Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [256]
The dunes are a good place for shags, which birders know are another name for cormorants, a very common bird here.
Sleeping
Wave Crest ( 066-947 5188; www.wavecrestcamping.com; campsites from €12; mid-Mar–mid-Oct; ) Just 1.6km southeast of Caherdaniel, this cliffside compound has a superb setting and well-kept facilities. Book during peak season.
Glenbeg Caravan & Camping Park ( 066-947 5182; glenbeg@eircom.net; campsites €17; mid-Apr–early Oct) Some 2.5km east of Caherdaniel on the N70, Glenbeg has an unbeatable seaside location, overlooking a sandy beach with views of the Beara Peninsula.
Travellers’ Rest Hostel ( 066-947 5175; dm/d from €17/40) All low ceilings, board games and dried flowers in the grate, Travellers’ Rest has the quaint feel of a country cottage. If you buy into the local funky charm, you’ll love this place. Call at the garage opposite if there’s nobody about.
Olde Forge ( 066-947 5140; www.theoldeforge.com; s/d from €40/74) This B&B has six comfortable and undramatic rooms; the excitement comes from the fantastic views of Kenmare Bay and the Beara Peninsula. It’s 1.2km southeast of town on the N70.
Eating & Drinking
Courthouse Cafe ( 066-947 5834; dinner €10; 11am-4pm & 6-10pm Jun-Sep) Pizza is just one of the crowd-pleasers at this cafe near the Blind Piper. Fish cakes and chips are among the other filling feeds on the card.
Blind Piper ( 066-947 5126; bar food €10-18; noon-9.30pm Jun-Aug, to 8.30pm rest of year) This local institution with tables outside is a great family pub during the day, serving expensive but quality grub. Deep-fried monkfish gives the idea that they’re striving for more here. After dark, locals and visitors crowd inside, and music sessions happen.
Freddy’s ( 066-947 5125) A profusion of beer steins hangs over the small bar at this perfectly realised little haunt of sailors and drinkers. It’s a mere stumble from the Blind Piper.
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STAIGUE FORT
This ring fort at the head of a valley is an imposing sight, and a powerful evocation of late Iron Age Ireland. Its circular stone wall, up to 6m high and 4m thick, is surrounded by a protective bank and ditch. Steps criss-cross the interior of the wall, which contains two small rooms and a narrow entrance tunnel.
Staigue probably dates from the 3rd or 4th century. The building’s sophistication suggests it belonged to a powerful chieftain. Despite having sweeping views down to the coast, it’s not visible from the sea. It may have been a communal place of refuge, or a cultural and commercial centre where people came to celebrate, exchange goods and stage ceremonies.
The fort is near the village of Castlecove, about 4km off the N70, reached by a battered country lane that narrows as it climbs to a road-end car park beside the site.
The battered building that would look at home in Havana is the exhibition centre ( 10am-9pm Easter-Sep), which has a cafe and an interpretative display.
A scrawled sign, before it descends into a stream of consciousness about trespassing, asks for €1 for access to the Dúchas site across private land.
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SNEEM
Halfway between Caherdaniel and Kenmare, Sneem (An tSnaidhm) is a good place to pause for something restorative, especially if you’re travelling anticlockwise, as the remaining 27km to Kenmare the N70 drifts away from the water and coasts along under a soothing canopy of trees.
The village’s Gaeilge name translates as ‘the knot’, which is thought to refer to the River Sneem that swirls, knot-like, into nearby Kenmare Bay. Sneem is nicknamed ‘the knot in the Ring of Kerry’. Other local puns include one about Charles de Gaulle, who holidayed here when Paris was burning in 1968. The statue commemorating this is called ‘Le Gallstone’.
Take a gander at the town’s two cute squares, then pop into the Blue Bull ( 064-664 5382), a perfect little old stone pub where you can probably learn more local puns.
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KENMARE
pop 2500
The copper-covered limestone spire of Holy Cross Church,