Killarney to Kenmare
Our route today will take us past Muckross Lake and up to Moll’s Gap a second time, and from another direction, on our way to Kenmare.
We packed up, checked our bags at the desk, and retrieved our bikes from the Writer’s Room for the last time at The Great Western. It was a wonderful three nights in a very fine hotel.
Heading back into the Killarney National Park, early on a Sunday morning we had it to ourselves!
Our route would start along a narrow strip of land between Muckross Lake and Lough Leane. The woods were so thick we could only see the lakes in a handful of clearings.
Leaving the park the route to Moll’s Gap is back on a main highway. This is the N17 ‘Ring of Kerry’ route. This ring is a loop linking several numbered highways that makes a tour of County Kerry. This early, there was little traffic and we were able to zip right through this short one-lane tunnel.
We stopped at this church which was part-way up the hill and a good place to take a break. There is nothing on Google Maps about this site.
Likewise, this castle ruin that was just past Ladies View is also a mystery.
Looking back toward Killarney on the climb to Moll’s Gap from Ladies View.
We could see the nearby mountains, just barely from the increasing clouds from Moll’s Gap.
We jumped back into the Avoca Cafe for two coffees and two sausage rolls. We also picked up a jar of chutney to take home that was great on the sausage rolls.
Shortly after leaving Moll’s Gap the heavy rain hit. Our plan was to add some miles to the route and go to Sneem for lunch, then head to Kenmare. About half-way we had a bail-out possibility that would short cut the route through Blackwater. We decided to head there and hopefully get out of the rain for a bit. We stopped at the Blackwater Pub and Store. The Pub was not open, but the store was and they made us coffee and we sat in this covered picnic area until the rain eased off.
The view from the benches. At least the constant rain was breaking into scattered showers.
One last photo before leaving Blackwater Pub and Store, still raining. It was wet and busy once we rejoined highway N70, which is also part of the Ring of Kerry. With the increased traffic and continuing rain, we didn’t take any photos on the last 8 miles to Kenmare.
This is the Landsdown Inn, our home for the next two nights. This Photo was taken just before we left town a few days later! We arrived early, but our bags were there and our room was ready so we checked-in, put our bikes a secure covered storage around back, and enjoyed some hot coffee in the lobby.
The rain eased up and we took a stroll around this great little town. Similar to Killarney, but much smaller and it felt more authentic than the very busy Killarney.
We made reservations at the No. 35 Kenmare Restaurant and headed over for dinner. I think this was my first non-Guinness beer of the trip. It was a great local brew that was a nice change of pace.
No. 35 features an onion soup that went down really nicely after a day of riding in cold rain.
The restaurant was tiny and the manager doubled as our waiter. While the service was a bit lacking, the food was great. We figured that since our table was one of three on the first floor, our waiter/manager was too busy seating other guests and attending to managing the place.
Kenmare loop to Lauragh
Most mornings I fell into my old Route 66 breakfast routine, ham and cheese omelets. But the Lansdown didn't have an omelet on the menu, so I decided to try the Full Irish Breakfast, a nice way to start the day.
We were back on the Wild Atlantic Way and the Ring of Beara Peninsula. Ttraffic was light and the weather was a bit cool, but perfect for riding.
Today we were sporting our Ireland Cycling Jerseys with arm warmers and our high vis vests.
We soon pulled off the main highway and found ourselves on quiet back country roads.
We were headed up toward an unnamed gap and decided to stop here to take a picture. A hiking trail passes over the road and continues up the hill. This ladder allows the hikers to get over the barbed wire fence quite easily.
Descending the gap we were treated with wide open valley views.
This monument honors Phil O'Sullivan, captain of the Kerry All Ireland Champions in 1924. His friend Thomas Smyth donated this park in his memory and honor!
This could have been easily a Route 66 roadside oddity, but if you are a pint low, a good place to fill up!
Actually the full sized pub is right across the street. We rolled by before opening time, unfortunately.
Views of the Glenmore River and lake at the far end of our loop. We would roll back closer to Kenmare river, with much less climbing.
This marker and tiny harbor is Kilmakilloge. According to tradition St. Kilian set out from this harbor in 686AD on pilgrimage to Rome. He had established a monastery here to train monks as missionaries. He left with 12 companions in a hide covered boat. The pope sent them on to Germany to convert the Franconians. After setting up his base in Wurzburg Germany, he was murdered in 689AD. His shrine in Wurzburg has attracted pilgrims from throughout Europe. He was adopted as the patron saint of wine growers and shepherds and of Franconia. I looked over my blog post from our
2019 Tour of Franconia trip, but did not see anything about St. Kilian. Next time we'll know to look!
Soon we were crossing the Roughty river headed back to town.
