DINGLE PENINSULA - IRELAND
October 5 to 12, 2006
The Dingle Peninsula has been called a paradise for walkers. The area has ample lanes and pathways away from traffic where you can walk for hours along cliffs, up and down mountains and on sandy beaches. Fuchsia and gorse lined green roads lead through pastoral countryside and offer panoramic vistas of sea, mountains and islands. Two way-marked hiking trails guide hikers - the 178 km Dingle Way and the shorter (48 km) Pilgrim's Route both pass through our base at Cloghane and offer all-weather hiking alternatives. But in addition to varied hiking, the Dingle Peninsula contains a variety of archaeological monuments dating from the Mesolithic Period (6000 BC) through the Stone Age (4000 BC), Bronze Age (2500 BC) and Iron Age (500 BC). More than 2000 of these structures and symbols have been identified in this small Peninsula.
Day 1 - Arrive at Shannon Airport by overnight flight. Taxi to nearby Bunratty Woods Country House. Taxi costs about 20 Euro so try to join others of our group. If you are early, explore Bunratty Castle which is one of the finest surviving examples of an Irish Tower House. It has a bloody and violent history and has been destroyed and re-built at least eight times.
Day 2 - We drive through Limerick and Tralee to the Dingle Peninsula and our base at the picturesque village of Cloghane. We stay at a colourful Irish cottage/pub with spectacular views over Brandon Bay. We stretch our legs on a 4 km walk along Fermoyle Beach
Day 3 - Hike an easy 12 kms along Brandon Beach and country lanes, returning to our cosy pub in Cloghane. Brandon is named after St. Brendan a 6th century monk who is said to have sailed to North America long before Columbus.
Day 4 - Hike Brandon Mountain, Ireland's second highest at 3,000 ft. It was from the summit of Brandon Mountain that St. Brendan had a vision of “the land to the west”. There is an ancient feel to Brandon Mountain that words cannot describe.
Day 5 - Hike to beautiful Loch an Duin valley. In this valley of 1,500 acres there are 90 Bronze Age stone structures. We will explore along the well marked walking routes.
Day 6 - Exploration Day. We drive over the Connor Pass to Dingle Townand along the coastal road (R559) to Slea Head. Five km past Ventry we will see a good example of a Stone Age Fort and Beehive Huts or Clochans. After Bellyferriter we tour the Gallus Oratory described as” the most perfect example of the boat shaped oratories of the Dingle Peninsula. These dramatic structures are early Christian probably 6th century.
Day 7 - Drive along Dingle Bay to Killarney where we ramble in the great forest of the park and along the lake at Muckross, a manor estate. Later we drive back to Bunratty and enjoy a farewell dinner (included).
Day 8 - After breakfast, to Shannon airport and away with fond memories of this glorious land.
The land cost of this week's trip is $1,298 CAD, $1,090 USD from Bunratty Woods Country House, Van or bus transportation, accommodation in good B&B's/small inns, admissions and the fully guided program, breakfasts and one dinner.
Although every effort will be made to adhere to the above program , changes may be necessary due to circumstances beyond our control.
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