One of the days we were based in Killarney was intended for exploration of the area. Unfortunately Mum wasn’t feeling very well and opted to rest.
The original plan was to do some hiking in Killarney National Park which could be accessed from the middle of the town and across the street from our B&B. It’s actually 3 adjoining estates which were gifted to the people of Ireland and total about 1,000 acres. Surprisingly there aren’t that many hiking trails that I could find details for online. So I opted for the 15km loop. It starts at Mukross House and goes around Mukross Lake. Because there is so little forest still left in Ireland it was a treat to be buried in the green trees. It felt very much like hiking at home! I think it’s rather ironic that I’ve been to Killarney Park in Ireland but not yet in Canada.
In the afternoon after some rest Mum was up for going to explore the local castle. It seems that every town and bit of space in Ireland has been claimed and stamped with authority by the building of some sort of castle or fort over the centuries. Lovely Killarney is no different, and their version is Ross Castle. Mum wasn’t up to climbing all the stairs in the tower so we didn’t do the tour, but it was a lovely stroll out to the spot.
Ross Castle
Afterwards were both kind of pooped so we just crashed at the B&B and vegged watching episodes of Dr. Who.