The Dingle Way: Camp to Annascaul

Wednesday, 15 September 2022 (11.9 miles)

We had to return 2 km (1.2 miles) uphill to the beginning of the loop - this time taking the road heading towards Dingle. Today we crossed the peninsula to begin walking along Dingle Bay on the southern side.

The clouds hung low on the mountaintops as we left Camp.

We walked along fields and farms.

It was blackberry season in Ireland. That was interesting because our blackberry season is late June/early July, and these blackberries had a slightly different taste and were much sweeter. Lon grazed on blackberries the entire trip.

The pass between the north and south sides of the Dingle Peninsula is filled with boggy fields. Peat had been cut in the past for fuel.

A look at the deep layer of peat along our path.

A crow sits atop a way marker for the Dingle Way and the Kerry Camino.

There were spruce plantations throughout the peninsula.

Inch Strand lies along the western edge of a low spit projecting into Dingle Bay that separates the Bay from Castlemaine Harbour.

Waves along Inch Strand. The mountains of the Iveragh Peninsula and the Ring of Kerry are across Dingle Bay.

The road into Annascaul was ruler-straight and relentlessly downhill. (We're glad that we weren't walking uphill!)

The Gulf Stream keeps the temperatures on the west coast of Ireland relatively mild - rarely getting as low as freezing. We were surprised to see very tropical-looking vegetation.

Palm trees (really!) were seen relatively frequently.

Why is there a "South Pole Inn" in County Kerry, Ireland? Because Annascaul's most famous hometown hero is Tom Crean - a noted Antarctic explorer. He was with Shackleton on the Endurance expedition and helped guide the small lifeboat on the dead-reckoning trip from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island, and the rescue of the men who stayed behind on Elephant Island. On our trip to Antarctica and South Georgia in February 2020 we visited the locations associated with this remarkable expedition.

Not only is the South Pole Inn a pub, but it is also a museum to Tom Crean and his antarctic adventures.

Annascaul is a small village.

Overnight at the Old Anchor Inn B&B. Another charming old guesthouse.