The third day of my trip now and I’m really getting into the swing of things. Sadly, the rain is getting into the swing of things too. I woke to 48MPH gusts and driving rain rocking the van from side to side.
As a last minute change of plan I ditched the idea of going to Cork due to the bad wind and rain. Instead the van headed to the outskirts of the city to pick up supplies from a Lidl then off to Beal na m’Blath – this is where Irish army leader, Michael Collins was ambushed and killed and a memorial has been built at the side of the road in commemoration. Thankfully, it had stopped tipping down when I got there.
Moving on from Beal na m’Blath I went to Timoleague which turned out to be a very beautiful place indeed. There’s a small village on the edge of the lake and a ruined abbey to complete the scene.
I arrived at the campsite, but couldn’t raise any of the wardens to let them know I was there. After half an hour, I gave up and made my way to Killarney.
The outcome of this is I could whinge about the rain driving me away from Cork, or the campsite owners being inattentive, but the real bonus here is I arrived in Killarney two days early. This allows me to drive the whole 112 mile stint round the ring of Kerry and possible do the Dingle peninsula as well.
It’s my birthday tomorrow and the girl at the Killarney campsite has told me about Danny’s Bar in the town. It’s the only one that does the traditional Irish music, allegedly every night. Excuse me while I go out and sample some traditional music washed down with Guinness!
