Hiking Day 4 Dingle to Dunquin (An Daingean - Dun Chaoin) 12 miles

A beautiful sunny day – Happy Third Anniversary, Jim! Thank you for this trip!

Our host Justin arranged our stays for the next two nights, in places not in our guidebooks, and told us of a halfway stop so that we won’t have to hike 17 miles in one day. That sounds like a very good idea to me!





At another lovely breakfast that included sweet little strawberries (Jim's still having the full Irish, and I'm very happy with yoghurt, Meusli and fruit), we met three young Germans traveling in the same direction. Although we started out earlier, I’m sure they’ll catch up and pass us before too long!

We picked up some fruit and sandwiches for our eventual lunch, and headed down to the water to pick up the trail. Dingle is a fisherman’s town, although these days the main industry is tourism.

We passed many “no vacancy” signs, and saw many rental cars at the waterfront, as well as the first tourist shops we’ve seen, selling all manner of things embossed with shamrocks and leprechauns… it's the first time we've seen touristy stuff, and it reminds me that we have not heard one person say, "top o' the morning"...



We had a lovely morning walk and were overtaken by the friendly Germans by 11:00.




The trail took us down to the beach at Dingle Bay, and we walked at the water’s edge for nearly and hour before heading back inland.



























After crossing a few stiles, we began to climb into an area with many stone walls. The walls are built without mortar, just stone on stone, and stand in all weathers for hundreds of years.






Here we saw our first clochan (little stone hut built by the Druids) and were soon to see many more. No one knows what the huts were used for. They are one of the things I have been waiting to see.

I've never seen so much stone upon stone as on this side of Mt. Eagle!

The views were spectacular and the sheep were abundant.





We also saw two ring forts overlooking the beach below at Slea Head.
















We descended until we reached the tarmac road at Dunmore Head, the most westerly point of mainland Ireland.




We went past the Dunquin Pier, and continued on the main road to find the B&B that Justin had recommended. It was a long walk on a busy road at the end of a long day, and I was very glad when the B&B came into view.

























Cleann Dearg is small and neat, run by Lilia, who decorated it with items brought home from Bali, which interested Jim very much. She served all of us (the Germans were here too) tea and biscuits on her sunny lawn, and we played fetch with her two dogs Jessie and Pippin.




The Germans are Daniel (on the right), an engineer who speaks excellent English and has been to visit the US, his girlfriend Kirsten, a doctor who is studying psychiatry (you can guess what she and Jim talked about), and their friend Timor, an engineer.


Because we weren’t near a town or a restaurant, we also ate dinner here, on a beautiful veranda hung with live grapevines growing inside. I’d love to be here in the autumn when the grapes are ripe!

Zero Mile Day in Dingle (An Daingean)

Clear / Partly cloudy



Our primary goal today is to stay off our feet, what hikers call a Zero Mile Day.




However, we are in the lovely seaside town of Dingle, the biggest (really only) town on the Dingle peninsula, and we need to get our clothes washed, some money changed, some postcards sent, and to find some food sources – all things that are contrary to our primary goal!





Our host Justin gave us directions to the laundry (turn in at the red door - we're still not used to how directions are given around here!), so that was our first order of business.

We thought it would be a Laundromat, but there is no such thing here, so we handed over all our worldly goods to a laundress, and hope to get them back by 2 this afternoon. No one seems to have clothes dryers here – even at the B&B, they hang all the sheets out on the line!

We found a bank to cash in some travelers checks, and a Post Office / Hardware store to mail our cards. (There is also a Bar / Hardware store...)



Went into a chemists (drug store) to find some Dr. Scholl’s pillow inserts for my poor feet. Family please note that it is an O'Keeffe Dispensing Chemist (our family name). Had lunch at the Goat Street Café, which boasts a wonderful seafood chowder. Sent an email home from the Library.






In the afternoon, we walked around town, which is dominated by St. Mary's church.










The church has lovely gardens, and an an extensive graveyard where only nuns are laid to rest.










The garden also boasts the Trinity Tree, carved and dedicated on Lady Dingle Day (Mary's birthday) in 2000.



Its three branches represent the Trinity (like the shamrock) and contains the face of Jesus, Mary, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, along with their symbols, man, lion, ox and eagle, as well as other Christian symbols including a heart, a fish and a pelican. (The pelican was a new one on me...) The carving must be rubbed with olive oil every five years if it is to survive in this climate.



Quite a lot accomplished for our day of rest!

