Stunning to the Power of Ten

I’ve developed a streaming cold. Not Covid- I’ve checked,  but nose dripping disgustingly and sneezing so violently I need windscreen wipers on the inside of the car, so it’s perhaps  fortunate that today will be a long car day.

But it’s also raining. There should be mountains in the distance. 


As usual first port of call was breakfast and Aiden in the village made me a full Irish with GF toast. 


Then I set out to drive the Wild Atlantic way from Annascaul to Coyne near Cork. 
 BUT….. on mature reflection and if I’d bothered to:

A)  google tourist bus tours itinerary to see what they suggest was reasonable 

B)  googled how many miles it would be and how long it would take.

I would have done the trip over at least three or more days. I drove for over eight hours!!!!

That said, it was probably the most beautiful stretch of road upon which I have ever travelled. Possibly best in the United Kingdom.

It had it all.  This was just one sandy beach at Kells and I had it to myself.



It had roads with hair pin bends high in mountain passes


And great views everywhere you looked in spite of the weather. 
50 more shades of green




Pretty villages with lots of pubs and  a worthwhile stop off at Kenmare which was a lovely town not dissimilar to Keswick in the Lake District. There were signs to every kind of holiday experience you might choose: kayaking with seals, pony trekking, secret garden centres, art galleries galore and several castles and standing stones. 
The journey itself though madly long was not stressful in terms of traffic. There was hardly any but I couldn’t reach the speed limit of 60 due to hairpin bends and tractors doing 20 miles an hour!! 
I would do this all over again in a heart beat but I’d take three days so that I could stop.


I met this lady in a lay-by and she asked me to keep this road as our little secret. She came from the north of England and moved to Ireland 13 years ago as she couldn’t afford to live in England on her pension. She had a small house nearby and travelled around in her converted builder’s  van. 




Now there’s a thought!!!

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