Ring of Kerry & Valentina Island

We had started our Ring of Kerry tour at Kenmare, where went for an Irish breakfast, to be prepared for exploring the peninsula.

We stopped at Sneem for a walk through the village and a look into another wool shop, still no jumper for us. Next we tackled the narrow drive to Staigue Fort, a stone ringfort, thought to have been built during the late Iron Age, probably somewhere between 300 and 400 AD, as a defensive stronghold for a local lord or king. We were impressed by its strong walls and the stairs on the inside.

We drove further around the Kerry peninsula, until we reached Portmagee, where we found a small whiskey distillery, the perfect stop with this kind of weather.

At the Kerry Cliffs, we fought against the strong wind to get to the viewpoint, from where we had a view to the Skellig Islands. That day, all the boat trips to the island had been cancelled because of the wind.

From Portmagee, we took the bridge to Valentina Island, where we did a quick stop at the point where one of the first underwater cables to America started. We ignored all the view points – no view anyway – and drove a small road to see some “dino” prints.

The prints are quite small, but are nevertheless fascinating, as they stem from the first vertebrate walking on land, a lizard-like Tetrapod, and are 385 million years old!

Our visit was brief, as the weather had turned to windy, raining and dark grey. We drove to Knightstown and left the island via the ferry.

We arrived at Reenard Point, where The Point restaurant was recommended to us by locals, and we were not disappointed. After some delicious seafood (and a bottle of wine), we found a parking along the coast and hoped for better weather the next day.