Ireland - St Finians Bay to Baltimore.

Sadly we had to leave Bridie, Midge and the lovely little house on beach and head further south for our next week. We woke to dense clouds on the ocean. Perhaps caused by the cool sea and the warm air, they rolled in with blue sky occasionally visible above them. We had a long drive so got up early, just had breakfast, no coffee (would give us a reason to get out and stretch later in the morning), packed the car and said goodbye to Bridie.

Unfortunately we had started out too early and it took about an hour to find a place to get coffee. In the mean time we stopped periodically to take pictures of the cloud/fog formations.

The cloud crept in. off the sea, up the valleys and getting caught in between the hills.

Eventually we found a place to get a coffee to go.

According to google maps, the drive should take 3 hours (Bridie reckoned it would take longer) and check in at the next place was after 2pm so we had planned to stop in Kenmare (at the end of the Ring of Kerry) to stretch and take a break from driving.

Over a butchers door in Kenmare.

It was a very busy little town and we stopped in at the tourist office to get our bearings. Upstairs was the lace centre. The Poor Clare Nuns had come here in 1860 and taught the local women how to make lace to help support their families. Queen Victoria bought lace from them and their designs became famous.

Its a pretty little town with a lot of old houses

with abundant gardens.

The standing stone circle, a few minutes walk from the town centre, was a disappointment.

They felt "domesticated";  small stones, carefully cut grass and a very neat hedge around them. In contrast Stonehenge felt "wild but caged" when George and I saw it years ago and the one Heather, Don and I saw in the Lake District was truly wild; on a hill top with no-one there but the sheep.

Kenmare was packed with people especially the wool knitting and weaving shops. There were lots of beautiful Aran sweaters, ponchos, hats, mitts, scarves and woven blankets and scarves along with the usual touristy stuff.

We stopped for a quick snack at "Jam" and it earned the recommendation in the guide book we are using.

The only gluten free option for Nicky was a whipped cream and meringue concoction while I had a chocolate eclair. They don't put as much sugar in things here. The whipped cream was only slightly sweetened, the chocolate also and the choux pastry was perfect.

One of the reasons the town was so busy was that there was a triathalon going on.

As we drove out of town we passed some very tired cyclists.

We got to our cottage just outside of Baltimore, on the southwest tip of Ireland, at about 3. It is in a nice garden but there is no beach, no sound of waves, no view of the Skelligs - it took a bit of getting used to. It didn't take us long to recognize the differences in the geography and the approach of the people we had contact with. Its very lush, over run with shrubs, plants and small trees. This restricts the views. The little inlets are full of little islands so you can't see the expanse of the ocean. The people are more reserved, less outwardly friendly. We are adjusting and starting to appreciate the differences.

We drove the 3 km into Baltimore and sat outside to have our wine and lunch (both of us had grilled hake and chips)

As we sat in the village square (actually it's a triangle) we were looking over this busy little harbour.

These sailboats (1720's) were being lifted out of the water and placed on trailers, masts being taken down and rigging sorted. There were some disappointed sailors as it had been a 3 day regatta and today, the last day, there had not been enough wind and too much fog, for a race.

Of course, as everyone was commiserating at the pub, the wind picked up enough for this little wooden dinghy to go out.