After an exhausting day driving the Beara Peninsula, two of the old men decided to take in a hurling match in a town to the north. (See blog Old Men’s Hurling Outing)  The old ladies were more than happy to go on a short tour in the area around our VRBO organized by the non-sporting husband who had no interest in hurling.

Tip: When travelling in a group, allow time for individual interests.  Everyone does not have to do everything together every day.

Here’s what we saw:

Stop #1

A small church beside a field of sheep.  We hopped out to peer in the windows only to find it had been converted to a home.  Imagine settling into a lovely converted church only to be terrorized by old ladies appearing at your windows all through tourist season.  To make it worse, others who saw us there assumed it was a must-see attraction and stopped as well. We did get a few good sheep pictures before setting off for ……

Stop #2 – Beach at Ballinrannig

An absolutely gorgeous beach.  Perhaps in the summer, it is packed with people, but in mid-May, it was all ours. There was not another soul in sight.  We took a walk and picked up a few of the small purple rocks and sunhat shaped shells that littered the vast expanse of sand.  And then on to ……

Stop #3 – Brandon Creek

Here we found amazing scenery and a little history.  A cleft in the cliff wall  revealed water of the most beautiful shades of lapis and turquoise blue. A sign explained the placement of an interesting monument to Saint Brendon of Ireland.  According to legend, Saint Brendon set off from this very spot in 535 AD with 14 monks in a small wood and leather boat to take the gospel to uncharted lands in the west.  Now there’s a travel blog I’d like to read!  Signs in the area warned of dangerous waves in bad weather, but as it was a sunny day, we walked to the end of the wharf for a look into the caves before leaving for….

Stop #4 – Winestrand 

Yes, I know, we already stopped at a beach, but this one was entirely different with masses of tall green and golden beach grass, craggy rocks and choppy waves.  Stunning.  Having worked up an appetite after all these stops, we headed for..

Stop #5 – Ballyferriter

…for lunch at the Ceann Sibeal Hotel and Bar.  Nice, albeit modern atmosphere and good beer. A perfect end to a local tour in Dingle.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to go off the beaten track a bit.  We loved the more advertised attractions in Dingle, but really enjoyed this relaxing putter around the area to the north. A perfect “down” day.

Continue reading “Three Old Ladies and a Husband….A short day trip around Dingle”

  Often, old ladies who travel leave behind old men who don’t.  Not permanently you understand, just long enough to miss them a little and have a few blissfully free days in the bargain.  In our case the old men are not entirely sorry to see us go, so it all works out. A few tips when leaving the men behind: Don’t go to the … Continue reading Old Ladies Travel with Old Men …..Dingle, Ireland 2019