Kinsale to Killarney

We didn't really get on the road till midday, so not so much to report after visiting Kinsale. Final sign before leaving.

 

The Wild Atlantic Way is extremely well named, not only for the sea, but also the narrow, winding road which weaves its way in and out of tiny wee villages, where there seem to be more pubs, inns and restaurants than inhabitants!

Although things look simple on the map and we have a GPS with a very polite English lady directing us ( she always says 'please'), we still often had our doubts as to where we were heading, especially when looking for Drombeg stone circle by Rosscarbery. The owners of B and Bs are obviously so used to the tiniest of lanes that they happily recommend these sites. I am pleased she did because it was spectacular but the long single track road to get there must have shortened my life, and probably Trudi's considerably. 

 

As I drive around Ireland and meet the people here, I find myself comparing it more and more to NZ. Breathtaking scenery, variety of landscape, fun-loving , helpful and friendly people , lots of pubs, and vast quantities of wide open areas without a house in sight. Not only that, the smaller roads are extremely bumpy at times, in fact much of the time, and there are a lot of roadworks! However, in NZ the workers hold the Stop and Go signs. Here they have fancy little ride ons which hold the signs, giving the workers time to use their mobile phones to chat! We sometimes even had an additional van leading us along the road. Still, it is all providing worthwhile employment, I guess.

 

It was a relatively long journey to Killarney along the Atlantic Way, but certainly preferable to the big main road or motorway. It was very picturesque. The last hour was a bit exhausting as the rain set in and subsequently the fog drifted in over the mountains we were passing through. What a pity that we didn't get the views, but perhaps also a blessing that I couldn' t see how high we were and the sheer drops! At least I could see the road ahead! It was somewhat scary though, but we survived

It was good to get to Killarney, where we had a 3-night stop. Good decision as there is so much to visit! Killarney National Park was Ireland's first national park, but is now the 4 th biggest of 6. It is a real treasure and wonderful to visit, but, like Queenstown in NZ , it is heaving with its thousands of visitors and the season has yet to start! Luckily our B and B was within 15 minute walking distance from town, so we did not have to get snarled up in the traffic in the very narrow roads of the town centre. These roads were made for sedately driven horse and carts, not for tour buses, lorries which park on double yellow lines and not for massive camper vans. 

 Enough to drive you to drink!