At The Kerry House
We are now well settled in our house with its magnificent views. We are enjoying the Irish summer(?) which has seen rain off and on most of the days we have been here. However, we have used the house as a base for exploring various parts of the Ring of Kerry. This is the road round the Iveragh Peninsula the peninsula we are on. The road basically travels around the coastline and there are simply the greatest views ever. We have explored the villages of Killorgin, Carhersiveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel, Castle Cove and Sneem. Names well known to you all. These are cute villages each with their own personality. Caherdaniel, for example, has a Wall of Honour on which are detailed sporting heroes of the area. Sneem, has a statue of the world heavyweight champion 1939-1947 who came from the area. Cahersiveen boasts the birth place of Daniel O’Connell, the Liberator, while Caherdaniel owns the house in which he was brought up, Derrynane House. The road can be quite hairy at times, narrow and bumpy, but there are parts that have been improved.
As well as the scenery there are also the hotels. We have visited the odd one or six. We had hoped to listen to Irish music but the World Cup put paid to that with most pubs carrying live coverage. However we have imbibed at the Scarriff Inn, our local, the Derrynane Hotel, O’Connor’s Beach Bar, the only beach bar in Ireland they claim. We have also tried pubs in Kilorgan, the Red Fox, and Sneem. All the pubs have their own personality. Bridie Keating’s Bar at Derrynane Beach is a case in point. This is a very small bar of just one room but they seem to be able to cram the whole of Ireland in there.
We went for a walk round the hills 10th, and on our way back met one of the neighbours who invited us in for a cup of coffee. He is a German married to an Irish woman and has converted an old house. He said he wanted to maintain the history of the house which he has done. An interesting afternoon.