Monday 26th April 2004
Photos I took: 102 digital + 5 medium format
Weather Forecast |
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Forecast: |
Light rain showers |
Actual: |
Early rain clearing to sunny spells |
Dad! What Are You Doing Here?
After we had returned from the sunset, Paula went to bed and I sat down with a cup of tea with my father to have a chat. We were talking about various things when I glanced out of the window. Unexpectedly, the sunset had reappeared and was looking good. I had missed it from my chosen location. I quickly grabbed my tripod and camera, opened the door and set everything up on the patio. But before I was ready, the sunset went again. I went back inside and sat down.
Now I was dreaming about my Father!
A Wet Start
We awoke to an overcast day, which during breakfast, turned to showers of rain. We had originally planned to go for a walk in the mountains, but changed our plans to driving around the Dingle Peninsula instead.
We drove the long road off the Iveragh Peninsula and then back in the same direction via Killorglin, but on the Dingle Peninsula this time. The rain had been on and off throughout the journey. After about an hour or so of driving, we stopped briefly near a place called Inch - 3 miles of sandy beach.
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Looking towards Inch
Minard Castle
We drove on through the narrow roads with Paula navigating us to Minard Castle. Paula sat on the rocks, whilst I clambered around the oversized pebbles, taking photos.
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Minard Castle
When it started spitting with rain again, which wasn't long since we had got out of the car, I headed back towards Paula. I stopped briefly to take some abstract photos of some discarded rope.
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Some discarded rope
Dunbeg Promontory Fort
After lunch at the castle, we hit the road again, stopping occasionally to admire the view and take photos. The weather had gradually been improving all the time. Paula had been looking at the Rough Guide to Ireland as I'd been driving and had read that Dunbeg Promontory Fort was worth a visit. We parked up, payed our €2 and walked down to the fort.
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A defensive bank within Dunbeg Fort
The 10th Century Fort has suffered a lot of erosion - much of it has been reclaimed by the sea. It is equipped with a 16 metre long souterrain, four outer defence banks and a beehive hut.
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Doorways in the fort
It was evidently out of season - we were the only people there when we left.
We drove on past a sign pointing us towards some beehive huts, which would cost us to visit. Because of that and the fact that if we stopped all the time we'd never get anywhere, we decided to give it a miss. As it happens, when we stopped at a view point Paula noticed a beehive hut in someone's garden, so I sneakily took a photo.
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A Beehive Hut
Slea Head and The Blaskets
We pulled back onto the road, only to pull off again a couple of miles later at a other viewpoint. Whilst I was taking my photos, a coach of females passed. For some reason, I must have been interesting, because they all turned around to look at me. That's the perfect way to get a guy to feel self-conscious...
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A viewpoint near Ventry
After the panic had passed and I'd checed that I looked OK in the driver's mirror, we set off again, with me feeling unnerved every time we approached a coach.
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Slea Head
At Paula's suggestion, we took a side road up onto the hill above Slea Head to find a viewpoint shown on the map. After driving a mile or so, we still hadn't found any obvious viewpoints, so we pulled over in a passing place at the top.
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Looking towards Blasket Sound
After taking a couple of photos, I performed an almost flawless 7 point turn - well, it was a very narrow road! We headed back down the hill towards the viewpoint at The Blaskets.
Great Blasket Island is the most westerly point of Europe and is the largest (approximately 4 miles long by 1/2 mile wide) in a group of islands off the Dingle Peninsula. The guide books recommend taking a boat across, but we didn't have time on our whistle-stop tour of the peninsula. The island has been occupied since pre-history and overlooks the wrecking location of several Spanish Armada Ships (credit for the information in this largely paraphrased paragraph is due to www.greatblasketisland.com)
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Great Blasket across the landscape
The Rubbish Fort
Paula had read in the Rough Guide about a fort (the name of which, I am unsure). This fort was supposed to be spectacular for one reason or another, so we decided to go and see it.
We went via an Oratory but, when we saw how touristy it looked, we immediately turned around and left. After some confusion over right and left, we headed in the general direction of the fort, stopping at a viewpoint overlooking Smerwick Harbour. Paula stayed in the car, whilst I took a brief walk to take some photos.
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A sailing ship in Smerwick Harbour
I returned to the car and we continued our journey. It wasn't long before we had taken the wrong road. We soon corrected that and pulled into the car park with our expectations high.
We got out of the car and were a little puzzled as to where it was. We eventually saw the remnants of a ditch and mound, but that was about it. Paula was understandably disappointed. I consoled her by taking some photos of Smerwick harbour. (OK, so that didn't really console her...)
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Smerwick Harbour
Back Home Again
After the bitter disappointment passed, we decided it was time to head back to Kathleen's House. I drove back with much trouble staying awake as we got towards Killorglin. We were supposed to go shopping for food before going home, but we were both far too tired. The people who'd stayed at the cottage before us had left some baking potatoes in the fridge, so we decided to use them up - just so they wouldn't go off, of course.
In the evening we played the ubiquitous game of Scrabble before going to bed. We decided we were going to have a quieter day tomorrow.