|
Description
I may masquerade as a natural, no-frills kind of girl, but
underneath I like all the gourmet treats and cultural sophistication of a
metropolis. This how I would describe
the town of Kenmare. It is a town by the
sea, nestled amongst the mountains of Kerry and Cork, in Gaelic "neidin" or
"little nest." It is a little bastion of
culture in the Irish countryside, probably why it became Kerry's first Heritage
Town.
What to See and Do
Walk to the Druid Stone Circle on the edge of town - come
for the Summer Solstice and celebrate the sunrise. Learn more about the ancients by browsing
Noel and Holland, a 2nd hand bookstore and center of literary
culture. Visit the Kenmare Lace and
Design Centre and see their exhibition of antique, handmade laces. The town has many fine art galleries. Shop for beautiful linens at The White
Room. Find yarns to knit your own Irish sweater
at Spin A Yarn, Ltd. They also teach
knitting classes.
Explore the Ring of Kerry and MacGillycuddy Reeks, Ireland's
highest mountains.
Play a round at one of the 18-hole golf courses - Kenmare
Golf Club or The Ring of Kerry Golf and Country Club.
Where to Eat and
Drink
Truffle Pig Fine Foods are purveyors of fresh cheeses,
olives, and baked goods. If you are
staying at a self-catering spot, here's a place to find Lamb Shanks slowly
cooked in red wine and root vegetables (9 euro) and Kerry Beef and mushroom pie
(9 euro). Pair with Dauphinoise potatoes
cooked in milk, butter, onion, and garlic (2.75 euro). Or picnic in Reengross Public Park. The Pantry is a whole foods and organic
produce market. The town has a number of
fine restaurants and pubs. The Brook
Lane Hotel serves up Jazz and Oysters every Sunday from 2-6PM.
Where to Sleep
The town has tons of guesthouses and B&Bs. We stayed at a fine hostel in nearby
Templenoe, a town just west of Kenmare on the Ring of Kerry drive. The
Greenwood Hostel is a gently restored farmhouse run by a German couple, outdoor
enthusiasts who've created a superb setting for rejuvenation. Eat breakfast in the garden with a book from
the irresistible library. Curl up in the
living room under a wool rug by the fire or test out your chops on the piano. The finest hostel we've visited and highly
recommended - tel: 064 89247.
How to get there
By car:
From Bantry, take N71 north.
From Cork, take N22 west to Cloonken. Take R569 through Kilgarvan to Kenmare.
From Killarney, take N71 south.
From Tralee, take N22 south to Killarney, then N71 south to
Kenmare. Or take beautiful Ring of Kerry
drive N70 to Kenmare.
From Limerick, take N69 coastal drive to Tralee, then N22
and N71 to Kenmare, or Ring of Kerry drive to Kenmare.
By bus:
See www.buseireann.ie
website for all current travel details and restrictions.
When to go
April through October, when the weather is finer and the
days longer.
Kenmare and Templenoe host the following festivals: a
cultural weekend honoring Folklorist Sean O Suilleabhain in mid-April. Family Easter Egg Hunt in April. The Kenmare Horseshow at the beginning of
June. Templenoe Regatta at Templenoe
Pier in mid-July. Kenmare Rowing and
Boating Club Regatta at Kenmare Pier in mid-July. The Little Bo Peep Triathlon at the end of
July. The Three Brother's Golf Classic
at the Kenmare Golf Club at the beginning of September. Appetite for Life, a food festival at the end
of October.
Written by Liz O' Malley - Summer of Travel 2007
|
