As Ireland is pretty famous for long distance hikes, it was clear to me that I want to do one when I'm over here. The decision which one I should do wasn't that easy, as all that I've been looking at, sounded great. In the end I settled for the Dingle Way, a 8 to 9 days hike around the Dingle peninsula. There were basically two main reasons why I chose this one. Firstly: it's one of the well known hikes in Ireland, but not as famous as for example the Kerry Way and therefore I hoped that the trail wouldn't be full of people at this time of the year. And secondly: the Dingle Way is doable without a tent. As I couldn't prepare myself properly for this trip, I knew my body wasn't ready for carrying 20 kilogram, so it was clear that I couldn't bring my tent with me. Nevertheless I was really looking forward to do this hike. The starting and ending point was the village of Tralee and that's where I began walking on a nice Monday morning.
Day 1: Tralee to Camp
Usually on long distance hikes, the beginning is not that spectacular. And so it also was with the Dingle Way, leading first from the town centre of Tralee along a long canal to the village of Blennerville. From there I followed a country road, alternately passing houses, farms and farming fields. A couple turn offs later, the road led straight ahead for quite a while and ended with a dead end after a short ascent. Finally I left the concrete behind me and was walking on a proper hiking trail. There was also a nice view of the sea and of Tralee and I enjoyed the panorama together with the fresh air and the quietness of nature. The trail from here on just went straight ahead. Sometimes it went up and down a bit, but it was easygoing most of the time. The weather also wasn't too bad. The wind was luckily blowing from behind, so I was able to walk without my jacket on and even the sun came out a couple times. The only thing I struggled with was the view, as it didn't change at all for the best part of three hours. Mountains to the left, civilization and the sea to the right. Don't get me wrong. The view was nice enough, but some variety would have been nice too. :) Only when the trail led downwards and Camp was not far away anymore, the view finally changed and I was even able to see Mount Brandon at the horizon. As expected the trail wasn't busy at all, it was actually deserted as I didn't met a single other hiker the whole day. Therefore when I arrived in Camp I thought it easy to find a bed for the night. Knocking on the door of the first Bed and Breakfast I asked the lady that opened if she has a free bed tonight. "I have a free bed every night, except ... tonight! There is a funeral in town and everyone is fully booked." Alright, that wasn't the answer I expected. :) But the lady was so nice to call some other places around town and luckily one still had a free bed. The whole thing came with a price but also with a nice view and an unique owner, so even if I paid a lot I enjoyed the stay there very much.
Day 2: Camp to Annascaul
The evening before, I talked with an Irish fellow that attended the funeral and he told me that when it comes down to the party, funerals are better than weddings. He meant this absolutely seriously, as he explained that even if they are sad and mourn, they want to celebrate the life of the deceased. In Irish ways this means a lot of singing and drinking. And so it happened that I was wide awake on 3 o'clock in the morning, because all the funeral guests came home and just kept on singing and shouting in the hallway of the Bed and Breakfast. It almost felt like a party hostel. :) As I knew that this could happen and as I knew the reason behind it, it didn't bother me and when half an hour later the noise receded, I fell immediately back to sleep. "Surprisingly" I was almost alone for breakfast in the morning. :) Well, after a hearty Irish breakfast I was ready for day 2. Rejoining the Dingle Way where I left it the other day, I was walking along another country road under bright sunshine. Surrounded by farming fields I made my way steadily upwards and when I arrived on top of the hill a lovely view greeted me. A mountain range to my left and right, a pointy peak sticking out at the horizon and farming fields in between as far as my eye could see. The trail led along the mountain range to my left and I enjoyed this beautiful scenery for the next hour. Then I was swallowed by a forest and soon after I had to follow the main road for a while. Once off the main road again, the path led upwards and coming around a bend I was looking at the sea and the Kerry peninsula. Not much later Inch Beach came into view as well. Unfortunately the sun was behind the clouds now, but the panorama was stunning anyway. I made my way down to Inch Beach and finding a lovely spot I took my lunch break there. 45 minutes later I was on my way again. Going upwards, I hiked along country roads, dirt paths, main roads and of course ... more farming fields. If I counted all the sheep that I saw today, I would have fallen asleep a dozen times. :) The descent that followed was a long way straight ahead directly into the heart of Annascaul. I saw myself already with the feet up, drinking a well deserved beer, when I arrived at the hostel I wanted to stay and learned that it was closed. Damn! Well, luckily there was another hostel a bit outside of the town and arriving there 20 minutes later, I got my well earned rest.
