Walking in the Green: Camp to Annascaul ~ The Dingle Way (Day 3) Ireland

Is there a country in the Western world that doesn’t take to the wearing of the green on St Paddy’s Day (March 17^th)?

Thanks to the abundant numbers of people of Irish origin living outside Ireland, shamrocks and Kelly green are known far afield.

But, in Ireland, it is not only the shamrock which is green: it is the whole landscape. From olive to kelly and emerald: greens of every shade and hue. And, as the skies opened and the rains fell on our heads on the second day of walking along The Dingle Way in County Kerry, we could easily understand why it was all so lush and fresh.

Day 3: Camp to Anascaul

This walk takes you across the hub of the Dingle Peninsula. Following a “Boirín”, a Gaelic word meaning small road; that leads you to a col between Corrin and Knockbrack Hills to reach a height of 235Mtrs.705Ft. 
From here you will have some remarkable views of Baurtregaum Mountain; which is the highest mountain in the Slieve Mish range and an impressive megalithic fort that sits on the edge on Caherconree Mountain. 
From here the trail descends gently downwards and eventually offers you some spectacular views across the wildlife sanctuary of lnch Beach. It was here that some of the famous “Ryan’s Daughter” movie was filmed.


Distance: 17km/11.6 miles, Ascent: 350 m/1050 ft

The rains came and went, as we walked the seventeen kilometres between Camp and Anascaul.

A photographer friend of mine asked me how I had kept my gear dry. Well: disposable plastic rain-coats pulled tight over broad-brimmed hats, plastic sleeves over the cameras, and an umbrella to keep the lenses dry whenever I wanted to take a shot. We were a bit of a sight!

Our trip-notes told us that “excellent lunches” were available at Foley’s Bar in Inch, so we followed the road through the rain and down into town.

The young cailín (colleen) tending bar told us that her family had owned the pub for generations, but they had only just sold the restaurant-portion of the Bar, and the new owner had decided to take the week off! So, we made do with coffee from the bar and muesli bars and nuts from our back-packs, while we chatted with the barmaid. Her family farmed – but things were slow – so two of her brothers were working in Australia. She had considered visiting them, but she was concentrating on her studies, and she loved being in this small corner of the world where she knew everyone and the outdoor activities were plentiful.

It was not a hard walk, but it was wet. When we finally descended into Anascaul (Annascaul on Google-maps), we were very pleased to hear that we could get pizza on site, and not walk any further.

And, red wine makes a nice contrast to all that green!

Slàinte!