I was starving so we stopped here for coffee and a sandwich before heading back to the hotel. Part of our hotel package was an afternoon tea, so after I finished my sandwich we headed to the hotel for tea and some very delicious scones. Debby decided to take the rest of the day off, and I took the opportunity to add another loop and ride up Moll's gap from the west side. We had already climbed it from the north, and east, so this would complete the 3-pack!
As we were leaving the day manager at the hotel stopped by to make sure our stay was going well. It was, and she recommended and made dinner reservations for us that evening.
It was only about 6 miles from town to Moll's Gap, and traffic was light and the rain in the distance only produced a sprinkle or two.
Well the third time is a charm. I finally found the Moll's Gap summit sign. I was tempted to stop at the Avoca Cafe for another sausage roll, but with the dark clouds to the north, and my kitchen pass about to expire I pointed my steed down hill and found yet another path back to Kenmare.
The road was smooth and I encountered only one car on the way down. They seemed surprised to me, but I saw them before they saw me and was able to slow and pull out of the way.
This is the pier at Templenoe. It was just off my route so I rolled down to check it out. Not much to see, so I hopped back on the highway and headed back into town. It was 5ish and traffic was a bit heavy but soon I was back in town to get cleaned up and ready to head out for dinner.
Another classy restaurant (mostly wine) and a handful of local craft brews. This the the Tom Creams Red Ale and was very nice.
The restaurant was called Lagom, and like many in town had a small B&B attached. The meal was fantastic and we were very happy our hotel manager arranged it for us. One of the challenges of the tour was that many restaurants booked up well in advance. We were lucky the hotel manager secured this one for us.
This is the Kenmare Stone Circle. It was a short walk from the Lagom so we decided to check it out. It is a bronze age stone circle estimated to be 3,000 years old, with 15 large stones arranged in a circle and one large stone in the middle. The central boulder may have been a burial site, although no remains have been found here. There are several other stone circles in the area and are characteristic of the Cork-Kerry Bonze Age tradition. It is unknown what these circles were intended for. Some are aligned at points of the year, so perhaps astronomical and/or social functions.
There was no one around so I decided to take the central boulder for a test drive, nothing happened! We made our way back to the hotel and finished packing and getting ready for the final ride of the tour the following morning.
Kenmare Loop to Kilgarvan
Our end of the tour transfer was scheduled to pick us up at the hotel at 11:00am and drive us to the Killarney train station. If we were going to get a ride in, we would need to do it before breakfast, so we were up and out before dawn.
We stopped on the bridge to catch a shot of the sunrise over Roughty River. This gentlemen had a line in the water. I asked if he had any luck so far and he came over to chat with us. He told us the fish don't really bite this early in the morning, but he likes to come here anyway and watch the sunrise. He asked where we were from and we told him Arizona USA. He said he had applied for his passport and hopes to visit America soon. Like many Irish folks we met, some of his relatives immigrated to the US and he was looking forward to visiting them.
The route took us off the main roads and into another national forest.
We were about 6 miles into the ride and got stuck behind this traffic jam. I rode up and asked if we could pass through and he shook his head no, and said they should be clear in about 15 minutes.
There was another stone circle nearby and we considered checking it out. It was quite a ways from the car park and too steep to ride (if bikes were even allowed) so we passed on checking it out. We caught the herd, and soon they peeled off the road into a pasture. Other than a fresh layer of manure on our tires and bikes we were good to go!
We rejoined the highway on the return and only a few miles out of down Debby said something flew off her bike on the last descent, and now her front derailleur was not working. One of the Pivot bolts was gone! We were only a few miles from the hotel so we limped in on the lower gears and put this tour in the books!
I found a hose behind the hotel to spray off the muck on the bikes and we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel.
Our guide was ill, but sent a driver with a bike rack to transfer us back to Killarney. His name was David and he was delightful to visit with on the ride back to the train station. We talked about many things; he too has relatives that have immigrated to the US and he also is an avid GAA football fan. He told us that the GAA is an all amateur league. Kids grow up in their parishes playing each other. The good ones move up to regional teams, and the best of those end up representing their county in the All Ireland Cup. I commented about the Kerry flags everywhere we looked and he said, 'yes, that's parish pride!'
