Oh to live in Ireland. As serendipity would have it, I received the email confirming my Irish citizenship the night before travelling to County Kerry back in June. So, proudly sporting my CladdIagh ring, I spent a week marvelling at the Irish landscape, trudging through bogs and swimming at epic beaches in my new favourite in the world.
After several months exploring Central Europe, it was refreshing to be back in a Celtic country and a great way of easing myself out of Austria and back to the UK for the next chapter of life...!
Of the many incredible beaches we explored, Derrynane has lingered longest in my mind. The house itself, (ancestral home of Daniel O'Connell), is beautiful and made especially epic by its positioning over the bay. Yes, we were lucky with the sunshine, but it's the kind of place that would be stunning in all weathers. The photos hardly do it justice.
At low tide you can wade through the sea around the headland and up onto a path which continues along a stretch of the Kerry Way, eventually looping back down to the house.
Below, an eclectic montage of some other Irish highlights: Castle Cove, fishing on Lough Currane, evening light over the lake and, of course, Guinness.
Guinness aside, the unexpected highlight of the week was a boat trip out to the Skellig Islands - two largely uninhabited (save for a million puffins and Bob and Sarah, the island wardens) islands off the coast of Kerry. Home to an early Christian monastery, Skellig Michael, the larger of the two, is topped by beehive-like stone huts, oratories and crosses and can be climbed when the sea allows. I'm no Star Wars fan but I might just have to give episode VII, The Force Awakens a watch..!!
That's it. I LOVE Ireland!