Day 3: Annascaul to Dingle
While the beginning of the day was as usual, the rest of the morning turned out to be quite a struggle. Well, I got up, had my breakfast and left the hostel for another day of hiking. To rejoin the Dingle Way I first had to walk 20 minutes back into town, which already was kind of annoying. Then the trail led out of Annascaul onto another country road and for the next two hours I walked on concrete, always cautious of passing cars. Views there were none. Clouds covered the sky and fog the horizon. It was a hard start into the day. The happier I was when I saw an old castle ruin showing up in the distance. Finally some change. :) To my surprise, there wasn't only a castle. There was also a beach just next to it and I had quite some fun to explore the area that half an hour was gone in a minute. Eventually I had to carry on and I was back on concrete and farming fields sooner than I wished. Luckily though, the sun showed itself now and the views were getting better. So I enjoyed the walk definitely more than in the beginning. Coming towards lunch I passed the tiny town of Lispole and as I couldn't find any decent place for a lunch break, I just climbed a stone wall and had a good lunch with a wonderful view. :) I knew from the map that after Lispole there would be more dirt paths and less roads. Nevertheless it took about another hour until the turnoff to the "dirt" section finally came. It was great to have a change under my feet and the walking felt much lighter now. Crossing some farming fields, marveling at the surrounding mountains, enjoying the challenge of the dirt path, the next hour passed really fast. However, the best entertainment of today were all the different animals that I met along the way: a horse came to say hello during a short break, a dog welcomed me like an old friend and followed me for a couple hundred meters, a bird that flew ahead of me for a while, a sheep that I had to help because it got stuck into a fence with its head and of course all the lambs on the fields that just looked too cute. :) At the end of the day another long descent awaited me down to the lovely town of Dingle. It was almost a deja vu. Like yesterday the town could be seen from far away and like yesterday it took the best part of an hour to actually reach it. Tonight the search for accommodation was easy and looking forward to tomorrow I had a good nights rest.
Day 4: Dingle to Dunquin
Dingle is the biggest town on the Dingle Peninsula and it was obvious that when I started walking again in the morning, I first had to leave the town behind me. Of course that took a moment and of course after I was out of Dingle, a country road was awaiting me. :) But no lamenting today as I knew I was in for a treat the rest of the day as soon as this first part was over. And so it was. Taking a turnoff onto a dirt path I climb steadily and reached the top of the hill pretty soon. From there I had a great view of Ventry Beach and the surrounding area. Always with the beach in sight I started the descent and rather sooner than later arrived at the bottom. The trail now led directly onto the beach and it was fun to walk on a different surface. Lucky for me it was low tide, that made the going pretty easy. Enjoying the sun and the fresh sea air it took me about 30 minutes until I reached the end of the beach. There I found a wind sheltered spot in the sand dunes and had my lunch break. Leaving the area of Ventry Beach the trail soon came onto the main island road. Unfortunately this section was quite long and also pretty dangerous. There was no sidewalk and the road was very narrow, so I always had to step to the edge of the road whenever a car was coming. I was glad when I finally reached the turnoff that led back into the countryside. The trail did go upwards now for quite a while and was following the side of a mountain. The views from the coast and the Atlantic were lovely from up there and even Dingle could be seen far at the horizon. There were also a lot of stone walls on the mountainside and the trail kept following one for a long time. When the wall finally ended, there were magnificent views of the Blasket Islands and Dunmore Head ahead of me. With this panorama in sight it was time to descend back down to the main road. A little bit further on, a road and a path led down to Dunmore Head and I couldn't resist to take a peek. Well, I didn't stay there too long as the wind was too intense and without my backpack I probably would have been blown away. :) Carrying on, it was back to the main road again and when I looked on my smartphone I noticed that I already walked 25 kilometer. Announced were actually only 20 kilometer, quite a difference. At least I knew now why my feet were hurting. :) Finally after a total of 9 and a half hours on the trail I arrived in Dunqin. There I checked into my Bed and Breakfast and didn't move again until next morning. :) On a side note: today it happened and I saw the first two other hikers that were doing the Dingle Way. The trail almost felt a little bit overcrowded. :)
