First of all, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers!
Before we begin today’s hike, I promised our total stats from the Wicklow Way
Miles - 95.3
Steps - 252,343
Ascent - 18,225’
Time - 36 hrs 54 min
Avg Pace - 2.65 mph
The Dingle Peninsula, on Ireland’s southwest coast in County Kerry, is about 30 miles long, and somehow it manages to feel both wide open and intimate at the same time. Every little village has its own character—and by walking through them, you get to experience it in a way that’s impossible to do by car. Today, that becomes reality as Kody and I begin to hike the Dingle Way.
11 miles
ascent 1,352.4' / descent 1,257.9'
Start of the Dingle Way
Irish Brown bread with orange marmalade, sourdough and a croissant
Omelette with ham, cheese, mushrooms and onion
After a hearty Irish breakfast—coffee, eggs, and some of that famous brown bread—we set off from Tralee.
We took a little detour to the Rose Garden in Tralee Park to check out the statue of the original “rose.” It’s amazing how a ballad about a romantic love story sparked the International Rose of Tralee Festival, held every year in Tralee, County Kerry. The ballad, “The Rose of Tralee,” was penned by William Pembroke Mulchinock, who poured his heart into it for his forbidden love, Mary O'Connor (a servant). After a stint overseas (India), he came back to find his beloved had passed away from tuberculosis during the famine. Though he married later on, he never forgot Mary, and the ballad was his beautiful tribute to her. In a touching twist, he was eventually laid to rest beside her in a graveyard just outside Tralee.
Unfortunately we couldn’t find the statue so I’ve popped a photo in from the internet.
The life-sized statue, capturing both Mary and William, stands proudly in the center of the Rose Garden, surrounded by over 35 stunning varieties of roses. Encircling the statue is the aptly named glass Rose Wall, featuring a series of glass panels that honor every Rose who has participated in the Festival since it began in 1959, along with the history and lyrics of that timeless ballad.
Colorful condos
First spotting of the windmill
Blennerville Windmill, is a prominent landmark on the Wild Atlantic Way. Built in 1800 by Sir Rowland Blennerhassett, this 21-meter (69-foot) high stone tower was restored in the 1980s to showcase traditional milling, offering visitors tours, flour-grinding demonstrations, and panoramic views of Tralee Bay. Jo Anne, wouldn't this have been a blast to visit? It was a crucial commercial flour mill, exporting grain to Great Britain before falling into disuse in the late 19th century due to steam power and the silting of the harbor. It was purchased in 1981 by Tralee Urban District Council and meticulously restored, reopening in 1990. The tower has five floors, featuring stone construction and working sails.
Jo Anne, your favorite little river crossings. 😬
Our Dingle guy showing us the way.
Clear blue skies and sunshine. What more could we ask for? It was perfect hiking weather.
This sign was about halfway
Water lilies in this little pond right next to the ruins of an old house
The cross symbolizes the era that Saint Brendan the Navigator is believed to have travelled and set sail from Kerry to spread Christianity. This route connects St. John's Church in Tralee to St. James' Church in Dingle.
During these years, St. Brendan is believed to have travelled from Kerry and sailed to Scotland, Wales, and Brittany to spread Christianity, potentially reaching North America, as documented in the "Navigatio Sancti Brendani".
The "Kerry Camino" is a 3-day walking route from Tralee to Dingle designed as a precursor to the Camino de Santiago, following paths used by medieval Irish pilgrims.
The final destination is St. James' Church in Dingle. Historically, pilgrims and monks would walk this route before sailing from Dingle to Spain to join the main pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
The official Kerry Camino logo is based on a 15th-century pewter scallop shell with a statue of St. James, found during a 1992 excavation at Ardfert Cathedral in North Kerry.
A common hawthorn tree out here all by it’s self
More little bridges to cross
The trail goes on over the hill
Unusual standing stone
It felt like all the stiles were plotting a grand finale right when our feet were screaming for mercy and our legs turned to jelly from dodging rocks. Naturally, we decided to take the scenic route around this one. I mean, who wouldn’t?
Especially since it was the only one with an option.
Steep enough they provided a rope
The water is crystal clear
You can see every rock on the bottom
These two sheep look like they’ve been dodging the shears maybe forever?
Mama and baby grazing
Stone walls crisscrossed the landscape, and sheep dotted the hillsides like it was a scene straight off a postcard. Sheep somehow just look more right in Ireland (and Scotland too, for that matter).
A few places had boardwalk to get around the muddy spots. It hasn’t been raining here or it really would have been bad.
More stiles to climb
With instructions on how to safely climb them
We entered a nice little forest that was completely unexpected after being in the open all day.
The remains of a deserted village spread along the line of the old Dingle road.
This is a small stone church or oratory with an earth binding between the stones. Little survives but a narrow west doorway, which would originally have been lintelled, and the remains of an east window. It may date from about the 10th or 11th centuries. The roof of the oratory is likely to have been of wood as the inner faces of its side walls do not slope inwards as would be necessary for a corbelled stone roof.
Excavation showed that the church was built over a habitation site and that the interior was used in recent times for the burial of infants. The area to the south of the church was used for adult burial up to about the middle of the 19th century. The two ruined rectangular structures, one to the west and one to the north of the church, are of more recent date and may be the remains of post-medieval houses or byres.
A very wet trail
Camp Junction House - our lodging
Our hike ended at The Junction, which is where we had lunch, a pub conveniently located right across from Camp Junction House, our B&B for the night. This is the view from the front porch of the Inn. Absolutely gobsmackingly stunning!!!
We started the walk at 7:30 this morning and finished by 12:30. The innkeeper let us know that wouldn’t be happening tomorrow since he doesn’t start serving breakfast until 8. He’s rather gruff but runs a tight ship.
The special of the day at the Junction Pub was shepherds pie
Kody had a vegan burger
Our room. The inn has been completely redone and is very nice!
View from our room isn’t much but we’ve been watching the clouds roll in and the wind whipping the trees around.
The first three days on the Dingle Way also follow the Kerry Camino. I didn’t get the official passport because the museum wasn’t open when we left this morning so I stamped a napkin I had in my backpack. 🙄
Today's Stats:
Miles - 12.3
Steps - 31,763
Ascent - 1,467’
Time - 5 hrs
Next in the song, Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah, we sing "Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven, feed me
till I want no more," or some versions say, "feed me now and ever
more." This really brings to mind the Israelites wandering in the desert
for 40 years, where they were miraculously fed with bread from Heaven. And then
Jesus came and said in John chapter 6, “Our fathers ate the manna in the
wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to
eat.’” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was
not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true
bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from
heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this
bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”
Everything that we need to sustain spiritual life comes to us from Jesus and His death. All that we can learn about Jesus and His death comes to us from the Bible. We certainly need the help of the Holy Spirit to understand the Bible, but what He helps us understand is what is already written in the words of the Bible.
Jesus is the Bread of Heaven. When we take him in our hearts, we feel fulfilled. He satisfies our hunger completely. So, are we really feeding on him? Is he our ultimate source of satisfaction in life?
