Page 312 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

Roughty and Sheen Riv- 4km detour north takes you to of Daniel O’Connell, the
ers empty into Kenmare the rarely visited Staigue Fort, campaigner for Catho-
River. Kenmare makes which dates from the 3rd or 4th lic emancipation. His
a pleasant alternative to century. ancestors bought the
Killarney as a base for house and surrounding
visiting the Ring of Kerry parkland, having grown
and the Beara Peninsula. b Caherdaniel rich on smuggling with
The big attraction here France and Spain. It’s
54 p313, p339 is Derrynane National largely furnished with
The Drive »The 47km to Historic Park (% 066-947 O’Connell memorabilia,
Caherdaniel along the southern 5113; www.heritageireland. including the restored
stretch of the Ring of Kerry duck ie; h10.30am-6pm Apr-Sep, triumphal chariot in
in and out of view of Bantry 10am-5pm Wed-Sun mid-Mar– which he lapped Dublin
Bay, with the marvellous Beara end Mar & Oct, 10am-4pm after his release from
Peninsula to the south. Just Sat & Sun Nov; adult/child
before you reach Caherdaniel, a €4/2), the family home prison in 1844.

DETOUR:
IRELAND 22 ICONIC IRELAND
SKELLIG MICHAEL
Start: c Portmagee & Valentia Island
The jagged, 217m-high rock of Skellig Michael (www.heritageireland.ie; hmid-May–Sep)
(Archangel Michael’s Rock; like St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall and Mont Saint
Michel in Normandy) is the larger of the two Skellig Islands and a Unesco World
Heritage Site. It looks like the last place on earth where anyone would try to land –
let alone establish a community – yet early Christian monks survived here from
the 6th until the 12th or 13th century. Influenced by the Coptic Church (founded by
St Anthony in the deserts of Egypt and Libya), their determined quest for ultimate
solitude led them to this remote, wind-blown edge of Europe.
In 2015, Skellig Michael featured as Luke Skywalker’s secret retreat in Star Wars:
The Force Awakens (and will feature in subsequent episodes of the third trilogy),
attracting a whole new audience to the island’s dramatic beauty.
It’s a tough place to get to, and requires care to visit, but is worth every effort.
You’ll need to do your best grizzly sea-dog impression (‘Argh!’) on the 12km
crossing, which can be rough. There are no toilets or shelter, so bring something to
eat and drink, and wear stout shoes and weatherproof clothing. Due to the steep
(and often slippery) terrain and sudden wind gusts, it’s not suitable for young
children or people with limited mobility.
Be aware that the island’s fragility requires limits on the number of daily visitors.
The 15 boats are licensed to carry no more than 12 passengers each, for a maximum
of 180 people at any one time. It’s wise to book ahead in July and August, bearing in
mind that if the weather’s bad the boats may not sail (about two days out of seven).
Trips usually run from Easter until September, depending, again, on the weather.
Boats leave Portmagee, Ballinskelligs and Derrynane at around 10am and return
at 3pm, and cost about €45 per person. Boat owners generally restrict you to two
hours on the island, which is the bare minimum to see the monastery, look at the
birds and have a picnic. The crossing takes about 1½ hours from Portmagee, 35
minutes to one hour from Ballinskelligs and 1¾ hours from Derrynane.

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