He dropped us off at the station near the steps of The Great Southern Hotel in Killarney. It started off as a railway hotel and is right next to the station. We found the bike storage easily on both trains and were soon in Dublin with out a hitch. It was much more relaxing knowing the drill with getting the bikes on and off the train.
We found a cabbie at the train station in Dublin willing to take us and the bikes to the Hampton hotel (a couple drivers waved us off). Our driver was very nice. I was hoping he could fit Debby, her bike and our bags in his cab, and I would ride mine to the hotel, only 1.5 miles away. He insisted that we try to get mine in too. We did and he got us right to the hotel. We thanked him again for taking the time to get us and all our gear in his cab. He laughed and said he had gotten one bike in before wondered if he could get two in! We wished each other well and I gave him a 20EU for a 9EU fare!
We checked in and took the bikes and boxes up to the room. We were both hungry and we saw BoBo's burgers on Google maps nearby and went there for something a little different. After dinner I packed the bikes and we called it a day.
We had one last day in Dublin so we checked out St. Patrick's Cathedral and did some shopping. Our last great meal was at the Legal Eagle Pub, just a few doors down from our hotel and it was a fitting final dinner in Ireland.
We flew to LAX and had an overnight layover so booked a room at the Airport Hyatt. Our bags checked through to PHX and since we cleared US Customs in Dublin, we simply got off the plane and made our way to the hotel.
We arrived home early Sunday morning with all our bags and caught an Uber home.
This was a great cycling tour. We loved the self-guided format, and the LifeCycle Adventures people did a great job in providing planning and logistics for the tour. We did not need the road assistance, but it was very reassuring knowing that we could call our guide at any time. We are not sure where we will go next, but we will certainly consider another LifeCycle Adventures tour.
I was able to make a temporary fix to Debby's derailleur while we waited for the parts to come in. With our jet lag, it has been quite easy to wake up very early and get most of our normal 'coffee ride' done before sunrise and the Arizona heat sets in. Here we are at our favorite Black Rock Coffee Bar in Tempe. Notice the iced coffee!
Thanks for following along on our tour!
Steve
It was only about 6 miles from town to Moll's Gap, and traffic was light and the rain in the distance only produced a sprinkle or two.
Well the third time is a charm. I finally found the Moll's Gap summit sign. I was tempted to stop at the Avoca Cafe for another sausage roll, but with the dark clouds to the north, and my kitchen pass about to expire I pointed my steed down hill and found yet another path back to Kenmare.
The road was smooth and I encountered only one car on the way down. They seemed surprised to me, but I saw them before they saw me and was able to slow and pull out of the way.
This is the pier at Templenoe. It was just off my route so I rolled down to check it out. Not much to see, so I hopped back on the highway and headed back into town. It was 5ish and traffic was a bit heavy but soon I was back in town to get cleaned up and ready to head out for dinner.
Another classy restaurant (mostly wine) and a handful of local craft brews. This the the Tom Creams Red Ale and was very nice.
The restaurant was called Lagom, and like many in town had a small B&B attached. The meal was fantastic and we were very happy our hotel manager arranged it for us. One of the challenges of the tour was that many restaurants booked up well in advance. We were lucky the hotel manager secured this one for us.
This is the Kenmare Stone Circle. It was a short walk from the Lagom so we decided to check it out. It is a bronze age stone circle estimated to be 3,000 years old, with 15 large stones arranged in a circle and one large stone in the middle. The central boulder may have been a burial site, although no remains have been found here. There are several other stone circles in the area and are characteristic of the Cork-Kerry Bonze Age tradition. It is unknown what these circles were intended for. Some are aligned at points of the year, so perhaps astronomical and/or social functions.
There was no one around so I decided to take the central boulder for a test drive, nothing happened! We made our way back to the hotel and finished packing and getting ready for the final ride of the tour the following morning.
He dropped us off at the station near the steps of The Great Southern Hotel in Killarney. It started off as a railway hotel and is right next to the station. We found the bike storage easily on both trains and were soon in Dublin with out a hitch. It was much more relaxing knowing the drill with getting the bikes on and off the train.
We checked in and took the bikes and boxes up to the room. We were both hungry and we saw BoBo's burgers on Google maps nearby and went there for something a little different. After dinner I packed the bikes and we called it a day.
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