Bolus Head October 9, 2006

After breakfast Holly and I started walking along the single track road toward the end of Bolus Head. The day was clear, the temperature cool and the wind blowing, in short a nice day for a walk. A few hundred yards down the road we came to a farm path that led off to the right and up the hill. We hiked up the trail and came to a fence after a while that afforded us great views of the Skellig Isles, St. Finnian’s Bay and the village of Bellinskelligs. We found a place where stones had been piled and we were able to cross the fence. We continued to the top of the hill and as we reached a lower crest we could see a tower rising at the top of the hill. We made our way to the top rambling along with no trail to follow. The tower was actually a ruin of an old fortified house sitting on the summit of the hill looking westward over the Atlantic toward the new world. There is a wall around the house in which are placed archer or gun slits for defense of the property. We have no history on the house but it appears to be hundreds of years old. There are only one wall and a stone stairway leading to the entrance standing now, but it is still obvious that it was built during a time when the residents expected to have to defend themselves. After exploring the ruin and taking a few pictures we moved down the slope toward the tip of Bolus Head but soon ran into thick heather and thistle that made walking down the rough slope even tougher. We reached a level area and decided to turn back to find the cottage road. After crossing several remnants of stone walls once used to define pastures we saw the house that is at the end of the road, a few minutes later we were on the single track and on our way home.

We decided to drive into Cahersiveen to try and find internet access and a few needed supplies. We had no luck in the village so we drove to Killorglin another 40 kilometers, but again had no luck with the internet. All the libraries here have access but they are all also closed on Mondays. No problem, it was a beautiful day for a drive in the beautiful Irish countryside. This area looks a lot like the Isle of Skye in Scotland with rugged mountains and seashore. If you come to Ireland try to make County Kerry one of your destinations. It is well worth the time and effort.

We made our way back to the cottage along the single track, edging our way along the steep slope and all the while enjoying the view of the wind tossed ocean below. Back at the cottage we fired up yet another disposal BBQ grill and enjoyed views of a the sunset and rainbows that played over Ballinskelligs Bay. We had our steak dinner as the sun set and couldn’t think of any place we would rather be tonight.

After dinner I finally managed to start a peat fire in the sitting room’s open hearth. Once burning it heats the room nicely and has a distinctive “earthy” odor which is pungent yet pleasant. It gives the room a nice homey feeling and is a wonderful way to end the day.