The Ring of Kerry and Beyond
The Ring of Kerry is a 180-km-long circular tourist route in County Kerry. Clockwise from Killarney it proceeds to Kenmare, then around the Iveragh Peninsula to Killorglin – passing through Sneem, Waterville, Cahersiveen, and Glenbeigh – before returning to Killarney.
It is a wonderful day-trip by car. It is also popular with tour bus operators, who are encouraged to travel the Ring in a counter-clockwise direction so as not to cause hold-ups for cars following the aforementioned route.
I have completed the route many times but in the past few years I have begun to discover that real gems lie off the beaten track around the ring. In this sequence of photos, I show the wonderful Rossbeigh beach, snapped from a distance on a road beyond nearby Glenbeigh and which no tour bus is ever likely to traverse.
From Waterville, directly on the ring route, there is a road which takes you right through the centre of the peninsula through the Ballaghasheen Pass and which leads to the magnificent Ballaghbeama Gap and onwards to Moll’s Gap. Again, these roads are not frequented by tour buses – for obvious reasons.
I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I did taking them. If there is any advice I can offer to anyone visiting rural Ireland with a camera – get off the beaten track. You will certainly get the typical views on the well-worn routes but you will be amazed at the stunning scenery that awaits if you take the time (and a bit of courage) to take your car on the less-traveled ‘roads’.
Looking towards Waterville on the Ring of Kerry
Old railway bridge in Cahersiveen with Cnoc na dTobar (Mountain of the Wells) in the background.
Closer view of the old bridge in Cahersiveen.
Small wind farm just outside Cahersiveen.
Cnoc na Tobar – outside Cahersiveen.
McGillycuddy Reeks viewed from close to the Ballaghasheen Pass.
McGillycuddy Reeks from the top of the Ballaghasheen Pass.
Road through the Ballaghbeama Gap. Not many tour buses here!
Rossbeigh Beach with Inch Beach (on the Dingle Peninsula) in the distance.
High view of Rossbeigh Beach. Definitely no tour buses on this road!
Rossbeigh Beach.
Wide-angle view of Rossbeigh Beach.
Nice images, I like the old railway bridge. MM 🍀
Thanks Mick. I’d love to go back to that bridge on a really calm day and see if I could get a better reflection of it in the water.
Stunning John – well worth getting off the beaten track for images like this. I could spend a lifetime exploring Kerry.
Thanks Aidy. Kerry is magical alright!
Fabulous John. As always 🙂
Thanks Annmarie – looking out the window today I think my next series of shots will be autumn / winter!!
Nice 😉
Breathtaking shots John. Love the old railway architecture of Ireland. Nice to see my favourite beach, Inch, over the water there, though a sad tragedy there the other day.
In Jersey the coaches go anti-clockwise until lunchtime, clockwise afterwards or it would be chaos 🙂
Thanks Roy. I must take a trip over to Jersey sometime with the camera.
We drove the Ring of Kerry once and loved every minute of its beauty. Wonderful images.
Hi Jane, thank you. We try to visit Kerry at least once a year – it never disappoints and even if the weather doesn’t always oblige, it’s nice just to enjoy the different pace of life there. Did you do the Dingle Peninsula / Slea Head drive? That’s one of my favourites.