Ireland was always on our list for this adventure, but what to see and how to see it? We only had 10 days to see as much as we could, so decided that a road trip around the south-western corner of this island would have to suffice. Hints from friends and family helped us develop an itinerary, as well as some must-sees.

Because of the delays in our flight into Dublin and subsequent concerns over our luggage ever arriving, we didn’t get out of the car rental lot until more than two hours later than we planned. Sadly, it meant we couldn’t take a leisurely drive down through the Wicklow mountains and coast road on our way south. Our first stop was Duncannon, across the estuary from Waterford and a pleasant way to find the coastal views, despite the wind and showers that seem to follow us everywhere. This was to be the “leaping off point” for our Wild Atlantic way trip, stopping briefly in Waterford to browse the fantastic crystal displays (and fantastically expensive too!) then to Cork – firstly to the airport to swap out our rental car. We think they gave us the oldest one in their fleet in Dublin – it was dirty, gutless and unsafe in our eyes – no reverse camera, no technology, rough noises and no right hand headlight. Thankfully, it was the headlight issue that meant they were willing to change our car over and we were much happier with the newer model of the same car we ended up with. It made for further delays though, but we eventually found Blarney Castle for the afternoon. The gardens were lovely there and the sun peeped though allowing us a chance to stretch our legs after the last few days of driving and flying. We joined the queue to climb the stairs up the castle to see/kiss the Blarney Stone – there was quite a line – it’s a pity there wasn’t a line for the stone kissers and a line to view the top instead. Eventually we made it and I attempted to reach the stone, tapping it with my forehead rather than my lips – it’s a long way back and I couldn’t stretch that far. The views from the top were good however but it was time to move onwards to our destination for the night.

My brother had recommended Gougane Barra as a stopover as he had visited a few years previously. Without his recommendation, we would have missed this pretty (remote) slice of Irish landscape. The lake was pretty and the chapel made a great photo as well. The hills around were interesting and there were many hikers finishing up for the day as we arrived. It was a lovely respite, very rural and very quiet, but still busy. I laughed at the “most beautiful toilets in Ireland” proudly identified near to the hotel.

Heading to the coast, our first day involved the “Ring of Beara” with beautiful views of the ocean on a sunny day. We loved the houses, generally all one level and plastered and painted in a variety of colours. Many of them we considered “sharp” with clean lines and very well kept. There were many little groupings of houses on the outskirts of a town and in the town the colourful streets were interesting. Before we start, Chris asked me what I was expecting from Ireland, my response was “green” and it didn’t disappoint. The fields were very green, and so many of them. The landscape was not dissimilar to parts of NZ but a with a freshness to it, despite it being so much older. We stopped for a lunch break in the small town of Allihies, where copper had been mined, but the houses were pretty along the roadside, painted in slightly brighter colours than we’d seen previously. The roads were in good condition, narrow but not as bad as parts of England. We climbed over a pass to glimpses of the sea on the other side of the peninsula. Some beautiful sandy beaches and clam seas on this sunny day. Our stop for the night was Kenmare, a small town buzzing with tourists, for a Thursday night the place was packed and it took three attempts to find somewhere to eat that night. Next morning we detoured through the rain and misty hills towards Killarney, stopping for atmospheric views of the valley, a short walk to a waterfall – along with bus loads of others, then to Muckross House to enjoy the gardens and historic information. We then retraced our route back to circle the Ring of Kerry, again with wonderful geological formations of the rock, beautiful villages and still calm seas. The sun came out and we took in some amazing views and even more colourful towns.

A highlight was stopping at the Kerry Cliffs on our way towards Port Magee. The road over the hills was narrow and winding, but a straight ramp down towards Port Magee. The cliffs were pretty spectacular and there were many others taking in the sights. Sadly, we have arrived at the wrong time of year to see puffins, which I was hoping to spot.

The following day we boarded a small boat that would take us out around the Skellig islands, Skellig Michael being recogniseable from the most recent Star Wars series as the place hermit Luke Skywalker was found. At the start of the trip we were assigned a huge waterproof raincoat, a warning of what was to come, we couldn’t sit inside the cabin from Covid rules so we braced ourselves for the waves and wind outside. It was probably marginal seas for the trip but we endured the ride out and we’re thankful for the lea of the island while we we told the history of the monastery and current use of this rocky place. The rocks were white with gannets, it was the birds themselves coloring the scene, rather than guano which I thought it was from a distance. The rocky islands seemed more impressive from a distance than close up. Then another hour plus to endure for the ride back. We were thankful for the coats, but my shoes and socks were very wet at the end.

Back in the warmth and shelter of our car, we crossed the bridge on Valentia Island, driving the length before a ferry crossing back to the mainland again, driving towards Dingle, passing more bays and green farmland as well as the famous Inch Beach, busy with a few hardy holiday makers on this huge expanse of sand. Our first day in Dingle, we drove around the end of the peninsula taking in a number of sights and vistas, stopping to see the Gallurus Oratory, a very simple place of meeting for early Christians.

From Dingle we drove over the Conor Pass heading northwards. Along the way we enjoyed more scenic vistas, another short ferry ride from Tarbert to Killimer, before arriving at the Cliffs of Moher. I’m afraid I was a little underwhelmed with these – we had expected wild and rocky coastline, but it was a calm day and the seas were not battering the rocks. in some ways, i think the Kerry Cliffs were more spectacular, but this area was obviously very popular, as we wandered the cliff top trail amongst the hundreds of other tourists. We were lucky to park a bit further away from the visitors centre at a privately run car park, balking a little at the cost of parking, but discovering later it was probably half what we would have been charged at the very full official car park. We did enjoy getting out to stretch our legs and the scenery was interesting, just not as spectacular as I anticipated.

Our B&B host suggested that on our way towards Dublin from Doolin, we drive the coast road to see “The Burren” – we had no idea what we would see, but we were so glad we did, the coastline is a mass of limestone rocks, layer upon layer from the sea up to the mountains behind, and then inland as well. The limestone “karst” was very interesting and we we glad we didn’t miss it.

Finally we arrived back at Dublin airport to drop off the rental car and catch the bus into the city centre for our next 3 nights. we were lucky to have chosen a small apartment right on the north bank of the Liffey, looking over at Temple Bar. it was very easy walking into the city and seeing the sights. On the first day we booked another “free” walking tour, which was very good. Our guide gave us lots of history of Ireland and Dublin, non-judgemental but with a great overview of all that Ireland has faced over the past 2000 years, and how things have changed even in the past 20 years. We got to see a number of interesting places and we came away with a much better understanding of the Irish issues and challenges of yesteryear and today. Following on from that, we had booked to do the Guinness factory tour. I’m not a beer drinker at all, but Guinness is such an iconic symbol of Ireland, we couldn’t miss it. You wander the displays at your own pace, being collected into a group for one session in the olfactory (smelling) room and a tiny tasting of the product. Once finished this interesting tour, you can find a spot to sit (if you’re lucky) on the top floor with a panoramic view over the city and sip a pint of Guinness. We manged to get a couple of seats at a table, chatting with about 3 different couples from all over the world at various times as I sipped my pint very slowly. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it took an hour for me to finish the glass, and I probably won’t spend my money on another any time soon. We enjoyed wandering around the city, enjoying the last few days of hearing the English language around us before we flew across the channel and alps to start our next adventures. We’d had a wonderful 10 days scratching the surface of this pretty part of the world, and we found so much to enjoy. We’d certainly come back and explore more if the chance arose, but at the same time we think we got to see a lot of beautiful sights and sites.