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 One of the views from ‘Bagend’ Bed and Breakfast Holiday Accommodation |
Kerry has some of Ireland's most wild and rugged terrain and is home to the country's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil, at 1039m. The town of Killarney bursts at the seams with tourists all year round while the Ring of Kerry is popular throughout summer, but the county is big enough for visitors to escape the crowds. The tourist hype detracts little from the landscape's wild splendour. Countless opportunities exist for long and short walks, easy and hard climbs and bike rides where your only companions will be the birds, the odd sheep and a few like-minded travellers.
Especially beautiful is Dingle Peninsula, though the Iveragh Peninsula to the south (the Ring of Kerry) has even more opportunities for open-air activities. To the north of the county the landscape becomes flatter as it stretches towards the River Shannon which separates County Kerry from County Clare.
The Ring of Kerry, the 179km road circuit round the Iveragh Peninsula, is one of Ireland's premier tourist attractions. Although it can be 'done' in a day by car or bus, or three days by bike, the more time you take the more you'll enjoy it. The stretch of road between Waterville and Caherdaniel in the south-west of the peninsula is reason enough for coming here. The Ballaghbeama Gap cuts across the peninsula's central highlands with some spectacular views and remarkably little traffic: it's perfect for a long cycle. The 214km Kerry Way starts and ends in Killarney.
Tour buses approach the Ring in an anti-clockwise direction. In high season it's hard to know whether to drive round behind them or to travel in the opposite direction and meet them on blind corners. Note that petrol gets more expensive the farther west you go: fill up before setting out. Also, things get much quieter at the western end of the Iveragh Peninsula, when you leave the Ring of Kerry for the Skellig Ring.
There is an 80km cycle tour via Lough Acoose and Moll's Gap.
Late May to mid-September Bus Eireann operates a Ring of Kerry bus service. Buses leave Killarney at 8.30am and 1.30pm Monday to Saturday, and 9.40am (July and August only) and 12.45pm (May to September only) on Sunday. They stop at Killorglin, Glenbeigh, Kells, Caherciveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel and Sneem before returning to Killarney via Moll's Gap.
Valentia Island (Oileán Dairbhru) may be only 11km long and 3km wide but it doesn't feel like an island, especially if you come by road. It's a low-key place; a day or half-day trip is all you'll need.
Valentia was chosen as the site for the first transatlantic telegraph cable, and when the connection was made in 1858 it put Caherciveen in direct contact with New York even though it had no connection with Dublin! The link worked for 27 days before failing, but went back into action some years later. The telegraph station was in operation unti1 1966.
In 1992 the fossilised footprints of a marine creature dating back around 365 million years were discovered on some rocks near the lighthouse at the north-western point of the island. The discovery of this tetrapod footprint was the first of its kind in Europe.
Most visitors reach Valentia Island via the bridge from Portmagee. From April to October, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists can also cross by ferry from Reenard Point near Caherciveen to the pier at Knightstown.
Immediately across the bridge from Portmagee you'll see a construction that looks something like a bomb shelter. This is The Skellig Experience (open 10am-6pm daily Easter-Oct, 10am-5pm Oct-mid-Nov) and it contains exhibitions on the life and times of the Skellig Michael monks, the history of the lighthouses on Skellig Michael, and the wildlife. If you're planning a trip to the Skelligs it's worth coming here for background information. If the weather's bad this may be as close as you get to the islands.
A boat trip to the two Skellig Islands (Oileáin na Scealaga), 12km out in the Atlantic Ocean, is one of the highlights of a trip to Ireland. The crossing can be rough and there are no toilets or shelter on Skellig Michael, the only island you may land on. Bring stout shoes, something to eat and drink, warm clothing and something waterproof to protect you from the boat's spray.
If you can't get to the Galapagos then a trip to the Skelligs offers a taste of the peculiar pleasure of spying on nesting sea birds. From the boat, look out for diminutive storm petrels, black birds that dart over the water like swallows, and for yellow-headed gannets with a wingspan of 107cm. Kittiwakes - lemon-beaked seagulls with black-tipped wings - are easy to see and hear around the covered walkway of Skellig Michael just after stepping off the boat. They winter at sea but then come in their thousands to breed between March and August. Farther up the rock you'll see snub-nosed fulmar, black-and-white guillemot and razorbill. Look out, also, for the delightful puffins with their multicoloured beaks and waddling gait. Puffins lay one egg at the end of a burrow in May and parent birds can be seen guarding their nests. Puffins stay only until the first week or two of August.
