| In Touch with the Heart and Sole of the Dingle & Iveragh Peninsula. | ||
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Contact
me for this tour price. Question? What is the difference between this tour and Exploring the Heart & Sole of the Dingle Peninsula? ANSWER?
The
main difference between these two tours is that this tour will be at an
easier, slower pace especially when we are walking on the hills. The
overall experiences on the hills will of course be the same but we may not
endeavour to reach such lofty summits. I
decided to combine my ?Easy Way? tour of the Dingle & Iveragh
Peninsula with my ?Explore? tour so that you can experience a little bit
of challenge on a couple of day walks and then do more sightseeing with
easier, shorter walks on the other days.Also you will be visiting places on
the Iveragh peninsula as well as on the Dingle Peninsula where the tour is
based for the duration of the holiday. Again though you will need to have a
good level of fitness so that you will feel more comfortable on the days
walk. Some of the day?s walks will be 3-4 hours, other days 2-3.There will
be some time driving and sightseeing then maybe a walk along the beach or
through a forest. This
tour will give us the time to visit some archaeological sites, local museums
of interest, or just take a stop on the way for that perfect photograph or
better still because we fancy some tea and scones!
Itinerary Day 1 Maeve
will meet you at Shannon airport and we will drive approximately two hours
to the beautiful village of Annascaul to The Old Anchor Guesthouse where we
will be met by our host Marie Kennedy. This is a superbly run guesthouse and
it is listed in Alaistir Sawdays ?Special Places to Stay in Ireland? for
2003. I quote from this book which says ?This is the Ireland I had hoped
to discover?.Once we are all settled and have unpacked we'll take a short
walk on magnificent Inch beach to blow away the cobwebs and smell the pure
sea air. Marie will prepare a sumptuous dinner and afterwards we will
discuss the planned week ahead. Day 2 Weather
permitting today we will visit the most westerly point in Europe, the
Blasket Islands. We will take a short ferry trip across the Blasket Sound to
the small harbour on The Great Blasket. You will be amazed at the
tranquility and beauty of this magical place where the presence of its last
inhabitants is still strongly felt. You can have coffee at the island cafe,
rest on the beach (The White Strand, or An Tra Ban in Gaelic), or walk to
the far end of the island. You can also take a look at the small store,run
by Sue Rediken which stocks her beautiful hats, scarves and much more. Ascent
300m Distance: 6km. Day 3 We
travel to Brandon vill
age on the north side of the peninsula and start our
coastal walk from there to the heady slopes of Sauce Creek. We follow part
of the Dingle Way, along an old bog road that will take us to the cliffs
above this spectacular sea inlet. Taking our time here to soak up the
stunning views we will cross more bogland and gradually follow the coast to
Brandon head passing an old signal tower used during World War two.Then it
is a gentle stroll along a quiet country road back to Brandon village to
where we started. Day 4 We will go to Dingle this morning, taking a leisurely walk
around this colorful, quaint town for a couple of hours. You can eat lunch
at one of Dingle's many excellent cafes and soak up the atmosphere. There is
a laid-back informality to Dingle that is just part of the experience, the
attraction. In the afternoon we will be joined by an archaeologist who will
bring us on a tour of some of the main archaeology sites in the area. After
an early dinner at The Old Anchor we will drive into Tralee to the National
Folk Theatre to see one of their magical shows of the best of Irish dancing
and song. Parts of it may resemble ?Riverdance? . Day 5 Killarney
is our destination for today. We will start with a walk through one of
Ireland's oldest oak woodlands--a magical experience where you will see the
forty shades of green for which Ireland is famous. This woodland is part of
Killarney National Park. The trail will take us back toward Killarney on the
old butter road, which was a major route from Killarney to the market town
of Kenmare. Along the way we'll enjoy rugged mountain scenery, and if lucky,
may spot some of the park's herd of Red deer and Sika deer. We finish our
walk at Muckross house and gardens Ascent:
150m Distance: 6-8km. Day 6 Today
we will drive around the renowned Ring of Kerry, starting from Killorglin,
and proceeding on to Caherciveen and Caherdaniel. In Caherdaniel we will
visit the home of Daniel O'Connell, a pivotal figure in Ireland's history
who helped Irish Catholics obtain voting rights in 1883. This area is truly
picturesque, with some of the most amazing scenery in Ireland. We will drive
on to the village of Sneem and have an early dinner in The Strawberry
Fields, a special little hideaway in the hills. After dinner we will return
to Annascaul, stopping on the way to look at the Lakes of Killarney in the
dusky evening. We will have plenty of stops today along the way to take
photos, have a stroll.
Day 7 For
our last walk of the week and the last chance to see the wild Atlantic
ocean, we will walk along Bulls Head. The
terrain is rougher underfoot at times but we will take our time and the wee
bit of effort to climb to the top of Doonties hill is worth it for the
stunning views across Dingle bay and far off Inch beach in the distance. We
will also see one of Irelands finest promontory forts at Bulls Head and also
an unusual wedge tomb called Puicin an Chairn. From
here we will descend to the townland of Doonmanagh and follow the country
lanes to Minard Castle, a fine example of a Norman Tower house. Ascent: 230m Distance: 8-10km Evening: The
final dinner followed by some Day 8 Time
for farewell, Slan Abhaile! Transport to Shannon Airport arriving by noon. |
