Tuesday we toured the Beara Penninsula south of Kenmare. Our first stop was the Uragh Stone Circle, situated on a hill overlooking a lake and a waterfall. Someone had constructed some sort of offering at the stones. As it was in the middle of a farmer’s field, it was also surrounded by sheep poop. The farmer happened to be there herding sheep so we got to see a sheep dog in action as he responded to his master’s calls. We talked to the farmer briefly and he indicated that he owned 800 acres and that his land “reached to the sky” as he pointed to the mountain behind us.

Our next stop was the Hag of Beara, a rock that is the subject of many legends including that it is a woman turned to stone. People had left all kinds of objects on the rock. I would not admit to being superstitious but when Michelle joked about taking an object from the stone she got a very quick “no way” from me. Right down the road within walking distance was Kilcatherine church, dating from the 7th century. The church ruins and cemetery overlooked the ocean, making for a beautiful setting.

We continued along the coast road right next to the ocean. Our next unplanned stop was in Allihies, where copper used to be mined. High above the town was the ruins of a large building associated with the mines so we decided to drive up to it. It was surrounded by a fence so we couldn’t get too close, but the views of the town below were breathtaking.

We drove back to our B&B through Healy Pass. The wind was blowing so hard near the top that it was hard to open your car door. There was hardly anybody on this one lane road and it felt like we had to whole mountain to ourselves (except for the sheep of course).

Back at the B&B we had another rainbow waiting on us, this time a double (across the sky too). We had dinner at the Horseshoe Restaurant and had some of the best food we have had in a while. Even the homemade ketchup was so good we will be craving it for a while. Then it was time to pack up for our next stop, Dingle.