The 217m-high jagged rock of Skellig Michael (Archangel Michael's Rock), the larger of the two islands and a Unesco World Heritage Site, looks like the last place on earth that anyone would try to land, let alone establish a community. Yet early-Christian monks survived here from the 6th until the 12th or 13th century. They were influenced by the Coptic Church founded by St Anthony in the deserts of Egypt and Libya, and their desire for solitude led them to this remote, westernmost corner of Europe.
The monastic buildings are perched on a saddle in the rock, some 150m above sea level, and are reached by 600 steps cut into the rock face. The astounding 6th-century oratories and beehive cells vary in size, the largest cell having a floor space of 4.5m by 3.6m. The projecting stones on the outside have more than one possible explanation: steps to reach the top and release chimney stones, or maybe holding places for turf that covered the exterior. Some cells have interior rows of stones, and the guides who live on the rock from mid-May to September will provide a possible explanation for these as well. They'll also point out the cistern in the rock for storing rainwater.
Little is known about the life of the monastery, but there are records of Viking raids in 812 and 823. Monks were killed or taken away but the community recovered and carried on. Legend even says that one of these raiders, Olaf Tryggvesson, was converted by the monks and became Norway's first Christian ruler. In the 11th century a rectangular oratory was added to the site, but although it was expanded in the 12th century the monks abandoned the rock around this time, perhaps because of more than usually ferocious Atlantic storms.
After the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, Skellig Michael became a popular spot for weddings. Marriages were forbidden during Lent, but since Skellig used the old Julian calendar a trip over to the islands allowed those unable to wait for Easter to tie the knot.
In the 1820s two lighthouses were built on Skellig Michael, together with the road that runs round the base.
You're asked to do your picnicking on the way up to the monastery, or at Christ's Saddle just before the last flight of steps, rather than among the ruins. This is to keep sandwich-loving birds and their droppings away from the monument.
A notice on the island warns of 'an element of danger' in visiting Skellig Michael. Although you could fall on the rocks or stone steps, the biggest element of danger seems attached to getting off the boat at the island. Make sure your shoes have a good grip.
Small Skellig is a bird sanctuary and you cannot land on it. While Skellig Michael looks like two triangles linked by a spur, Small Skellig is longer, lower and much craggier. From a distance it looks as if someone had battered it with a feather pillow that burst. Close up you realise you're looking at a colony of 20,000 pairs of breeding gannets, the second largest breeding colony in the world. Most boats circle the island so you can see them. Check beforehand if the boat will pause to look for basking seals.
Because of concerns for the fragility of Skellig Michael there are limits on how many people can visit on the same day. Nineteen boats are licensed to carry no more than twelve passengers each, so there should never be more than 250 people there at anyone time. Because of these limits it's wise to book ahead in July and August, always bearing in mind that if the weather's bad the boats may not sail. Trips usually start around Easter but high seas and bad weather can put them off until May.
You can depart from either Portmagee (and even Caherciveen), Ballinskelligs or Derrynane. The boat owners try to restrict you to two hours on the island, which is the bare minimum, on a good day, to see the monastery, look at the birds and have a picnic. The crossing from Portmagee takes about 90 minutes, from Ballinskelligs about 60 minutes (return around €32 from both places).
The Skellig Ring, a Gaeltacht or Irish-speaking area, is a scenic route that links Waterville with Portmagee via Ballinskelligs (Baile an Sceilg). It's signposted as you leave and is an enjoyable cycle route; however, there are lots of small unmarked roads, making it easy to get lost. For a great view of the Skellig Islands, don't pass up the coin-operated telescope by the roadside, just north of the Skellig Chocolate Factory.
This remote gallery, en route to Ballinskelligs, contains work by local and international artists and writers (open 11am-5pm daily). It is home to the Cill Rialaig Project which seeks to provide an international retreat for artists, writers and composers. Cheap accommodation and free studio space are available to genuine artists who are then asked to donate a piece of work to the gallery. Those wishing to apply need to send a CV with pictures of their work and details of any exhibitions.
To reach the gallery, look for the stone buildings on the R566 with the cone-shaped, thatched roofs.
The exact relationship between this monastery and the one on Skellig Michael isn't clear. It was probably founded after the monks left Skellig in the 12th or 13th century. The sea is gradually wearing away the ruins and it's the sort of place that children like to explore. Continue past the post office in Ballinskelligs down to Ballinskelligs Bay and walk to the remains from there. At the western end of this beautiful Blue Flag beach are the last remnants of a 16th-century castle stronghold of the McCarthys. Turn left at the junction after the post office for the castle.
Just when you were least expecting it, by the roadside on the R565, in the middle of nowhere, there looms a small chocolate factory (free, open 8.30am-8.30pm daily). Tastings are available.
