Dingle travel review & recommendations by Father_Son_Cycle

WHERE IS DINGLE?

Dingle is the main town on the spectacular Dingle peninsula on the south western edge of County Kerry, Ireland. The population varies wildly between summer and winter but probably averages out at around a fify thousand.

WHY GO THERE?

I have visited Dingle every year for the last 12 years and, unusually for me, I never tire of it. It is a uniquely cosmopolitan place, which retains a feel of old Ireland. People still speak with the delightful soft Kerry accent and you hear Irish being spoken everywhere. This is why a number of movies have been made here, including 'Far and Away' where Nicloe Kidman met Tom Cruise, and the classic 'Ryan's Daughter'. You see photographs of the filming and the stars out on 'benders' in many Dingle pubs.

WHAT IS THERE TO DO AROUND THE PENINSULA?

Dingle is a peninsula about 60 miles long but only about 18 miles wide with a backbone of mountains down the centre, including Mt Brandon - at 1030m Ireland's second highest mountain. The view from the mountains looking over both the northern and southern coastlines on either a clear or a stormy day is breathtaking. We always say it doesn't matter if it rains in Dingle, it's rarely cold and it just looks more spectacular. It's also a good excuse to join the locals and spend the day by a peat fire in a pub.

The Connor Pass is the more well known of the road routes over the mountains from north to south - it clings to the rockface and in summer you regularly get stuck behind half-wit tourists who suddenly panic and refuse to move on the tight bends with precipises the outside edge and a towering rockface on the inner.  But there are several others, my favourite is a rough single track which seems near vertical in parts. It is known as the 'scenic road to Inch' running between the lovely little village of Camp on the north side, to the 4 mile long white sandy beach of Inch in the south. On this trip it is easy to take in the old world pub of Thomas Ashe in Camp, then the South Pole Inn in Anascaul on the road from Inch to Dingle (or vice versa). Both serve good food and have a great atmosphere. Another unspoilt old pub in Camp is the Railway Tavern. It doesn't serve food but it is a great place for a traditional session or a quick pint on your way through to nearby Tralee at the mainland end of the peninsula. The guy who runs it collects old VW's.

The South Pole Inn is usually packed due to the reasonably priced pub food and the fact that it was once the pub of the famous explorer Tom Crean - veteran of both Scott and Shackleton's polar expeditions. There are some amazing photos here and burly old Tom is burried in a simple grave in the windswept village graveyard nearby.

Brandon Bay on the north side of the peninsula is a great surf spot (keep it quiet will ya!). The miles of white sandy beaches and the clean water are surprisingly unpopulated, even in summer. No 'my wave!' arguments here. The best surf is usually in May and September by the way.

Clochan at the western end of the bay is famous locally for Bass fishing. There are a couple of great traditional bars here but the best, for me, is Mulally's in Brandon harbour a few miles further by small road (almost as far as you can go before America).

On the south western tip of the peninsula there is a stunning costal road taking in Slea Head. This spectacular and foreboding outcrop of jagged rocks stretches into a deep chanel of sea, infamous for shipwrecks. Across the chanel lie the Blasket Islands. Uninhabited since the early 1950's and once the home of poets and writers who spoke and wrote only Irish and were visited by famous schollars and literary figures like Yeats. There are small ferries going over when the weather is calm. Cuminool beach, where they filmed Ryan's Daughter, lies nearby and the village of Ballyferriter, with a few guesthouses and a small hotel, lies just to the north. You can cycle round all this of course and there is bike hire in Dingle town. Stopping off on the way to have picnics in the shelter of pre-christian beehive huts, as you look out accross the sea to South Kerry is something you won't forget in a hurry.

There are numerous small coves and expanses of white sand around the point. Some have dangerous undertows though. I remember years ago walking along Smerwick Harbour Beach with my kids one April and finding a huge salmon stuck in shallow water on the beach. I spent an hour trying to help it get back out to sea, spurred on by my sentimental kids. When I got back to town and dropped off the kids, I met our hostal owner (named Paddy of course) in McCarthy's bar, I told him the story. All the locals in the bar fell about laughing. They couldn't believe anyone could be so daft as to turn down such a valuable present. The typical hospitality of Dingle though meant that after laughing at me, they all bought me a beer. I had to be driven home after around 5 hours, and my kids still tell the story of me arriving back happy and falling off the bed onto my head.

