Parallel’s first foray to the Emerald Isle is in the books. Our group of eight hearty beta testers, plus your humble scribe, had a fantastic time making our way through Killarney National Park and the Black Valley to the coast at Glenbeigh before scooting around to Annascaul and a hike to the lively town of Dingle.
Now that the jetlag has worn off and we are back at work, the memories of our Irish adventures are just starting to settle into place now – and we want to share some of those with you. If you, friend, want stunning scenery, hijinks and shenanigans, lambs, massive fish, the Full Irish (breakfast…), castles, more lambs, and a Guinness or two? Well, then, read on!
Avid followers of Parallel’s admittedly hit-or-miss Instagram account will know that yours truly was in Portugal just before the Ireland trip. Full of tinned fish and fado music, I flew (ultra-luxe on Ryanair….#humblebrag) up to Dublin, walked through the delightful (and huge!) Phoenix Park, enjoyed the first of many perfect Guinness pours, and met several of the crew for music at the famous Cobblestone Pub, found some fantastic Vietnamese street food served out of the back of a local pub, and caught some shuteye before setting out for Killarney on an early Sunday-morning train.
Leaving Dublin on the Irish Rail’s Tralee service, my low expectations for breakfast at the station were exceeded by a large margin with a remarkably good scone from Heuston Station’s Caffe Nero. Onboard and a short three hours later, we arrived in Killarney. I had not realized ahead of time that our visit coincided with Killarney’s annual rally-car weekend – and the town was thronged with rally cars, their drivers, and their many hangers-on. The town was lively, indeed. So lively that it was much faster to walk from the station to our accommodations at the Killarney Lodge than it would have been to drive, as traffic was at a dead stop for most of the afternoon.
Not stymied by the crowds, our eight made their way into town over the course of the afternoon and we met up for the first time as a group at J.M. Reidy’s on Killarney’s main drag. Reidy’s is a bakery – and an enormous bar. Because, well, why not? Some of our group had met before, and others had not – but by the time we left Reidy’s and several of the bar’s whiskey bottles had inched lower – we were a gaggle of old friends. Dinner and, for some, another pub or two followed before everyone called it a night.
The next morning, Monday, we were off. After a phenomenal, enormous breakfast and our first “morning briefing” to chat through the day and look over maps together, our hikers joined the Kerry Way (the trail we would largely follow to the coast) in Killarney near the shores of Lough Leane. As readers of this blog may know, we set our Parallel trips up so that folks can hike on their own schedule and with whomever they choose. There is no guide on the trail with our hikers on a regular basis. At their own pace, the various parties in their group made it up the hill past the lovely Torc Waterfall and above the park road. Once they were above the waterfall – and the busloads that frequent it – our hikers were immersed in the deep quiet of the hills in the national park. Quiet streams, singing birds, and the occasional bleat of a mountain goat were often the only sounds to be heard.
I drove our luggage ahead to our lodging down in the Black Valley and returned to hike in to meet the gang. We were so fortunate with our weather as we had unobstructed views up and down the valley and across the lake below. The rest of the day? Miles and miles of views, mossy rocks, forests in fifteen shades of green, ancient road, streams, waterfalls, and the occasional mountain goat and deer or two. This is an ancient, beautiful, and slightly mysterious landscape, with stories promised around every turn of the trail. It is a world away from the hustle and bustle here in the States, and even from the rally cars and crowded pubs of Killarney far below.
After that first hike was done – and the first of many hundreds of little lambs were seen in the fields of the Black Valley, we enjoyed a delicious – if seemingly incongruous – authentic Thai feast prepared by Nana at the Black Valley Lodge. After 10+ miles and Nana’s curry, and a wee nip of Paddy’s for some, we all slept very well that night.
The next day was a big one on the Kerry Way with two passes to climb between the Black Valley and Lough Acoose in Glencar. That didn’t stop our buddy, Tom, from fishing for the monster trout of Killarney. And, man, did he ever win the fish lottery (see below)!
After the Catch of the Day was secured, it was more fabulous walking all the way into the Bridia Valley and along the shores of Lough Acoose to Glencar and the Rowan Tree B&B. This is sheep country, and our hikers met shepherds tended flocks and witnessed hundreds of baby lambs – just weeks old – scampering about in the fields lining the Kerry Way. And from Rowan Tree, it was a shorter day on Wednesday as the crew went up and over the Windy Gap and down to the coast. A plunge into the salt water for some capped off this portion of the hiking.
We had Mike from Mid-Kerry Cabs amicably whisk the group from the coast at Glenbeigh around to the village of Annascaul. Annascaul was the home of Antarctic explorer Tom Crean, of Ernest Shackleton’s crew on the Endurance. Tom came home in the 1920s and opened the South Pole Inn – which remains a friendly pub with remarkably good burgers. We used the Inn as a base for our own exploration preparations, cracking the maps for the last hike of the week, from Annascaul to Dingle along the world-famous Dingle Way hiking trail.
Thursday morning was a stunner, promising sunshine and temperatures in the 70s as our hearty crew set out from the beach at Minard, home to a singularly lovely castle slowly crumbling into the sea. The promised weather held up all day for our crew and they enjoyed unending views over the Dingle peninsula and back over the bay towards Kerry National Park and the MacGillycuddy Reeks range they had just traversed.
With the promise of live traditional music in Dingle’s many pubs urging our crew on, everyone was in town in the early afternoon. Showers were put on hold so that we could toast the miles at the famous Dick Mack’s pub in Dingle. And then a great night followed – we had fantastic music at the Dingle Pub, a celebratory meal at Danno’s, and then the trad music session of our collective dreams at Bob Griffin’s Bar (accentuated by a dram or two of Dingle’s fine single-malt whiskey).
And in the morning, one more Full Irish and then, goodbyes. Or as the Irish say, hasta luego. Just kidding – they don’t say that. It’s the whiskey talking. But, man, what a great trip with a wonderful group of fellow travelers. What a treat it is to travel in the company of people who are genuinely interested in the experience, in the land, in the culture, and in each other. This group – Michele, Greg, Laura, Brad, Jen, Tom, Kristen, and Karin – individually and collectively embodies what we are trying to do at Parallel, and I am so grateful to each of them for sharing this experience.
