Ireland: Day 2

Day 2 was spent driving the coast from Cork to Killarney. The main sites were Charles Fort in Kinsale, Drombeg stone circle, and Mizen Head. Charles Fort was quite large and interesting, with a good view of the harbor. The weather was a bit foggy, but that added to the character I think.


From there to the stone circle was my first real introduction to the profoundly small roads that make up most of Ireland. They are far from straight, often bumpy, hard to manage at the speed limit, and you have to pull into the hedges for oncoming traffic. In other words, it was a blast. The stone circle, when I got there, was small, but well preserved and worth the little detour.


The next main stop was Mizen Head, the most southwesterly point of Ireland. Getting there took a lot of miles on a one lane road, but there weren't any oncoming cars. (On the way back, I had to back up twice to find a place where the oncoming traffic could squeeze by me). At Mizen Head, there is a lighthouse reached by an old iron arch bridge. The view is pretty good and the scenery is very rugged.


From there, it was along the coast to Glengariff, then turning up into the mountains to get to Killarney. The road into Killarney was wide, fun, and full of dramatic views as you climb to Molls Gap, then descend past Ladies View into Killarney.

The pics from Co. Cork are here.