Killarney was our base for SW Ireland. It is a beautiful area with lakes, mountains and peninsulas out into the sea. Our first venture was to the Gap of Dunloe. This wonderful trip comprised a coach trip up to the start of the Gap, a 7 kms hike, a boat trip and finally the coach home.
This is the gap viewed from the North.
We were picked up from the site in a green coloured version of a historical coach only it was made in 1989 (a Ford). For a change at the end of the day we travelled back on this red one.
Once at base camp we were dropped off, had the compulsory cup of coffee and started our journey. There was a choice of walking or going by horse trap. We opted for the former as we clearly needed some exercise after the last couple of week’s indulgencies.
The weather was misty (rather than rain) and helped to underscore the rugged beauty of the area. The path was reasonable steep with flat sections alongside the lakes.
The soft ground green carpet adjoining some of the streams was a wonderful contrast to the hard grey rock. The lakes were all formed by rock falls.
It was a good 1½ hour climb to the top which was both tiring and exhilarating.
When we got over the top there was a view of the Upper lake where we would catch our boat.
Towards the end of the walk is the start of the Killarney National Park. There is a gate and bridge at the entry which also depicts the limit for the horse traps.
This a view of the Gap from the South side (taken the following day). If you look closely just below the saddle you can see Helen’s comfort copse.
There are 3 lakes, imaginatively called Upper, Middle and Lower by the locals. They flow around the mountains and enable a boat to go back almost to Killarney centre.
The water level was particularly low (not quite drought conditions as we know them but..). The boats were moored at a lower point than usual. They could take up to 12 passengers but even with our 6 met the bottom a couple of times.
From the upper to middle lake is a quite narrow entry into the Long Range river.
However, we all had confidence in our boatman as he has been doing this since 1963 (when it was a case of 4 rowers rather than an outboard and the trip took 2½ hours as opposed to our 1½ hours).
The river flows into middle lake (sometimes called Muckross lake) at the Meeting of the Waters. This is a small rapid and we had to leave the boat and walk 100 metres or so while our boatman took the boat down using the oars to steer in rather an unconventional way.
We then travelled across middle lake
and caught a glimpse of the 19th century manor called Muckross House.
The entry into lower lake (also called Lough Leane) was through a spectacular bridge. It was quite shallow and we grazed the bottom of the boat but some 5 metres into the lake the bottom dives to 200 metres.
The trip across Lower lake was quite a long journey and swimming to shore would have been quite a challenge as it is significantly larger than the other lakes. Fortunately the boat made the journey OK and we alighted alongside the 15th century Ross castle. This was the last Irish stronghold taken by Cromwell back in 1653.
A great day followed by an excellent nights sleep!
This is the gap viewed from the North.
We were picked up from the site in a green coloured version of a historical coach only it was made in 1989 (a Ford). For a change at the end of the day we travelled back on this red one.Once at base camp we were dropped off, had the compulsory cup of coffee and started our journey. There was a choice of walking or going by horse trap. We opted for the former as we clearly needed some exercise after the last couple of week’s indulgencies.
The weather was misty (rather than rain) and helped to underscore the rugged beauty of the area. The path was reasonable steep with flat sections alongside the lakes.
The soft ground green carpet adjoining some of the streams was a wonderful contrast to the hard grey rock. The lakes were all formed by rock falls.
It was a good 1½ hour climb to the top which was both tiring and exhilarating.
When we got over the top there was a view of the Upper lake where we would catch our boat.
Towards the end of the walk is the start of the Killarney National Park. There is a gate and bridge at the entry which also depicts the limit for the horse traps.
This a view of the Gap from the South side (taken the following day). If you look closely just below the saddle you can see Helen’s comfort copse.
There are 3 lakes, imaginatively called Upper, Middle and Lower by the locals. They flow around the mountains and enable a boat to go back almost to Killarney centre.
The water level was particularly low (not quite drought conditions as we know them but..). The boats were moored at a lower point than usual. They could take up to 12 passengers but even with our 6 met the bottom a couple of times.
From the upper to middle lake is a quite narrow entry into the Long Range river.
However, we all had confidence in our boatman as he has been doing this since 1963 (when it was a case of 4 rowers rather than an outboard and the trip took 2½ hours as opposed to our 1½ hours).
The river flows into middle lake (sometimes called Muckross lake) at the Meeting of the Waters. This is a small rapid and we had to leave the boat and walk 100 metres or so while our boatman took the boat down using the oars to steer in rather an unconventional way.
We then travelled across middle lake
and caught a glimpse of the 19th century manor called Muckross House.
The entry into lower lake (also called Lough Leane) was through a spectacular bridge. It was quite shallow and we grazed the bottom of the boat but some 5 metres into the lake the bottom dives to 200 metres.
The trip across Lower lake was quite a long journey and swimming to shore would have been quite a challenge as it is significantly larger than the other lakes. Fortunately the boat made the journey OK and we alighted alongside the 15th century Ross castle. This was the last Irish stronghold taken by Cromwell back in 1653.
A great day followed by an excellent nights sleep!
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