Dingle Peninsula

A week ago Saturday, we had gorgeous weather in Ireland.  So we decided to explore an area we hadn't been before.  We went west/southwest to the Dingle Peninsula.  It's just north of the Ring of Kerry.  It is much smaller but we liked it as much if not better than the Ring of Kerry.  I read in a travel guide that the Ring of Kerry is dominated by cliffs whereas the Dingle Peninsula is dominated by the ocean.  We left the house on Saturday morning and came home Sunday evening.  Here are some of the pictures that we took.

On the north coast of the Dingle Peninsula is a very small town called Castlegregory.  Here we discovered what is now our favorite beach in Ireland.  There were lots of fun shells and rocks to explore.  We spent several hours here collecting shells.  

Since we've been in Ireland the kids have been asking for shovels so that they can dig when we are at the ocean.  Here Luke is in hog heaven!

After we left Castlegregory, only because it was the middle of the afternoon and we hadn't eaten lunch yet, we drove across the peninsula through Conor's Pass.  I had read that it is the highest pass in Ireland.

After driving thru the pass, we drove into the town of Dingle and ate a late lunch at a local pub.  Then we headed back out to drive along the west coast of the peninsula.  Of course weather was rolling in about this time, so we didn't stop and do anything.  But this structure is from the time of the Irish famine.

This route is also known as Slea Head.

We loved seeing the sheep's fields literally going down to the edge of the cliffs.

the Blasket Islands off the southwest coast of the peninsula

We watched the lambs walk along that roadside cliff wall..... 

It was starting to rain when we reached Slea Head.

Slea Head

Jimmy and the kids enjoyed watching these birds dive into ocean!

When we left Slea Head it was raining and the hills were covered in clouds.  So we went back to our B&B in Dingle.  We ate a late dinner that night and the restaurant was a great find because they served huge crab claws.  There really aren't seafood restaurants in Ireland.  It rained off and on all through the night and into the morning.  However when we were walking to our car as we were leaving the B&B, we noticed blue skies to the west.  So we decided to drive the Slea Head route again.  We found this snail on our car as we were getting ready to leave.

We loved the curve in the road near Slea Head.

The Blasket Islands were much easier to see on Sunday morning.

 

It was quite interesting watching that tour bus maneuver the road.

I had read that whales (minke whales) were being spotted off the Dingle Peninsula.  Here are the kids looking for them.  We didn't see any though.

 I have seen a picture of sheep being herded down a stone path on the ocean's edge on the internet several times.  That same picture was hanging in the entryway of our B&B.  So I asked the receptionist where that picture was taken and it turned out that it was only 10 minutes from there!  

The path takes you down to the water's edge so you can catch a ferry over to Blasket Island.

After we drove around Slea Head again, we grabbed some food in Dingle and then drove along the southern edge of the peninsula.  The kids and I really wanted to go to another beach and see what seashells we could find.  At this beach (Inch Strand), we didn't find as many shells but still enjoyed our time there before heading back home.

I spent a few hours on Monday cleaning the seashells we collected....

Kate was excited to show Grandma how big some of the shells were that we found.

And thank you Pinterest for giving me an idea with what to do with all (ok, most) of the shells I collected!