Monday September 25th

Today we say goodbye to the West of Ireland. By the end of the day we will be at the most southerly point on the Irish mainland.

 

As we headed south we decided to see a little bit of the Beara Peninsula. We discovered that there was a stone circle in the area. Off we went to find it. At the beginning of our tour of Ireland we were told "If there is a wide patch of grass down the middle of the road you are probably on a farmer's laneway". Well today we made it. You travel up the road into the hills toward the Gleninchaquin park. This road is the typical narrow road which winds its way over the country side. The road also follows beside a number of lakes. Like everything else we have run into, the signage is very sparse. After travelling 3km we found a sign telling us to go right to the stone circle. The road now was gravel and there was a wide strip of grass down the centre. A farmer's lane at last!!

 

The farmer asked you to pay €2 each for the upkeep of the pathway to the stones. Off we set. It was along path with some very steep climbs – well steep for me. The area was so beautiful once we arrived. It was a very small stone circle but the size of the stones was impressive. We could see why it was built here. It was on a knoll where you could see the waterfalls to the south and the beautiful lakes to the north. Again we were all alone to observe and wonder. We got the impression that there might have been another ring of stones outside the remaining one. So many of these stone rings have had stones taken away to be used elsewhere. Once we returned to the car an elderly gentleman pulled up and asked if we would like to buy some postcards of the area. It turned out he was the farmer's father.

 

On this same farm there was a boulder tomb which we tried to walk into. The way there was not an easy walk so we turned back. I sure did not want to turn an ankle or break a leg and ruin the rest of our trip.

 

As we travelled down the coast of the Kenmare River we saw some beautiful scenery. We went inland to cross the Healy Pass. The arch pass was built during the famine. As the road twisted and turned down the hill side we headed for Adrigole. On the way we were flagged down by a farmer herding his sheep. He talked to us for a while. We finally got away when another car was approaching. Charles saw him flag down that driver as well. I was sure hoping to find a bathroom in the town. Not an easy thing to do. Finally we stopped to ask an old man. He let me use the one in his house. He must have been a cobbler as he had all the equipment. He must have sold shoes as well as he had lots of shoes in boxes. I was so very thankful.

 

In the town of Glengarriff, we went in search of a bank. None could be found. I had fun looking in the shops. We did see the town gas pump outside a store at the edge of the street. Heading out we went through Bantry, where we found a bank. Now it is off to Mizen Head.

 

Mizen Head is not the most southerly point on the main land of Ireland but it sure is close. Close by is Bow Head which is. We were thinking that the weather would not be good. It had been so bad at the most northern point. We hoped it would not be a repeat of that. Although the mountains were misty it was very nice once we got to the end of the road. Inside the tourist info centre we read about how the area was formed. Once we started walking to the end of the point we could really see all the rocks that had been folded. One of the folds looked like part of a sine curve, for those who remember trig.

 

It was a long steep walk down to the foot bridge. There were three hairpin turns along the path. Going down was not too bad but I was worried about getting back up. I am so glad I went down the whole way as it was great to see. Charles climbed up the stairs and pathway to the top of the hill. If I was to get back up I couldn't do this as well. We didn't realise we could go into the Irish Lights Signal Station. I did make my way up. There were 99 steps to climb to get back up. You can climb up the ramps as well. I don't know which was better. We did the steps.

 

We stopped to eat before heading into Baltimore. We have a beautiful view from our room window. A beautiful way to end the day.