On Wednesday we said goodbye to Janie and Sallyport House. Before we left Janie took a moment to take Michelle on a search for nettles, a plant with small needles that sting like a jelly fish so we knew what to look for. Before we hit the road we headed into Kenmare for some shopping. Today was the weekly street market where you could buy things like fruits and vegetables, breads and cakes, and even fresh fish.

We took the scenic route around the Ring of Kerry, stopping first at Staigue Fort a stone ring fort thought to have been built between 300 and 400 A.D. Although the fort would have had interior buildings when it was in use, today only the exterior walls remain.

Our next stop was at Leacanabuile and Cahergall Stone Forts, dating to the 9th or 10th century. Unlike the first ring fort we saw today, these had remains of interior walls so you could better imagine what the layout would have been like. The outer walls of Cahergall were quite tall, and they were stepped so you could climb to the top.

Very close to these two forts, we saw a castle that wasn’t on our planned stops so we went for a closer look. It was called Ballycarberry Castle and it turned out to be the most beautiful one we have seen so far as it was covered in ivy (see gallery). We climbed around on it for a long while. It was as if this castle took Michelle into another world and it took me forever to get her to leave. When we headed out again, we saw an old farmer harvesting peat (dirt from the bog consisting of decayed vegetation that they dry and burn like coal).

We arrived at Pax Guest House in Dingle to a warm welcome from our host John. John took time to speak at length with us, and made us feel at home the moment we got there. The view from the porch is amazing. We went into town which was a 12 minute walk but felt like 30 minutes after a long day in the car. We had fish, prawns and chips (fried potatoes) at a local pub while listening to traditional Irish music then headed back to our room for the night.