me.

Dingle, as are many Irish towns, is known for its music scene.  One recommendation from Steves is Foxy John’s Pub, a working hardware store by day and a busy pub with live music each night.  We walked the short distance from the Dingle Pub to get there, entered and found it not too crowded, but that would change during our visit.  Joanna got a half pour of Guiness and a whiskey for me, and I would follow it with another as I was determined to drink as many varieties as possible throughout our trip.  Standing the whole time at the bar (limited seating was available) we had a nice conversation with a younger American man, perhaps a tech bro, who was on a golfing excursion and knowledgeable about travel here. 

We closed out our tab and walked up the hill to the B&B for a good night’s sleep and a nice breakfast the next morning.  Our choices were a Traditional Irish Breakfast, Scrambled Eggs with Local Smoked Salmon, Oatmeal with Bailey’s Irish Cream, Bay Smoked Mackerel, Continental Breakfast of cereals, yogurt, Cheeses, Fruit, Homemade Irish Brown Soda Bread and Fruit Scones.  Joanna as usual went for a mini-Irish and I can’t recall what I had but will report that one morning I did try the Oatmeal (its called porridge here) with Bailey’s and although we eat that cereal every week, it is now the only way I want to consume it. 

That morning we walked down to the harbor to join our scheduled tour with the Steves recommended Sciúird Archaeology Tours.  One must pay in cash and normally the tariff is 64 Euros per person but because we had booked late the day before and didn’t have exact change, we were only charged for one fare.  Honestly, the tour would have been worth the full price but for once we caught an untended bargain. 

We took off in a clockwise fashion on what is known as the Slea Head Loop, a scenic road that navigates the peninsula in about 30 miles.  Our first stop was Ventry Estate, the sprawling estate and mansion of Lord Ventry, whose family came to Dingle as post-Cromwellian War landlords in 1666. The mansion today houses an all-Irish-language girls boarding school.  We continued on, stopping here and there to check out some archeological sites and views along the coast. 

We next stopped at The Last Beehive Huts and Hold a Baby Lamb. a family enterprise, where you can see clochans or beehive huts (a dry-stone hut with a corbelled roof built sometime after 700), whose long-ago function has been lost in the mists of time.  From there we had the opportunity to see the Blasket Islands, which we will visit the next day, and then stopped at the Reask Monastic Site.  A ruined early Monastic site that includes the low remnants of buildings and enclosure walls and a cross-slab standing stone which sits in the middle of the compound.  The Reask Cross Pillar is like the pillars found nearby at Kilfountain and Kilmalkedar on the Dingle Peninsula.

Our last stop was the Gallarus Oratory (a place which is set aside by permission of an officer of a church for divine worship).  It has been presented variously as an early-Christian stone church by antiquary Charles Smith, in 1756; a 12th-century Romanesque church by archaeologist Peter Harbison in 1970; a shelter for pilgrims by the same in 1994. The local tradition prevalent at the time of Charles Smith attributed it to one Griffith More, being a funerary chapel built by him or his family at their burial place.

We finished the tour back at the harbor and walked across the street to pop into the Strand House Café, located in the retail store of the same name where we split a tasty chicken salad sandwich for lunch.  We took our time walking back to the B&B, checking out storefronts and just basically rambling.  We’ll cover the rest of our time in Dingle in the next post. 

Links

Kenmare Stone Circle: https://www.kenmarestonecircle.com/

Kilgarvan Motor Museum: https://kilgarvanmotormuseum.ie/wp/

O’ Neills Bed and Breakfast: http://www.oneillsbedandbreakfast.com/

The Dingle Pub: http://www.thedinglepub.com/

Sciúird Archaeology Tours: https://ancientdingle.com/

Strand House Café: https://strandhouse-dingle.myshopify.com/