Monday 4th September 2017
The Slea Head drive is a circular route, forming part of The Wild Atlantic Way, starting and ending in Dingle. (Dingle being a small port town on the southwest of the peninsula). We travelled southwest out of Tralee towards the village of Camp, taking the Caherconree scenic route, through the Slieve Mish Mountains.
This narrow link road took us from the north side of the Dingle Peninsula to the south side, allowing us to take in even more spectacular scenery.
On many of of our drives we have noticed beautiful Fuchsia and Montbretia plants, gracing many of the country lanes, adding a lovely splash of colour.
On reaching the southern side of the peninsula we headed towards Inch. We parked our car on the beach at Inch, which wasn’t a problem, as the beach stretched for miles!
After braving the wind for a while, we headed to the beach cafe for coffee and cake. If you love surfing this is the beach for you! Off again to Dingle, through Ventry and at last we could see Slea Head. Unfortunately the car park was heaving so we drove on to Dunquin pier, in the hope of catching the ferry to Blasket islands.
Just our luck, the ferry wasn’t operating on a Monday. Not to be disheartened we made the trek down the winding steep path to the pier. Once at the bottom, we were greeted by huge cliffs and a view to Blasket islands.
Coming back up the hill was a struggle. It was so incredibly steep! At last we made it back to the safety of the car. We continued on the Slea Head Drive taking in many of the villages on the north of the peninsula, before finally making our way back to Dingle.
Finally Ray’s highlight of the day had arrived – The Conor Pass. It is the highest mountain pass in Ireland, crossing the Brandon mountains. The road is over 4 miles long and rises to 1500 ft as it winds it’s way to the pass. By the time we reached the car park at the pass though, the fog had moved in and we were unable to take advantage of the stunning views. On a clear day, you can see Loop Head in Clare, Galway’s Aran Islands and the beaches at Castlegregory. The road then carries on down towards Brandon Bay, past cliffs, lakes and a waterfall.
Conor Pass
Back on the road to Tralee and home for the night. The weather had picked up and a BBQ was the order of the day. To top it all a beautiful sunset completed the day. (Just before the rains arrived, again!)
Did you take the opportunity to play Tralee whilst there.
Nah, not had a long enough break in the weather to consider getting the clubs out!