September 2 – Kinsale to Kenmare

 Healy Pass

We had another wonderful breakfast at The Old Presbytery. I had a crepe that was stuffed with fresh fruit and covered with maple syrup and cinnamon. A sides of bacon, a scone, juice and coffee rounded it out. Ann had scrambled eggs with cheese, juice and coffee. If we are ever back in Kinsale, we will stay here.

We were on the road mid-morning and traveled on the coast route on secondary roads. The vegetation was lush and usually reached the edge of the road as a high barrier to keep errant autos from careening into farmers’ fields. Traffic was light which made driving less tense. The weather was perfect – partly cloudy in the 60s. We chose this route because we had all day to get to Kenmare and we wanted to view good scenery.

We made one minor mistake at a turn but we were able to stop at a gas station to fill our tank. After that we got back on route and stopped in Glengarriff for lunch. My roast beef sandwich and potato salad were OK. Ann’s roast lamb with potatoes and vegetables was better.

The highlight of the drive for me was our detour at Glengarriff from the main road onto the Beara Peninsula. We drove about 1/3 of the way down the southern side of the peninsula and then turned north to go over The Healy Pass. This was a very isolated almost one-lane road that climbs over the mountains that run down the middle of the peninsula. I told Ann that if we were to meet a truck coming the other way, we would be in trouble. No worries, though. The first thing we met were two horseback riders. The second thing we met was some cows and calves being herded by a couple of border collies. After that, we saw very few vehicles.

The view of both sides of the pass at the summit was spectacular.

We arrived in Kenmare mid-afternoon and checked into our room at the Hawthorn House. After loading our luggage into our room, we took a stroll through town. It is not as picturesque as the other towns we have stayed in, but it a good jumping off spot for The Ring Of Kerry. We stopped at Foley’s Pub for refreshments. I had a good Murphy’s stout. Ann had a glass of Bulmer’s cider.

Dinner tonight was at The Coachman’s. It was recommended by our hostess and she was right. I had a pint of Beamish stout while Ann had a Bulmer’s cider. I ordered Irish lamb stew while Ann had a cottage pie. The best part of the meal was the live Irish music. We sat next to the stage. There were two men, one playing an accordion, the other playing a ten-string guitar-like instrument. We listened to several Irish tunes and ballads. We were happy for finding another pub with good music.

Back to the room by 8:00, we began to prepare for an early start to our drive tomorrow around the Ring of Kerry.