Day 5: Dunquin to Feohanagh
I was glad that the start today was on a dirt path. :) From Dunquin the trail led upwards a bit and soon greeted with a sight of all the places that I would pass later on today. It was a nice start and got even better when I arrived at the tiny Clogher Beach with it's breathtaking views. After a short break I had another deja vu. And I'm sure you can guess which one. :) The next one and a half hour had me back on tarmac and I was swearing again. There are a couple reasons why I didn't really like these sections: I always needed to be aware of approaching cars and therefore couldn't enjoy the surroundings as I should have, I couldn't take a break or just in places that weren't really nice to stop at, the concrete was not really comfortable to walk on and last but not least it just wasn't challenging to walk on roads all the time. Well, every road so far has ended at some point. :) So did the one today and it ended right at another beach. Like yesterday the sun was shining, like yesterday the wind was strong, like yesterday I enjoyed the walk along the beach and like yesterday I found a lovely spot in the dunes to eat my lunch. The trail continued along the coast and soon enough there was another beach to cross. This one was not as nice as the first one, but that was lamenting on a high level. :) Once I left the beach behind me I walked through the village of Ballydavid and followed the main road for a while. Then the trail led back to the coast and I enjoyed some great scenery with some little cliffs to my left and Mount Brandon looming up ahead. The weather today was the best so far. Even though it was windy all day long, the sun never vanished behind the clouds. Arriving in Feohanagh it wasn't the end of the day as there was no accommodation that already had open. Learning from my "mistakes" the days before I booked ahead for tonight, but the guesthouse was another couple kilometers further. That was okay, as I still felt good and as it was a dirt path and not a road that led me to the guesthouse. :) Arriving there I treated myself to a pint of beer and a piece of chicken and fell asleep almost immediately once I hopped into my bed.
Day 6: Feohanagh to Cloghane
Waking up in the morning I knew right away that I was in for a challenge today. The wind was going strong and howled around the guesthouse like there would be no tomorrow and of course exactly today I had to cross the highest point of the whole hike. Well, there was no choice anyway and at least there was no rain yet, so clothes on, breakfast into my stomach and off I was. Picking up the trail right in front of the guesthouse I had to walk on country roads some time until I reached a dead end with a parking lot that marked the start of the ascent. When I said that yesterday it was windy, it was nothing against today. Basically it was not windy, I would rather use the term stormy. Fighting against the wind I started to ascend. The path led steadily upwards alongside of Mount Brandon, the highest peak on the Dingle peninsula. The going was slowly because of the wind, but it also was a lot of fun. And the view back to where I came from the other day was simply gorgeous. In the morning the owner of the guesthouse said, that once we have the first part of the ascent behind us, the wind would be less strong, as the trail will be sheltered through the mountain. Oh boy, was he wrong. :) It was even worse and sometimes I could only walk doubled over, to prevent the wind from getting me out of balance. There were also the first few raindrops in the air and it was time to put on the rain jacket. None of this kept me from walking though. It was a real challenge and I enjoyed every minute of it. :) Once I reached the highest point, a pass going over to the next valley, I started the descent right away as there was no point in lingering around. The first part of the descent was pretty steep, but it was the only part so far that had no wind at all. It was time for a well deserved break. The further I descended though, the more the wind picked up again and when I reached the end of the mountain path it was back to the relentless blowing like during the ascent. Unfortunately there wasn't really any shelter along the way, so to eat my lunch I had to sit down into the grass and use my backpack as shield against the wind and the drizzle. Continuing with the descent I made my way to the village of Brandon and funnily enough when I reached the first houses the wind was gone as if someone had pulled the plug. Instead the rain was coming a bit more heavier. Passing the beach of Brandon and making my way out of the town onto the last couple kilometers to Cloghane, the wind was back once more and with it, it started to pour down. As I was walking now on the mandatory country road, it was kind of a struggle to reach Cloghane. Well, at least I finally had some real Irish weather. :) As I didn't took many breaks today, I arrived in Cloghane quite early. And that was just fine, so I could dry my stuff and enjoy the warm and cozy lounge of the hostel there.