WHAT IS THERE TO DO IN TOWN?

Dingle town is extremely popular with Irish visitors. It has a fairly pretty harbour but retains its busy commercial function with fishing boats and the odd naval vessel usually in the harbour. There are famously 52 pubs in Dingle town. The best ones for music are: John Benny's (also good for food), The Drocha Beath (noisy until the early hours), McCarthy's is popular with locals but has a good selection of live music (Tom McCarthy may seem shy and softly spoken but he likes his bar to be lively and is fond of a good night out himself), An Connair also has good music sessions. There are many others, too many to mention here, but I suggest that it's best to seek them out yourself - you can walk to them all easily.

My favourite bar changes from year to year as an old owner dies and their 50 year old grandson takes over the place, or a new band start doing regular sessions somewhere and the once deserted place takes on a new life of debauchery.

Down at the harbour you can take a boat to see 'Fungi' the Dingle Bay Dolphin. He's been there for years and is well loved by the locals. There are also ferries from here to the Blasket Islands along with fishing trips etc.

Once a year, for as long as anyone can remember, people form far and wide decend upon the area for 'Dingle Races'. The race is run on a challenging course that is only used for these three days in August, since it is rough and on a steep slope. It's a day of great celebration in Dingle and it's charming for its unprofessional and unregulated nature.

If you go on to the Irish ones of those 'e-cards' websites, half the traditional pictures (St Patrick's day in the pubs, Dingle Races etc) are taken in Dingle.


WHAT ARE THE LOCALS LIKE?
Dingle has a surprising number of 'blow-ins' - foreigners and those from elsewhere in Ireland who are lured by its friendliness. There is a lovely old cinema with a film club showing some pretty surprising cult films as well as the usual recent releases. Spanish fishermen can often be found in town along with a growing number of eastern European migrants working in the local fish packing factory. People here are jovial and open-minded due to the cosmopolitan tradition and we quickly found ourselves thinking of it as our spiritual home.

WHERE IS THERE TO EAT?

In addition to pubs that serve decent pub food, there are some very good restaurants, with fish, seafood chowder and local lamb being popular and usually excellently prepared. Doyle's fish restaurant is famous all over America (along with 'Dick Mack's Bar), and although it has gone through bad times it is now good again. 'The Charthouse' is a Michelin star restaurant for special occassions. 'Benners Hotel' in Main Street also has a quality restaurant. 'Fentons' at the corner of Green Street is especially good for seafood and 'Dano's' near the harbour serves good food in a great local atmosphere. Global Village serves good international food, particularly Thai Curry and The Blue serves good pizza / pasta. 'Out of the Blue' is a reasonably priced seafood restaurant by the harbour serving excellent freshly caught fish.

WHERE ARE THE BEST PUBS?

Dick Mack's is a combination of hardwear store and bar. The atmosphere is great on a good day and it has a sense of historic Ireland. However, for me it is a little too perfect (fake even) and I prefer the more authentic O'Currains around the corner which genuinely sells wellington boots, flat caps and horse blankets to farmers. Opposite O'Currains is the charming 'Foxy John's'. Foxy and his wife sell seeds and garden tools as well as repairing bikes but they also serve great Guinness accross the counter. On music nights I have seen the wire Sutton's Seeds rack used for slotting in pints of Guinness, which works suprisingly well.

WHERE ARE THE BEST PLACES TO STAY?

We generally rent a cottage when we stay here. Both Trident Holiday Cottages and Ballintaggart Holiday Cottages are good and have good websites. Alternatively there are good B&B's - Harbor View, Tower View and Bolands are three good ones but you can find plenty on 'Dingle Accommodation' Website. At the bottom end of the price range is Rainbow Hostal, which is actually really comfortable and very good value. It also has a friendly little campsite in the front garden with use of a good kitchen.

HOW DO I GET THERE?

You can get to Dingle by road from the ports of Rosslare or Cork and by plane + road via Kerry International Airport at Farranfore near Tralee. Ryan Air runs here so there are cheap flights. Cork and Limmeric airports are also not far away. My son and I have cycled it there from England and found it really enjoyable. My daughter usually hitches to meet us there and always finds getting lifts accross Ireland really easy. It's a habit that hasn't died out here yet. Long may it last.