Dingle
My favourite Irish village
On our way to Dingle, we stop off at the Irish Bog Village which has been kept more or less intact since the 1700s. I love this place! The purpose of this village was to cut peat from the surrounding bog to sell as fuel for fires. Several of the cottages remain as reminders of how life used to be in times gone by. I always try to imagine myself living way back then: what would I like about it and what would I detest?
The Kerry Bog Village
Inside the thatcher’s cottage were the basic necessities of life (and a few creepy dummies!)
On the site of the old village is the old Red Fox Inn (not quite as old as the village I am guessing, but older than anything we have in Australia), which reputedly makes the best Irish Coffee in Ireland, which I won’t dispute. What they don’t tell you is that it’s also the most expensive for the smallest glass!
On the bay at Dingle
On to Dingle with Lorelle as captain and me as co-captain — well, to be more specific, Lorelle was driving and I was sitting up front enjoying the most magnificent views — as we travelled on the coast road (part of the Wild Atlantic Way) to Dingle arriving mid-afternoon at which time Dale jumped out the back of the van and immediately began rolling around on the grass. I can’t say that I blame him as the soft, green, lush lawn made me want to do exactly the same thing!
Maggie welcomed us all to her Emlagh Lodge B&B. Lorelle, Kiryn and I had stayed here on a previous trip to Ireland. She was washing the salt from the windows as we drove in so she had obviously not expected us quite so early. Dale and I took our dirty clothes down to the cleaners to be washed by the cutest washerman ever. (Insert daydream of being a washerwoman in Dingle…) I was expecting it to be at least 50 euro — we had a shitload of dirty clothes — only to be told it would be approximately 30–35 euro and we can pick them up tomorrow afternoon. Bargain! I know who’ll be volunteering to pick up the laundry!
Arthur’s Day
Then showered quickly and off to toast Arthur (Guinness) at the local Marina Inn at 5.59 pm on Arthur’s Day. Arthur established the Guinness brewery on this day in 1759. Either that or he invented Guinness!
We ordered deep fried brie with blackcurrant sauce for entrée to share, and Keeley and I had scampi for mains. ( I’ve never had scampi before, not quite sure what it was, but it was delectable!) Lorelle ordered salmon again — it is a fishing village and we are supporting the local economy— and we were all so full we couldn’t manage dessert even though we had selected our choices.
Then toddled, rolled, strolled, or limped our way back to our home away from home — right on the bay in Dingle — along the towpath on the foreshore which cannot be navigated at high tide. The plan of having a game of cards soon evaporated once we reached our rooms and we all had an early night. I went to sleep while it was still daylight and woke up in darkness and it was 6.30am. Very strange for us Aussies!
The Ring of Dingle
After a full Irish breakfast with cranberry juice and yoghurt and berries in a parfait glass, we headed off to explore the Ring of Dingle (as christened by us, actually called Slea Head Drive) which in our opinion, runs rings around the Ring of Kerry. First, we visited the Irish Famine Village.
Next, we stopped off at the Prehistoric Beehive huts.
At morning tea time, we stopped at a café for a coffee ( naturally) and Lorelle and Kiryn braved the elements to climb Com Dhineol while the boys and I sanely remained in the car to follow our respective pursuits of sudoku and reading.
We arrived back in Dingle in time for a hot bath and rest before heading out to a special birthday dinner at the Half Door Cafe (yes, it does have half a door like a stable) in the pouring rain! And if you go to early dinner, everything is half-price. Thanks for that information, Maggie. One of the advantages of staying with a local!
Since I was wearing thongs to give my blisters time to recuperate, they soon became wet and slippery in the rain so I ditched them and walked barefoot. Not too bad except by the time I got to the restaurant, my feet were like ice-blocks.
Nothing that a couple of bottles of champagne couldn’t fix! A delicious entrée of gratinated mushrooms, with lamb shanks for my main meal and bread and butter pudding for dessert were good remedies for all my ailments, including frozen feet.
The Irish Music Concert
Then we were off to St James Church for an Irish Music Concert that Maggie had advised was a must-see. I was very tired and kept nodding off. Honestly, it was the most bored I have been in a very long time, so I snuck out at interval. Rhys and Keeley had already left. Only Kiryn and Lorelle stayed. Of course, they reported that the second half was absolutely brilliant as I knew it would be, but I just couldn’t last the distance.
Getting lost
I thought about catching a cab home but walked briskly through the town. It had stopped raining but had become very cold so I walked fast. My feet were numb with cold. I thought of frostbite and gangrene. No, I wasn’t inebriated just extremely tired. It was high tide so I couldn’t walk along the towpath.
I thought I knew the way home but took a slight deviation and ended up in a dead-end at the wrong place, so I had to retrace my steps. Just what I needed! I then took the correct path which was well-lit for a couple of hundred metres, then pitch blackness.
I couldn’t see a thing, except I thought I saw a reflection off water and was too scared to venture any further so I tried unsuccessfully to find an alternate route. I couldn’t remember there being a lake on the way to Emlagh Lodge. Just at that moment of pure desperation, I spied Dale and he guided me through the water, (which was only a huge puddle a few inches deep, not a lake) to our lodging. After such a long terror-filled walk, it didn’t take me long to fall asleep. We woke up to another awesome breakfast of egg and bacon and cheese on panini before taking off to Galway. Goodbye, Dingle, I love you!
When you visit Ireland, make sure to add Dingle to your itinerary.
