The Dingle Ring

The Dingle Ring is MUCH shorter than the Ring of Kerry, at just about 30 m completely around. And, there are a ton of archaeological and historical sites, which means that you are never in the car very long before you get to another stop. Our kind of car tour. Check out the guidebook description we were using here: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ricksteves/dingle-peninsula-loop-trip-20272095/. Below are photos and some memories of the stops we made. 

First off was a stop to see some really cool beehive huts, called the Fahan Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahan,_County_Kerry). These were really amazing. Funny, they were on people's farms - sheep all around, entrance fee of 2 Euro that seemed to be going to the farmers. But, at one of the sights, there were conservation workers doing some stonework, so maybe the money goes for projects like that...

Sporting his new sweater (called a jumper here!)

The ceilings were so amazing - no mortar but dry inside.

Jamie really liked being inside the huts - his size I suppose!

Back in the van, our next stop on the map was a beach. But, we did many pull offs (including Slea Head) for the amazing scenery. Another great day weather-wise - we actually only had a couple rainy days during the whole trip, which is quite amazing in this part of the world!

"marshmallows"

Our next stop was at a beach that Amy and Kevin had told us about, between Slea Head and the Great Blasket Center. It isn't even named on the maps, but is a nice beach for rock hunting and the cliffs around it have layers of really amazing crystals - we spent lots of time searching and came away with a small, clear crystal each. Very fun!

rock hunting!

Great boulders and cliffs - pic of Jubin below
is a zoom of the area in the foreground above.

Crystal hunting!

 We stopped for a picnic lunch and visited the Great Blasket Centre, all about the very hardy and isolated people who lived on the Blasket Islands until relatively recently. Jamieson was asleep in the car, so Watson and I went into the Centre with my parents who watched the documentary while we explored the exhibits. The place wasn't particularly accessible, but it had a neat interactive Gaelic/English exhibit that Watson enjoyed.

Next up was the Reasc Monastery (http://www.sacred-destinations.com/ireland/riasc) from the 6-12th centuries, with a Celtic stone pillar from 500 BC, and oratory (church), and chlocans (circular igloo-like huts). Cool!

We next went to the Gallarus Oratory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallarus_Oratory) built sometime between the 6th and 12th century - super cool! Jamieson loved this church - he had such a fun time inside... 

Our last stop of the day was at the Kilmalkedar church. We parked and first went walking up the hill through fields filled with sheep looking for a site that was never to be seen...Jubin was pretty much done for the day by this point and it was unclear how far the hike was, so we turned around after not too long. A little adventure though!

Mumma milk!

These were the markings we followed through the fields -
up and down over walls and through lots of sheep (and their pooh!)

The church ruins are surrounded by a graveyard and has a very old (3rd centrury?) ogham stone - there is a hole drilled in the top where people would "seal the deal" by touching thumbs. Lots of other neat stones there as well (http://www.megalithicireland.com/Kilmalkedar.htm). Fun.  

A cool fairy fort we passed on the way back to Dingle:

We stopped in Dingle and ate dinner at the Half Door Restaurant. We were the first people there (early birds who were hungry, tired, and a bit grumpy after the long day of sites), but had a nice dinner. What amazing sites we saw that day...