During the last week of May 2014, I took a week long road trip down through the Shannon Region (from Athlone to Limerick) and then onto Co Kerry and to the Dingle Peninsula.

Day One

The Shannon region is one area I have never explored before and coming off the motorway close to Athlone, I took a lot of the back roads, cutting across many counties and the three provinces of Leinster, Connaught, and Munster, discovering along the way many historic sites.

First stop was the ancient Monastery of Clonmacnoise, an ancient settlement founded in the year 546. Passing through places such as Shannon Bridge and Shannon Harbour, my next stop was at Clonfert Cathedral, the resting place of St. Brendan and famous for its doorway with its amazing stone work and features.  Leaving Clonfert Cathedral, I made my way to Portumna before following the shoreline of Lough Derg, passing through Mountshannon, the busy harbour town of Killaloe before finishing up in Limerick.

Day Two

The first part of Day Two was spent in Limerick City.  Limerick is the current Irish City of Culture and recently a European City of Sport.

My two main visits in Limerick, is to the recently renovated King John’s Castle and Thomond Park – the home of Munster Rugby.

Leaving Limerick, I travelled along the Shannon Estuary and Wild Atlantic Way, before reaching County Kerry, travelling through towns and villages such as Foynes, Ballybunion, the wonderful beach at Banna Strand before hitting Tralee, passing the famous Blennerville Windmill and then reaching Dingle Peninsula, crossing over the Conor Pass, before arriving in the town of Dingle.

Day Three

What a sight to waken up to the blue skies and blazing sun which really showed off Dingle at its best.  Day three started with a nice walk along the Dingle Bay shore and harbour.  I then took off on the Slea Head drive, one of the nicest drives on the Island of Ireland and now part of the Wild Atlantic Way, passing through Ventry, and Dunquin before reaching the Blasket Visitor Centre. 

After driving for the best part of two days, I decided to leave the car here and go trekking, walking along one of the looped walks that forms part of the Dingle Way.  The Lúb na Cille walk starts off at the Blasket Centre before going up into the hills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Blasket Islands, as well other parts of the Dingle Peninsula such as the Three Sisters. 

This walking loop also took in many of the places that was used during the filming of Ryan’s Daughter.

The day finished off back in Dingle, in time for a wonderful sunset.

Day Four

Day four consisted of the short drive around Slea Head to Dunquin Harbour to get the boat onto the Great Blasket Island.  The boat trip took about 40 mins from the harbour and unfortunately after the wonderful weather up to this point, the sea fog was in.  The island was inhabited up to 1953, and with the fog settled over the island, the whole place had that eerie feel to it.

However waiting for the boat back to the mainland, the sun broke through and showed off the island in a different light.

Day Five

My final day in Dingle before heading home and once again the sun was shining.

I spent the morning walking around the town before getting a boat trip around Dingle Bay in search of Fungi the friendly dolphin.  After an hour of looking for him, (along with the numerous other boats all full of tourists) he decided to appear, before playing hide and seek with everyone.

The last part of my trip around Dingle, was to complete the Slea Head drive.  Setting off from the town I once again made my way through Ventry and Dunquin, before continuing around this wonderful coastal drive.  Passing the three sisters, I made my way to the Gallarus Oratory, one of the earliest settlements on the Island of Ireland. 

Leaving the Gallarus Oratory, I completed the Slea Head drive, arriving back in Dingle, before heading my way back over the Conor Pass to commence the long journey north.

The complete photo album of my trip to Dingle and the Shannon region can be seen on my flickr page – clicking here.