Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [246]
Muckross House is 5km south of town, signposted from the N71. The house is included in some half-day tours of Killarney, and it would be possible to work it into a circuit of the park and the Gap of Dunloe.
If you’re walking or cycling to Muckross, there’s a cycle track alongside the Kenmare road for most of the first 2km. A path then turns right into Killarney National Park. Following this path, after 1km you’ll come to Muckross Abbey, which was founded in 1448 and burned by Cromwell’s troops in 1652. William Thackeray called it ‘the prettiest little bijou of a ruined abbey ever seen’. Muckross House is another 1.5km from the abbey ruins.
Cycling around Muckross Lake (Middle Lake) is easier and more scenic when done in an anticlockwise direction.
Gap of Dunloe
Geographically, the Gap of Dunloe is outside the Killarney National Park, but most people include it in their visit to the park. The land is ruggedly beautiful, and fast-changing weather conditions add drama.
In the winter, it’s an awe-inspiring mountain pass, overshadowed by Purple Mountain and Macgillycuddy’s Reeks. In high summer, though, it’s a bottleneck for the tourist trade, with buses depositing countless visitors at Kate Kearney’s Cottage for the one-hour horse-and-trap ride through the Gap.
In the south, Brandon’s Cottage (snacks €3-6; 9am-4pm Apr-Oct) is a simple old 19th-century hunting lodge with a fine open-air cafe and a dock for boats crossing the Upper Lake. It is surrounded by lush, green pastures. From here a narrow road weaves up the hill to the Gap. Heading down towards the north the scenery is a fantasy of rocky bridges over clear mountain streams and lakes.
Eventually you reach the 19th-century pub Kate Kearney’s Cottage ( 064-664 4146; lunch €10.50-13), where many drivers park in order to walk up to the Gap.
Getting There & Around
The best way to see the Gap is to hire a bike in Killarney and cycle to Ross Castle. Get there before 11am to catch a boat up the lakes to Brandon’s Cottage, then cycle through the Gap and back to town via the N72 and a path through the golf course (for bike hire and boat trip, about €30).
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MUNROS AND HEWITTS
Macgillycuddy’s Reeks is the magnificent group of mountains southwest of Killarney, concentrated to the west of the Gap of Dunloe. The name derives from the ancient Mac Gilla Muchudas clan; reek means ‘pointed hill’. In Gaeltacht they’re known as Na Crucha Dubha (the black tops).
The red sandstone mountains were carved by minor glaciers into elegant forms, such as Carrantuohil’s curved outline – referred to in its name, which translates as ‘reversed reaping hook’. The mountains are studded with awesome cliffs, the summits are buttressed by ridges of purplish rock and the cupped valleys between are filled with glittering lakes.
The Reeks are Ireland’s highest mountain range, featuring nine of its 12 munros (a Scottish term meaning a mountain over 900m). These include the country’s seven highest peaks, towering alongside roughly half of Ireland’s 211 hewitts (hills in England, Wales and Ireland that are over 2000ft, or 610m).
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The 1½-hour boat ride alone justifies the trip. It crosses all the lakes, passing islands and bridges and winding between the second two lakes via Meeting of the Waters and the Long Range.
On land, walking, pony or four-person trap can be substituted for cycling. The Gap pony men charge €50 per hour or €80 for the two-hour trip between Brandon’s Cottage and Kate Kearney’s Cottage.
Note that it is hard to do the Gap as part of a walking loop. You can get as far as Kate Kearney’s, but from there back to Killarney it is a long slog on busy roads – no fun at all. Your best bet would be to call a cab from there. See right for tours of the Gap.
You can also drive this route, but really only outside summer and even then walkers and cyclists have the right of way. On the plus side, to reach Brandon’s Cottage by