Off the beaten track….. by accident!

Blogger: Lauren Lucy Crowley 

Recently while staying in South Kerry, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by the most beautiful picture perfect scenery everywhere I turned. The Atlantic ocean glistened as the sun shone down on it, the green mountains stood tall and proud in the distance around it, while colourful flowers began to appear out from among the bushes along the roadsides. It was almost difficult to stay focused while driving along the narrow, windy coastal roads of the Skellig ring – as every corner I turned I spotted something even more beautiful in the distance!

It was for this reason, surrounded by mother natures beauty,  we knew it would be a shame not to set out on a big hike… we hadn’t quite found any set paths or trails marked… so we decided we would brave going cross-country. After passing St. Finians bay, headed towards Ballinskelligs, we chose a mountain on the right hand side… parked at the bottom of it and literally headed North!

As there were no pathways it was a little bumpy… and we stood in a few puddles… and got a few nettle stings… but it was worth it all… as we went higher and higher up the mountain, the view behind us of the Skellig rock became prettier and prettier…. I felt like I was on a film set. It was a steep climb, and so we took a number of different pitstops… everytime I looked around the view made me smile… it was absolutely surreal!

When we reached the top, (we thankfully had a little bit of water to split between us!), we all set there in silence admiring the view as we tried to catch up breaths before the descend down! I thought to myself how lucky I am to live in Ireland… and wondered how many people had actually climbed up here to admire the view before… my guess is very few… seeing as it was such a hidden gem!!

The descent was a little bit of a free for all with a few stumbles, followed by a few screeches… and eventually a lot of laughter! When we got to the bottom the cherry on top after our walk…  we were greeted by a herd of friendly cows! We walked back to the car full of the spirits of life, chatting about what a fabulous hike we’d had…. when I caught out of the corner of my eye a signpost for  Bolus head walk … out of curiosity we headed in the direction of the sign post to see where it would take us… about 500metres down the road, clearly sign posted with maps and a lovely trail was a designated walk – called the Blous head loop! We laughed and laughed at the fact that we had gone cross country and made things so difficult for ourselves off the beaten track… but it made it all the memorable… and if I were to go again I’d probably do the same!

Highly recommend going on this hike either cross country or on the Bolus head loop walk… it was the highlight of my stay in South Kerry, and I cannot wait to return again!

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference – Robert Frost

 

 

 

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