March 05th, 2020
I left early this morning to include an unexpected abandoned Castle visit. This structure is the gateway into the abandoned Castle.
After a short walk in, it was amazing to see that ivy covered Castle. The only other visitors besides myself here were the cows. This was an incredible structure to visit inside and out. I received permission to climb the fence and take pictures.
This is the main entrance into the ivy covered Castle. When I entered there were some upset birds that have made this their sanctuary
Nearby I visited an old cemetery and the water level was extremely high. I saw this boat and 8 other boats left here. 5 of these boats were filled with water. I can only assume that they broke away from their anchored location and drifted into here.
I was driving towards my next site when I came upon Dunguaire Castle. This was another unexpected treasure. I walked around the outside and found it to be a very interesting building. It was built in 1520.
This entire region has a lot of of stone walls that went up the hills over the hills and down towards the ocean. Certainly added to the landscape.
Muckinish West Tower House was the next spot I stopped at and was also a surprise. I could not find any information about this structure.
Continuing on my drive I went up over the hill and came across this church. I took a walk around and found a tombstone that was of interest to a friend of mine.
I had planned on stopping at Bunratty Castle, but was too touristy for me. I was pleased to see the original Durty Nelly's restaurant and decided to have a late lunch here. The food was very tasty and a reasonable price.
The ambiance was very nice as well.
As I continued my drive I planned on stopping at one spot but it was raining too hard so I did not bother as it should be too muddy and slippery. I was on my way to Dingle when the rain started to clear up and a rainbow came out. This picture does not do that rainbow justice, but being in Ireland I looked for the pot of gold unfortunately I did not find it. LOL
As I was driving on a very very narrow road (it looks like it was only one lane, but it was actually two lanes), I came across this ancient burial ground in Ballinacourty and stopped to take a few pictures. This is considered an archaeological protected site.
After a short visit at Dingle I made my way to Killarney. On the drive back, as the sun was setting I had to stop to take a picture of the lush green fields of Ireland. What a beautiful area.