Hiking Day 3 Annascaul to Dingle (Abhainn an Scail – An Daingean) 12 miles

Drizzly rain all day

Today dawned overcast and drizzling lightly – not exactly rain, but more than mist. We donned our rain suits and pack covers, and after another “full Irish”, made our way out of Annascaul, stopping to pick up a hunk of cheese, baguettes and some fruit for our lunch.

The walk once again started with an uphill climb on the road out of town (Jim pointed out that most towns are built in the valleys, so we should expect to start each day with an uphill climb…) and stayed mainly on paved roads or gravel paths.

By midmorning, we could see the ruins of Minard Castle in the distance, at the water’s edge. This rectangular tower house was built in the 1500s by the Knight of Kerry, and then partially destroyed by Oliver Cromwell in 1650.





We walked on in the wet, stopping to commune with sheep, cows, hens, ducks and the occasional well-behaved dog (they sit down in front of you and wait to be petted – no jumping or sniffing ). A lot of sheep-herding dogs here – Peter and Lauren’s dog Lennon would be very happy in Ireland!




We were on a paved road near Lispole at lunchtime, with no shelter in sight, so we got off the road and sat in a convenient driveway to eat our lunch. Jim boiled water for miso soup and coffee, and we quickly dispatched much of the bread and cheddar. Hot food never tasted so good, but we must have looked pitiful sitting there in the rain…










It cleared a little in the afternoon, and we contoured up another hill and walked through some farmer’s fields, making sure to close each gate behind us so the sheep didn’t wander off.





Walking toward town, we saw two lambs that had gotten through a space between a stone wall and a wire fence, and were standing in the road. I yelled and waved my arms, and they jumped right back to where they belonged.















By the time we neared Dingle, I was feeling my sore feet with every step, from having walked on pavement and gravel almost all day. I’m very much looking forward to a zero mile day in Dingle tomorrow!








The Archway B&B is right in the middle of town, run by Marion and her husband Justin. It boasts an electric kettle in each room, and a hairdryer! After a shower and a rest, we were ready to go in search of dinner. It was really raining now, and not much was open on a Sunday evening. We ended up ordering an “atomic” takeaway pizza and two cans of Guinness, and we were good for the night.

We watched a little TV – a history documentary about sacrifice and cannibalism among the ancient Druids, a sitcom called Father Ted, and a bit of Irish football and hurling. Hurling is an amazing combination of cricket, lacrosse, and ??? We couldn’t figure out the rules, but it was fun to watch!

The nice thing about Irish TV only having 3 channels is there is no reason to keep remoting around looking for new programs – either you like one of the three shows, or you read a book!

Hiking Day 2 – Camp to Annascaul (An Com – Abhainn an Scail) 11 miles

Overcast and windy – jacket to windbreaker weather

After the best night’s sleep in the comfiest bed we’ve had so far, we went down this morning for the “full Irish breakfast”. This consists of: one poached egg, 3 sausage links, 3 rashers of bacon (we would call it ham) grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, and black and white pudding. Jim was looking forward to the pudding, until he found out that the black pudding is a blood sausage patty, and white pudding is a liver sausage patty. With this came plenty of toast, juice, cereal and tea (or Nescafe for Americans). Wow! Luckily, Jim was very hungry and ate half of mine after finishing his own…

We again picked up sandwiches at the town’s only grocery (more like a 7 Eleven) and headed back up the road to the junction to head for Annascaul. Today will be our easiest day, according to the guidebook, only taking 6 hours due to less elevation and boggy stuff.






Unlike yesterday, we stayed on boreens (walking paths) and paved roads, so I avoided further damage to my feet. Although it never actually rained, it was overcast all day and misty when the wind picked up. I was happy to have my windbreaker to wear today!












After a long climb, we got to look down over the valley for our first view of Dingle Bay and the Invernaugh Peninsula at midday. We could see people on holiday at the beach below, with their campers parked right on the beach.




We got to see a standing stone containing ancient Ogham (Ohm) writing in the distance as we approached the village of Annascaul.

When we arrived at our B&B, we were informed that we were very lucky to get a room – the town was booked with members of a South Pole expedition, who had come to town for a reunion.



It turns out that Annascaul is the home of Tom Crean, one of the original adventurers to reach the South Pole in the early 1900s. The main pub in town is called Tom Crean’s South Pole, and a memorial statue of him stands in the town square. He died in 1938.

Our B&B host at the Ardrinane House advised that we had to have dinner at the South Pole, saying that the only other place up the road had “some crap pizza.” This sounded like a challenge to us, so we walked up the road to the Anchor Inn, a beautifully appointed restaurant, and ordered a Four Seasons pizza (mushroom, pineapple, yellow peppers and pepperoni), which was hand made by Brian and absolutely delicious!