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Skellig Michael photograph by Annie Gatti |
It’s a drizzly morning in July as we huddle in small groups on the quay at Portmagee, on the westernmost tip of Iveragh peninsula in County Kerry. But we don’t mind a bit: we’ve got here in time; the swell, that has made trips to the Skellig islands impossible for the last four days, is manageable; and our boat, the Myra Michelle, is the second of the day to leave.
“You’re lucky enough to be getting out today,” says Ken Roddy as he powers through the sheltered waters of the sound. Suddenly we hit the open Atlantic, and the boat does that see-sawing action that makes me fix my eyeline firmly on the horizon, and pray that the Kwells will kick in. Huge gannets, with wings the breadth of a fully grown man, wheel about as if they’re out for a morning stretch — their overcrowded home, Ken explains, is Little Skellig, the lump of rock to our left where some 27,000 breeding pairs jostle for ledge space. And now the dark, jagged cone of Skellig Michael, the larger of the two islands, comes into view.
The sky brightens, patches of blue appear, and soon we are close enough to see that the dark rock is layered with bands of green. We motor in close, leap ashore and as we set off up the concrete path that snakes round the southern face of the island, we spot that the people ahead of us have stopped and are craning left and right, cameras clicking. We soon see why. On every rocky ledge, waddling out of cracks between the rocks and holes in the ground, are puffins.
Soon we too have stopped. Over years of birdwatching I have spotted puffins as colourful blobs halfway down cliffs, or bobbing far out on the water, but here are those irresistible stripey-beaked clowns, close enough for us to see every feather. They talk to each other — croaaar, croaaar — indulge in bill-to-bill sweet nothings, and ignore these overexcited humans.
But the monastery at the top of the northeastern peak awaits us, and we have only a couple of hours on the island. So we climb lots of pancake-thin steps that twist and turn their way up — no hand rails, no seats or viewing platforms — to Christ’s Saddle, a natural depression where we can stop to get our bearings.
At the top there are yet more steps (600 in all) to a drystone wall rising sheer from the cliff face where, through a narrow entrance, we step on to a small terrace of sandstone slabs edged by six beehive-shaped stone buildings — the monks’ cells, squashed so close together that the occupants would have heard each other’s snores.
I scan the tiny settlement in disbelief. Here, 700ft (215m) up, more than 1,200 years ago, a small group of monks managed to build these sturdy outer walls, these weatherproof dwellings, this chapel in the centre, and to carve out a terrace below for their “garden”. They were inspired by accounts of St Anthony who lived in the most inhospitable parts of the Egyptian desert, duelling with the Devil, communing with God.
How they lived is a mystery: the only references to life on the island are of the deaths of certain abbots and the community’s return to the mainland some time in the 12th century. But Eamonn, one of three Heritage Service guides who was there to explain the background to us, soon fills in some of the blanks. “Can’t you just picture the 12 boys,” he starts, “sitting around the fire in the biggest cell, eating their puffin stew.” According to Eamonn, they probably grew vegetables such as spinach, garlic, peas and beans in their tiny garden, and may have kept bees.
Archaeologists discovered the remains of another settlement on the top of the opposite peak which is even more inaccessible and exposed. This, they reckon, was the preferred dwelling of one particular monk who found life in the monastery too noisy and crowded. Even today, with high-tech equipment and clothing, it is a climb that involves inching yourself more than 20ft up a sheer stone shaft, and crossing narrow ledges with a 230ft vertical drop — understandably, it’s not part of the day trip.
As we climb back down to the waiting boat grey clouds scud across the sky, blocking the sun, and a chill wind picks up. I pull on my Gore-Tex jacket and think about all those other days when there was no respite from the lashing rain and gale-force winds, and marvel at the hardiness of the monks.
Skellig Michael is a World Heritage Site and visits are permitted only on licensed boats, which hold up to 12 people, from Easter until the end of October. Bring warm, waterproof clothes, and walking boots.
The puffins start nesting in April, and usually leave at the beginning of August.
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| ‘Bagend’ |
Comfortable bed and breakfast holiday accommodation in a stunning location and with magnificent views. Ideal for walking, the beach (fifteen minutes’ walk), surfing, diving, touring and the Skelligs Chocolate Company!
Accommodation for a maximum of six guests in three spacious bedrooms, two doubles and one twin, each with en-suite shower and toilet. Near Portmagee, Waterville and Caherciveen. €30 per person per night.
Stephen and Sue Weatherill
‘Bagend’, Aghort, Ballinskelligs, St. Finans Bay, County Kerry, Ireland
Telephone from the UK 00 353 66 9479990, from Ireland 066 9479990
