Mountains – Cork Spring

We’ve been busy again for the past week. Blarney, Crosshaven, the Ring of Kerry, and Kinsale on alternating days. Fewer than 4 weeks remain until we leave Cork, and make our way to Portugal and Spain. We’ll spend one of those weekends in Dublin, and another in Paris, external conditions allowing.

Although most of our time here is spent on quotidian affairs, we’re not averse to being tourists when the occasion warrants. Earlier this week we hopped a tour bus and went round the Ring of Kerry. The bus departs about 6 blocks from our apartment, and this guy saw us off.

Passed through a couple of small towns on the way from Cork to Killarney, where we picked up a couple of additional passengers. Of those, I thought Macroom might be worth a standalone visit in the next couple of weeks.

Killarney was picturesque in theme park kind of way. The scone i had there was disappointing, though. Bland and bready. (Don’t worry, the one I had later in the week at the Poet’s Corner in Kinsale made up for it.) But on the way, we passed the far-famed Cork and Kerry Mountains, where once upon a time a young highwayman robbed the English Captain Farrell, and all whack for the daddyo broke out.

I like the sight of snow, off in the distance.

The advantage of touring the Ring in early March is that we were virtually the only tour bus on the road. I hear that during the summer months it can be bumper to bumper with them. So not only are the roads more pleasant to be on, but the stops are empty as well, which means more time to enjoy them.

Glenbeigh is the first, strictly photo opportunity stop of the tour. I took advantage.

We also stopped for lunch in Waterville, where Charlie Chaplin had a house for much of his life. It’s now owned by one of the local golf clubs, and for a super premium price, you and your group can stay there for a couple of nights while you play some of the local courses. They also honor Chaplin with a film festival and look-alike contest. Our bus driver told us that towards the end of his life, Chaplin entered the contest, and placed 12th. I have my doubts.

We also had a pretty nice lunch at The Lobster, which was one of the few restaurants open on a weekday this time of year. I’m finding the Irish know how to smoke a salmon.

After lunch, we had another photo opportunity in Castlecove. I took advantage again.

Our next stop was in the charmingly named village of Sneem, where I’m sure that J.R.R. Tolkien must have spent at least one night of his life. We bought some post cards, which gives me the chance to remind you that if you’d like a postcard from us on our travels, you can email me your postal address at corkspringblog at gmail dot com, and I’ll get one out to you.

We were detoured on our return to Killarney by a road closure, so we didn’t get an opportunity to pass through Killarney National Park, nor to see the Torc Waterfall. We did get to stop for a bit at the road closure, and chat with some of the locals, who were curious about us since they don’t seem to get many visitors.