…The likes you’ve never known, of Christmas in Killarney…” Ahh… doesn’t that remind you of sitting around the Christmas tree, opening your presents and gorging on sweets while Mum plays her old Bing Crosby records? (Or is it just me…? :)
Okay, so it wasn’t actually Christmas – closer to summertime really – when we arrived in Killarney, a charming little town in the heart of County Kerry in the south of the Republic of Ireland. Having just spent a couple of days in Dublin and Cork, Killarney was quite literally a breath of fresh air. Though still somewhat touristy, the town is surrounded by spectacularly picturesque scenery: rolling hills, vast lakes and dense forests as well as an array of interesting historical monuments.
We arrived in the early afternoon and made our way to Neptune’s Hostel (just off New Road). Around ten minute’s walk from the bus station, Neptune’s was excellent value at only IR£8.50 (UK£6.80) per night for a dorm bed. The hostel itself was quite pleasant, including a decent kitchen, common room, TV room, baby-sitting facilities, laundry and bike hire (more about that later!). They also had one of those coin-op internet machines, but it was pretty expensive (IR £2 for 2 minutes), so I’d recommend checking out one of the net cafes in town if you need to check your email.
After checking in we went for a wander through the town. First stop – the Tourist Information Centre on Main Street. I have to admit I wasn’t too impressed – it was fairly small and didn’t offer any free maps (we ended up buying one). We then went to look for some lunch, again without much success. We’d just planned on a takeaway, but our only options in that area seemed to be Burger King or somewhat pricey fried food – we opted for the later but immediately regretted it.
In the window-shopping department, however, we were considerably more satisfied. Killarney seemed to abound with small, interesting shops selling all sorts of interesting trinkets. We quite happily spent the afternoon wandering about before buying the makings for dinner at the local Tesco and heading back to the hostel.
The next day, feeling bright and energetic, we decided to hire bikes in order to check out the surrounding area. The hostel runs a deal with the next-door bike-hire shop – the bikes were only IR£7 (UK£5.40) for the day (I believe the average cost in most places is IR£10). We set off first to St Mary’s Cathedral and Knockreer House and Gardens (both still within the bounds of Killarney Town) before heading off along the bike paths through the National Park.
Next stop was Ross Castle, a quite small but aesthetically pleasing structure by the edge of the Lower Lake, from where if you felt like it you could pay for a dinghy tour around the lake (we didn’t, so I’m afraid I don’t know how much this cost). Then on a mile or two to Muckross Abbey, which was a rather fascinatingly decrepit building surrounded by a graveyard. You could actually climb via winding stone staircases most of the way to the top of the Abbey, or lose your way in the many identical stone chambers down below.
We cycled on through the Yew Woods (with several breathers along the way) to the Meeting of the Waters, which is the point where the Upper, Middle (or Muckross) and Lower Lakes all run into each other. There is some very attractive woodland in this area as well as a nifty little stone bridge you can walk across while you look out at the various lakes (try to avoid using the public loos here though – they’re pretty gross).
From here we went on to Torc Waterfall. As by now we’d travelled close to 20 kilometres (about 14 miles I think), as you can imagine we were beginning to tire (and don’t even ask how our derrieres were feeling!) Which is why we decided only to undertake the 200m walk to the bottom of the waterfall, as opposed to the rather more arduous upward climb to the top of the falls. It was still quite impressive (you can hear the roaring of the water from a good distance away). The only downside was the scores of tiny insects that attacked our faces (later to come up in a nice little rash). We should have followed the example of several people around us, and picked up a palm frond to wave in front of our face to keep them away!
Then on to Muckross House and Gardens, a grand stately home surrounded by well kept hedges and vast rows of well tended flowers. We didn’t spend a lot of time here, as it was late afternoon by this time and we were pretty much looking forward to getting back! Besides, when you’ve seen one National Trust house you’ve seen ‘em all… We gradually made our way back to the main road and slowly, painfully, completed the trek and made it back to the bike shop mere minutes before it closed.
After long showers, an hour or so’s rest and a good hearty dinner, we decided to venture out and see what Killarney had to offer by the way of night-life. As it was the Sunday night before a public holiday the town was pretty crowded, and the first few places we stopped were either way too full, too smoky or weren’t playing any music.
As anyone who’s read my Cork op will know I was keen to hear some live traditional music, so imagine my delight when, just as we were about to give up, we happened across Scott’s Garden, a lively bar which had exactly that and, though also quite crowded, had a beer-garden with a couple of free tables. Though it took me some time to get through the crowd at the bar, I finally secured us a couple of pints and we sat down to enjoy the music. Though I can’t actually recall any specific songs (and no they didn’t sing ‘Cockles and Muscles’) a lot were familiar to me, and it was really good to watch the amount of audience participation going on. I only wished I knew more of the words! :)
All in all a great day, a great night and a great little interlude in Killarney (the next day we continued on to Tralee, Limerick and Galway: stay tuned for more ops!). I only wish we’d had more time there. Perhaps one day we shall return…
For more info on Neptune’s Hostel go to www.neptunes-hostel.com or phone +353 64 35255
For general info on Killarney go to kerry.local.ie/killarney
The following free guides are also useful if you happen to come across them (usually found in cafes, hostels etc): Where Killarney Kerry Gems (‘your priceless holiday guide’)
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