Just to get things straight - this part of Ireland is so beautiful that no words can adequately capture it so I'm going to start using abbreviations - outrageously beautiful (OB), just plain stunning (JPS) - though mostly we'd just say things like "Oh, come on now" when we'd turn a corner and see something even more beautiful than the best view we'd ever seen just at the last corner.
We left Blarney (going via the woollen mills - I think there is more wool in Ireland than can possibly be found on all the sheep in the world -bizarre but true) and took the back roads to a place called Kenmare. The advice on the route came from our very friendly hotel manager. To be honest, the advice turned out to be more than a little confusing, made all the more surprising that she gave us info from Google and Google itself seemed to confused. You know you're in for a driving challenge when Google throws it's hands up in despair. Things weren't helped by the odometer in the car being in miles, even though the speedo was in ism, as were all the signs. Makes for some interesting calculations. But that was all right because the one thing we have learned is that the roads do their own thing over here. And don't expect any help from road signs. It's generally best to just feel comfortably lost, stop worrying and just take in the scenery - oh, and do explore side roads.
One of the highlights - a real moment of OB - came when we took a side road on a whim and found ourselves at Gougane Barra. Indescribably beautiful. Ancient church on magic lake - honestly one of the most beautiful sites I've ever seen - google it. Photos don't even come close. Oh, and the toilet there won the best toilet award in Ireland in 2002. It was pretty impressive. Gotta love the Irish.
From there we wove down to Bantry, where we got our first taste of this amazing stretch of coastline. OB and JPS. Then we headed up to the b&b we'd booked at Kenmare. If you're ever in this part of the world Kenmare is a must - stay overnight if you can. Main Street is charming. Also saw our first seal there. We also took an evening trip down the Ring of Beara.
Down this part of the world everything is in Rings, which basically just means driving around in a big scenic circle. After overnighting in Kenmare we took the Ring of Kerry, which has to be one of the most beautiful drives on the planet. The constantly amazing views made all the more impressive because they kept changing. Also found our first international geocache!
We attached to the Ring of Kerry a side trip to the Skellig Ring - which, despite sounding like something out of The Lord of the Rings, is actually another beautiful stretch of road, which took in Valentia Island, amazing cliff views, dinosaur footprints and walking around a derelict castle on a beach.
We then worked our way up to Glenbeigh for the night, only getting lost a few times, thanks to Google totally indicating the wrong location.
I do have to tell you about driving the Ring of Kerry - because this is part of the experience. The roads are ludicrously narrow and winding. Honestly, you can't believe how challenging it can be. To make it even more interesting throw in oncoming tractors and buses. Still want more to sharpen the driving experience. Imagine the roads are so narrow that if you meet a car coming the other way you have to back up to find a point where you can pass. Still no problem? Ok so now imagine that people can park just about anywhere and there's every chance you'll meet a pedestrian sharing the road because not only are there no footpaths - there's no damn side to the road at all - usually stone wall fences or holes cut through bushes (this is what the road often feels like - tunnels through trees). The hairiest example we saw of pedestrian/vehicle sharing was a woman pushing a stroller down a narrow road towards an oncoming tourist bus, whilst on our side there was a parked car and traffic trying to get around it. The craziest thing is, it all seems to manage to just not-quite end up in a multi-car pileup with civilian casualties.
We had a very pleasant evening eating tapas as a converted church and then taking in a geocache at the Torc Waterfall near Killarney. We got home and began to look into accommodation in Dublin ... And that was when the wheels fell off ... And they just kept on falling.