30 June, 2008
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| Cahir viewed from the Castle tower |
So... at 11:30 PM last night, someone went into our bathroom and woke us up. We're pretty sure she is a nun lol. It turns out that a French TV Channel was doing a documentary on a woman who was beatified and had lived in Cahir for four years. Our bathroom invading nun was their guide.
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| Cahir from the Castle gate |
Our room at
Tinsley House was large, with three beds and looked out on the street and the Square. We had a private bathroom, but it was just outside the door to our room instead of en suite. I can't imagine that there is any better accommodation in town.
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| The right-hand side of our room at Tinsley House |
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| The left-hand side of our room at Tinsley House |
Anyway, the breakfast at Tinsley House was very good. Cereal was laid out with a ton of really good brown bread and a pitcher of water. On each table was a small pitcher of orange juice. We both had the fry and it was great.
Before breakfast we woke up to go running (we were far too beat yesterday morning) and we were rewarded by a beautiful run down the path along the Suir River next to the Castle. The path is gorgeous and goes by the
Swiss Cottage.
After breakfast, we checked out (it was
€70) and said goodbye to Liam. We parked in the lot next to the Castle where we bought some postcards and a Dublin street map in the Tourist Office (there is a public toilet in the next building over). The woman there was very sweet and helpful. Then we were off to the castle.
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| Cahir Castle |
I had visited
Cahir Castle before and remembered it being a highlight of my trip. This is one of the best preserved medieval castles in the world and is probably the best castle to visit in Ireland. We used our Heritage Pass for our admission (it was our forth Heritage site of the trip). We received our own (just the two of us) guided tour from Edmund (it was 10 AM). He was OUTSTANDING! What an incredible and informative tour of a spectacular castle. Our stay lasted 1 1/2 hours including the time we wandered around after Edmund finished.
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| Outer wall of Cahir Castle |
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| The front gate to the castle |
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| The keep |
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| The only working Portcullis in Ireland |
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| The inner courtyard |
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| The Great Hall (on right) and the Keep (on the left) |
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| The portcullis at Cahir Castle |
We then walked up to the Square to visit the Spar where we bought some bread, cheese, apples, coffee and more bottled water (
€9 total).
Next, we made our way to Killarney. The drive took us about 2 hours. We were hoping for a picnic, but settled for lunch in the car outside of the tourist office. (The lot in Cahir and Killarney are both €1/hour. When we finished eating, we took advantage of yet another public restroom that was in the carpark. When we were finished, we called our B&B to make sure that the directions we had were correct. Even though it was only 1:30, she told us to come on up to the house.
The Ring of Kerry is famous for two things: natural beauty and incredibly bad traffic. We wanted to see the Ring of Kerry, but not be ON the Ring of Kerry. So, since we were trying to stay places that would be good for running, we decided to stay IN McGullicuddy's Reeks (the interior of the Ring of Kerry).
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| Near Kittie Kearny's |
We followed the road through the Gap of Dunloe - stopping briefly at Kittie Kearny's Cottage for another confirmation of directions (FYI - there are public restrooms here too). The road past Kittie Kearny's is not really open to the public, it's for residents and their visitors only. I actually wouldn't recommend driving it anyway. You can walk or get a pony & trap - and should - the views are spectacular. The glacier certainly did some impressive work here!
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| Entering the Gap of Dunloe |
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| Sunshine in Kerry |
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| A roadside loch |
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| Just a hint of what was to come |
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| Entering The Black Valley |
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| If the rest of the area had nothing, this made it worthwhile |
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| We only met one car on the road |
As we neared our B&B (Shamrock House) it began raining which really spoiled the views. After we unloaded our bags, we decided to head out for a walk (the B&B is on the Kerry Way), but it was cut short in favor of food.
The Kerry Way from Shamrock House to where it leaves the road:
It seemed like a good idea to continue the rest of the way down the road to Sneem. It took FOREVER - wonderful scenery - but really tough driving. We got to Sneem at about 5:15, and ate at The Blue Bull. We ended up with an abbreviated menu because we were too early for dinner, but we got some really nice pub grub: a panini, burger, 2 club lemons and a pint of Smithwicks for €29. Then it was off to the Staigue Fort.
We got there easy enough - the guide books say that the road to the fort is small and rough, but they obviously have not been on the road we took to Sneem! The owner of the land charges €1 per person to visit and it is far better than the other stone forts I have visited. There was even a free toilet to use and a telescope that you could use for €1. Anyone who has any interest in these kinds of forts needs to see this one.
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| The Staigue Fort, Ring of Kerry |
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| Inside the Staigue Fort |
We returned home the long way through Kenmare and Killarney Park. Even in the bad weather it had some stunning scenery. We finally returned to the Shamrock House just after 9 PM. The setting is uncomparable, wild. The rooms are nice, but have tiny bathrooms and aren't the cleanest rooms ever. They are ok, just not as spic-and-span as many places. Shiela and her husband are very friendly though. Just try and avoid that cup of tea - I bet you can't!
Pics of Shamrock House:
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| Our room - the door is the bathroom |
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| The view from Shamrock House |
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| Shamrock Farmhouse, Black Valley, Kerry |
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| The horse across the road from the house |
Day 3 Ireland Itinerary:
Cahir
Killarney (2 hour drive from Cahir)
Black Valley/MacGillycuddy Reeks (40 minutes from Killarney to Shamrock Guesthouse)
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