Hiking in Ireland: Day 3 - Hiking the Dingle Way

20 June 2017

Aloha all,

Anascaul to Dingle: statistics.... 15.4 miles or 35,941 Caroline walking steps

This has been an amazing and very challenging first four days of long distance hiking.  No question the scenery is glorious, but Dingle Way isn't just a path along the base of the mountains on the peninsula!  We are going up and over, down and around, up and over, seriously hiking.  The distances on our guide information are a bit "off" too.  Makes for interesting long days!  What a lovely place for the challenge, though, and I have great friends facing the same challenge!   Guinness has been good for me!

On Day 3, we left Anascaul on the trail which was an old road outside of town and walked between farms and pasture land and then on down to the Irish Sea/beach with the ruins of an old tower castle.

 Studying our route.

 Scenery while walking along the small coun.  try roads

Coming down to the coast and seeing the ruins of the tower castle.

The beach in front of the castle.  Spectacular view back towards the cliffs.

The explanation about the castle and the area geology.. Sandstone!  S=Zoom in to read the history!

We left the castle and the beach and proceeded back up the hills on windy paths.  Then down into a small road junction where we saw the remains of an old train bridge.

 Batchelor button flowers along the trail.

Honeysuckle bushes along the path.

Once we left the small junction we followed roads and paths for at least 7 miles.  As you see from the photos, we have had glorious sunshine.   And as you might notice, not much in the way of tree canopy or shade cover as we walk.  I ended up with heat sickness --- and I live in the tropics-- so it took quite a bit of time to make it to Dingle!  But I did!

Dingle- a very welcome sight!!

Looking towards Dingle

 

The colorful houses in Dingle.

After lots of ice and cooling water, we enjoyed the town of Dingle-- lovely lilacs  in the yards.  And the town "holy water rock"... the soft holes in the rocks held holy water in past history.  Now the rock just sits in front of a shop and takes up several parking places.

The lilacs around town.

Lovely place and we had a super B&B.  We refueled our bodies and then prepped for the next day, Dingle to Dunquin!

Aloha.