County Kerry-Day Two
I’m reluctant to favor one Irish county over another, they are all so very beautiful, but for sheer volume of highly photogenic spots I don’t think Kerry can be touched. For one thing, it is one of the largest, it has lots and lots of coastline, and the highest mountains on the island. A landscape photographer is like a kid in a candy store. He doesn’t know where to start. Or when to stop. So patience please, Dear Reader. We spent seven days in Kerry, the weather held up nicely, and by the time we crossed the River Shannon to the north my memory cards were rather stuffed. There are lots of pictures.
Our first four days were spent on the Iveragh Peninsula, the larger of the two that point out into the Atlantic, the other being Dingle. Iveragh has attracted tourists since the 19th Century, the most famous of whom was Queen Victoria who visited in 1861. She stayed at Muckross House near Killarney and when she and her entourage returned to England extolling the striking beauty they had seen, Killarney would forever be a tourist town. In 1932 the Muckross Estate was donated to the government and was made a National Park which has preserved the pristine beauty.
Above:Upper Lake Killarney
Below is Lady's View. So named because Queen Victoria's ladies in waiting were brought here to see the view of the valley.
We had enjoyed stellar weather from the time we arrived and this promised to continue for at least a few days so we decided to check out the areas that needed clear skies. The Black Valley and the Gap of Dunloe were high on that list so that’s where we decided to start.. Going through the Black Valley is the shortest route from Kenmare to the Gap of Dunloe. But of course, in Ireland shortest is not the same as quickest. The Valley runs through the heart of the wild & wooly part of the peninsula and bumps right into the highest mountain in Ireland, Carrauntoohil, which is just over 3900 ft.
There was a lonely little ruined cottage that wanted its picture taken.
Going this way brought us to the top of the Gap of Dunloe at the south end. This is one of the primo photography spots in Ireland as the River Loe cuts through the mountains but then pauses on the way down to widen into pristine lakes. We traversed the one lane road that runs through the Gap several times. It was a fun day.
And then there are the jaunting cars. They are really fun to photograph.
The bridge above is the Wishing Bridge. I don't know where that name came from, it is not the only arched stone bridge in the Gap, but it gets the romantic name. The jaunting cars were back and forth across it all day.
And now its time for our first visit from the serendipitous photography gods. As you who have read the blogs of earlier trips might recall, the serendipity gods sometimes give me a chance at a little something extra, something I cannot set up for myself. Or maybe its just that if you spend enough time at jaw droppingly beautiful places, eventually someone will show up to use it for engagement pictures, wedding pictures, or even the wedding itself. This young couple was probably the former.
Of course, all this time I was trying to do some serious landscape photography.
Below is a slide show with more pictures of the Gap of Dunloe and the jaunting cars. And by now you're probably asking, "Can't this guy spell cart? They are carts, not cars." Yes I know. But the Irish call them cars.
The slide show includes a video of a jaunting car.
