The Dingle Way: Ventry to Glanfahan

Saturday, 17 September 2022 (7.4 miles)

A short day of walking. Our travel company, Hillwalk Tours, arranged for us to be transported about 5 miles west of Dingle to Ventry for the start of today's walk, bypassing a long section of road/highway walking. Ventry is a small village on the next harbor (Ventry Harbour) west of Dingle.

We had our first taste of beach-walking today. Walking on firm sand is a joy! Much better than pavement or rocks.

Sometimes the path is too narrow for even a tractor. But it's never too narrow for mud and livestock!

The western end of the Dingle Peninsula is littered with archaeological sites. A panoramic view of the "ring fort" we visited along the way. While called a "fort", it really just protected a single household.

Looking back toward Ventry and Dingle Bay.

Typical moor crossed by numerous stone walls.

While never a problem, we encountered livestock (mostly sheep) along our way.

Looking back towards Ventry. Ventry Harbour is the inlet near the middle of the photo.

The gate that leads to our night's lodging, the Old Irish Farmhouse. It was a steep 175-ft descent to the farmhouse and the main highway.

Clochans (Beehive Huts)

Clochans (or beehive huts) were built starting around 1000 AD, presumably to house monks and pilgrims. The clochans around here and on Skellig Michael (a small rocky island just off the coast) were used in filming Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

A large 3-room clochan is on the property of our B&B. Most of the older structures have lost their roofs, which may have been made from stone or thatch.

The huts were small, with very short doors.

Looking through the door, across the central room, to the door of the far room.

The property also had several "modern" clochans, built for farm use in the late 1800s. These still had intact roofs.

Lon beside another "modern" clochan.

Looking up at the roof from the inside, you can see how the stones were corbelled to make the roof and leave a ventilation hole.

Overnight at the Old Irish Farmhouse B&B. Rustic, but great atmosphere. Self-cooked/served breakfast, but plenty of choices available. Since walkers have no access to locations that serve food, the host, Aedan, provided a hearty, delicious Irish stew dinner.