County Kerry

Continuing on with our road trip…

… we headed out of Cork Co. and up into the hills.

They grow a lot of stones here in Ireland. Everywhere the demarcations between fields are either stone walls or hedgerows (that are bushes grown over stone walls over the centuries). Sometimes the walls aren’t enough to keep the residents in:

At the top of Healy Pass…

… we looked back at Cork…

… and ahead to Kerry -

Rhododendrons and azaleas along the roadside are are common sight…

… as are subtropical plants that can live here due to the Gulf Stream preventing any frosts.

We passed a farm where the owner had just dropped off some food for the sheep, and I was thrilled to see a multitude of young lambs -

I loved the long, curly haired tail, as well as the horn buds -

Our next stop was “Ladies View” (the name stemming from the admiration of the view given by Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting during her 1861 visit to Ireland) -

This is in the Killarney National Park (which has been one of my favorite areas so far, due to the sheer beauty and number of fine sights to see and wander in). Next up was Torc Waterfall, which had a gorgeous little path through the woods, up to it -

… and I kept expecting the trees to get up and start walking…

… a la “Lord of the Rings” -

Torc Waterfall —

Muckross House and Gardens was next on our list…

… and I truly fell in love with the peace and beauty there.

About a kilometer from the house (still on the grounds) is the remains of Muckross Abbey.

It was founded in 1448, and has been damaged and rebuilt many times.

The yew tree in the courtyard is reputed to be nearly 1,000 years old!

Our last stop on this busy day was Ross Castle…

… which was just ok (I think we’re getting “castled-out” already!), but it had a nice siting on a lake -

We finally got to put our feet up at the B&B that we’re to stay at for 3 nights (what a luxury!), and felt like this 3 week old calf - (if you can’t see the video below, open this email in a browser window so you can watch it)