The following is an except from my trip journal during my 11 days in Ireland.
26 May 2009
Today was our day with a local guide. We met Paddy along the road just east of Tuosist. Tim continued on to run some errands while we hiked another section of the Beara Way.
We started through a sheep pasture, contending with the ever present mud. As we hiked in we started climbing up to a ride. Along the way we made frequent stops as Paddy pointed out local plants and flowers.
We crested the ridge in somewhat breezy and rainy conditions. It was worth every bit as we were treated to a spectacular view of the valley containing “Lough Inchiquin”. Paddy was born in a cottage at the end of the valley (1953) when there was no electricity or cars in the valley. He relayed stories of his youth as we hiked down the other side of the ridge.
Tim met us at the end of our hike, down in the valley. We took a short walk to a standing stone and a stone circle sitting at the NW end of Lough Inichiquin. Possibly serving an astronomical or ceremonial function, they were probably built ~6000 years ago! This particular one featured 5 stones and an impressive view of the lake and waterfall which feeds it.
Our last hiking stop of the day was Gleninchaquin Park. This gorgeous park is on the land owned by Paddy’s oldest brother and their father before him. There are 5 hiking trails in the park with a range of lengths and difficulties.
We ate lunch at the main park building before hiking to the base of the waterfall. We snapped a few group pictures below the falls before starting up a hike that would take us over the stream feeding the waterfall above us. Tim and Paddy filled us in on some local myths and stories regarding the area. One in particular about a giant who used one of the lakes as a bathtub. Him jumping into the lake is what resulted in all the drainages surrounding it.
After a decent ~200m climb, we got an excellent view of the lake feeding the waterfall: Cummeenaloughahun. We then crossed a bridge over the stream connecting the lake and waterfall. Shortly thereafter, Paddy showed us how to cut peat and lay it out to dry so it could be used as fuel during the winter. Most of us gave it a try and seemed to do ok at it.
We finished off the hiking portion of the day by descending back to the farm, with fantastic views the whole way down. The last section of the walk followed the creek in which Paddy and his brothers used to swim, and in which their mother used to wash clothes.
Our last stop with Paddy was naurally the Pub. We all had a nice pint of Murphy’s before bidding farewell. Then we piled back into the bus for the drive to Kenmare where we checked into “Virginia’s Guest House”.
All of the pictures from Day 6 are available here: Ireland Day 6: Gleninchaquin Park on flickr
