By Joan Ehrenfeld
A Favourite Hike, Far Afield: A Walk
in Southwestern Ireland
For some TC members, a favourite armchair
activity during hunting season is planning
next year's hiking vacation. Member Joan
Ehrenfeld recommends a loop trail in Ireland.
Ireland is called the "emerald isle" for
good reason - the equable temperatures and
frequent rain nurture a luxuriant blanket
of green across the country. Nowhere is this
more apparent than in the southwestern counties.
Fortunately, marked walking paths - referred
to as "waymarked ways" - allow
walkers to experience the extraordinary beauty
of this place.
My husband David and myself spend 10 days
this past summer walking the Kerry Way, a
120-mile loop trail that passes through and
around the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry.
The way follows small country lanes, paved
and unpaved, farm paths, the remains of an
old coach road, and footpaths across pastures,
with only a few short sections on major roads.
One frequently climbs ladder like stiles
over the fences that seperate pastures. The
lanes run between hedges of fuchsias, blackberries
and wildflowers, past isolated farmhouses
and innumerable sheep, and across meadows,
moorland
and bog. The coach path varies from a well-defined
grassy path to an obscure, barely discernable
track lost in the bogland that coats this
part of Ireland like a true wet blanket.
In most stretches, the way is clearly marked
with signposts and markers; a few parts require
careful observation to ensure that one is
not lost amongst the gorse and heather. The
footing varies from excellent to challenging,
the latter a combination of very wet, rocky
and fairly steep. Although the boggy areas
make for slow walking, the yellow bog-asphodel,
purple heather, pink spotted orchids and
white bog-cotton make the walk a visual feast.
The Way mostly stays in the lowlands, with
periodic climbs over saddles and gaps in
the mountains. The walk starts (and ends)
in Killarney National Park, where the few
remaining old-growth oak and yew forests
in Ireland alternate with upland bog. The
path then heads through the Black Valley
in the shadow of the MacGillycuddy Reeks,
the highest mountain range in Ireland (a
range that is geologically quite similar
to the Catskill Mountains of New York). It
emerges along the northern coast of the peninsula,
giving views over Dingle Bay, heads west
and then south, and then returns eastward
along Kenmare Bay. Views from the highpoints
over the Irish countryside, the bays, and
the distant hills of the Dingle and Beara
peninsulas are frequent. The greatest elevation
gain in a day's walk is about 2,500 feet
(usually the sum of several climbs over gaps
or saddles).
Although camping areas are available in the
small towns through which the Way passes,
the land is all privately owned outside the
National Park, and most walkers travel between
bed-and-breakfasts. Many of these establishments
welcome hikers - hot tea, biscuits and scones
are ready when you arrive, the host dries
out wet boots, and a bag lunch will be prepared
for you for the next day. One of the pleasures
of the walk is the variety of people one
meets over meals at the B&Bs, as well
as on the trail. We met people from all over
Europe, but surprisingly few Americans. We
walked between 9 and 15 miles each day (averaging
about 11), but it is always possible to hitch
a ride on the longer days, or arrange car
transport at the B&B.
Resources
Our trip was arranged through a company,
Go Ireland (www.goactivities.com) which made
the B&B reservations, transported our
luggage and provided maps and interpretive
walking notes for each day.However, the trip
can be done independently, using the lists
of B&Bs and country inns available from
the Irish Tourist Board or guide books such
as the Lonely Planet series, if you want
to carry more than a daypack. The Walk Guide
- Southwest of Ireland by Seán Ó Suilleabháin,
one of the founders of the Kerry Way, provides
an excellent description of the walk.
Joan Ehrenfeld is a Trail Conference member
and chair of the TC Science Advisory Committee.
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