KILLARNEY NATIONAL PARK

July 6, 2004

The next day we had our delicious breakfast, Don had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon and I had the full Irish, and got an early start on our trip west.  As we traveled along the route west we could see large mountains looming on the horizon—Macgillicuddy’s Reeks!  These are by far the highest peaks we have seen in Ireland, rising to over 1000 meters.  Before we knew it we were in Killarney and we made our way to the beautiful Killarney National Park, where we decided to start our visit by stopping at Ross Castle.

Ross Castle, built on the shore of Lough Leane, is a medieval fortress castle, which was built in the 1500s, and modified several times over three centuries.  The castle is in good condition, having been restored in the 1990s using medieval building techniques.  The guided tour along with the authentic furnishings and household items really brought medieval household to life, and I could imagine being the lady of the manor, spending my time in the sitting room, stitching needlepoint.

The next stop was Muckross House.  This is another “castle” of sorts, built in the mid 1800s.  The house and furnishings are elaborately done in the Victorian style and decorated with period furniture.  I was especially taken with a monstrous, carved mahogany sideboard in the vast dining room.  The carvings were unbelievably ugly and detailed and this massive piece is my stereotype of Victorian furniture.  The dining room table was huge.  It could seat 30 people comfortably.  I really wished we could take photos of these places, but it is not allowed for security reasons.

Every room was fully furnished, with every detail perfect.  The house is an interesting contrast to Ross Castle, where furnishings were sparse and utilitarian.

Our guided tour enriched our experience at Muckross House by giving us interesting stories and anecdotes.  Visiting this house was especially interesting for me because my Mom, sister and I just visited Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California in May where we learned about Muckross House.  The owners of Filoli bought Muckross for their daughter, Maude.  At the time I toured Filoli I had no idea that I would be visiting Muckross just a few months later.

An interesting story the guide told was about the visit of Queen Victoria.  She gave her hosts 10 years notice that she was going to drop by for a visit.  They completely refurbished and redecorated the entire 20 rooms, and spent a huge amount of money making their home ready for her.  They went into hock big time to do all of the renovations, in hopes of receiving a title from her.  Too bad, shortly after Vicky’s visit her husband, Albert, died and she was too distraught to dole out any perks for a considerable time.

We also strolled along the lakeshore and around the beautiful gardens and grounds of Muckross House.

By this time it was afternoon and we decided to leave the touristy and busy Kerry peninsula and go south to Kenmare, a short distance away, where we would get a B&B for the night.  We headed south on the major highway, which is very scenic, with beautiful viewpoints along the route. 

However, Don was not able to enjoy the ride much, because, even though this is the major “red road” it was narrow and twisty.  Worst of all, around every turn came a huge tour bus, speeding along, taking up all of their lane and half of ours.  Don continually had to dodge and dart into the ditch and gravel alongside the pavement to avoid the oncoming buses.  By the time we got to Kenmare he was exhausted.

On and on we drove, past a really nice looking place with a sign promising “probably the best view in Ireland”.  The road became more remote and buildings were few and far between.  I nervously began to search the map for upcoming towns.  We agreed that we were going to stop 25 miles ago.  What was Don doing?  Why did he pass up all of those nice B&Bs I had pointed out?   On and on we drove.  Still Don wasn’t satisfied with the few lodgings we could now see.  I was getting more and more frantic.  When we went through the village of Ardgroom we considered booking into one of the little town hotels, but we were through the town and out the other side before we could finish the discussion. 

As we drove on we saw one lonely hand-painted sign advertising a B&B with an arrow pointing right, so we decided to turn off the road and check it out.  Now we were on a narrow, twisty road heading out onto a little finger of land.  We drove and drove, and just as we were losing hope, we saw another little sign, so we continued on, past farms and remote stone churches, and a cemetery.  Finally!  We came to two houses, both with B&B signs.

We happily checked in to the Sea Front B&B, where we had a nice room with a great view.  Then, finally, Don explained that this was just the view he was looking for, just like the little village in the movie, Local Hero.