Day 7: Cloghane to Castlegregory
Actually it was the plan to climb Mount Brandon today. But a look on the weather forecast led to a change. The prediction for today was pretty okay, cloudy with a shower or two, but for tomorrow it said heavy rain the whole day. As I only had one extra day, I decided to walk to Castlegregory today and skip Mount Brandon. If I would have done Mount Brandon today, I would have had to walk the next day through the rain and that wasn't an appealing thought. And when I woke up in the morning and Mount Brandon was wrapped in dark clouds the decision was definitely taken. Making my way out of Cloghane I was in for another hour on tarmac, before I reached the next beach that I had to cross. This one was called Fermoyle Beach and had a length of 11 kilometers. Apparently one of the longest beaches in Ireland and I had the pleasure to walk the full length of it. :) This took me more than two hours. You probably think: two hours walking on a beach, isn't that boring and exhausting? Well, for me it was neither. During the walk the scenery and the beach changed quite a few times. Once I was walking close to mountains, then amongst dunes, there were tons of stones and shells along the beach, I had to cross some small creeks, found a dead dolphin rotting away, watched some Kite surfers, had my lunch break and enjoyed the sunshine after the rain of yesterday. Of course the wind was there as well, but today we were back to just windy. :) The sand of the beach was mostly pretty hard. That hard, that cars could drive on there without any problem. The other day I even saw a girl riding a bicycle along the beach. :) As you can imagine it made for an easygoing walk. Once I left Fermoyle Beach behind, beautiful Scraggane Bay awaited me. Taking a short break to adore the beauty of the little bay, I was happy with the decision that I took in the morning. Mount Brandon was in sight the whole day and the only thing that changed there was the color of the clouds. :) The way then led through Fahamore and to the east coast, which I had to follow for a couple kilometers. In the trail description it said that I had to hike along another beach, but if this was a beach then it's amongst the worst I've ever seen. Full of stones, seaweed and all kind of rubbish, it was neither nice to look nor walk at. I therefore steered a bit inland and walked on grass behind the dunes. When this part was finally over, the trail took me along the main road for 10 minutes before I reached the last beach of today. Castlegregory Beach is the beach of the town itself and that's where I ended up about 20 minutes later. Right on time to see Liverpool winning against Chelsea in the local pub and guesthouse. :) Today was a good day and it ended with another well earned rest.
Day 8: Castlegregory to Tralee
The day off yesterday was a good decision, as the weather was, to use the word of the locals, wild. So when I got up this morning it was the calm after the storm and the sun was shining. I left my guesthouse early to be back in Tralee not too late. Of course I also wasn't disappointed today and walked on tarmac again until I reached the last beach that I had to cross on the Dingle Way. It was a lovely day and I made good way until I reached one of those creeks again. This time there was no bridge and because of the rain yesterday there was a lot of water. I looked for the best way to cross, but every way over seemed to be bound to get wet feet. Only at one end there were a couple stones and it looked like I could make it over unscathed. So I stepped carefully on the first stone, then on the second and splash.. I was in the water. The stone was loose and as soon as I stepped on it I lost my balance and tumbled into the water. Yeah, great.. Well, it could have been worse. Lucky me, the sun was shining. Lucky me it was fresh water and not salt water. And lucky me all my electronic stuff in my pockets didn't get wet even though I was in the water up to my thigh with my left leg. So the next couple kilometers weren't that much fun as it was rather a hassle to walk with soaking wet shoes and pants. But the longer I walked the more my stuff started to dry. Reaching Camp again, I took a short cut and was soon back on the part I have walked on the first day already. As I knew what was coming, I kept a steady pace and used my breaks to dry my clothes. During lunch break I even stripped down and laid my clothes out to dry. :) That was a good move and when I was back on that long stretch with the same view, my stuff was almost dry again. The difference on the way back wasn't only the weather, it was also myself. The backpack was not hurting anymore and the legs were much stronger than a week before. So Tralee came closer really fast and soon I was on the descent again. Walking through Blennerville once more and making my way back along the canal into Tralee, it was a good feeling to have completed the whole Dingle Way. Even though I was complaining about the tarmac a lot, I enjoyed the walk very much and a "victory" dinner and beer was the perfect ending to this hike. :)
Highlights of the Dingle Way: the diversity of the hike, the part up and down along Mount Brandon and the many beaches I had to pass
This hike is for you if:
- you want to do a long distance hike without using a tent
- this is your first long distance hike ever
- you want to experience all the diversity that Ireland has to offer in one hike
- you don't mind to plan and book ahead
This hike is not for you if:
- you don't want to walk over 20 kilometers per day
- you mind walking on tarmac a lot
- you're looking for remoteness
If you plan to walk the Dingle Way by yourself, here are some thoughts and suggestions. As mentioned above already, accommodation is rather scarce and will be fully booked in high season. In low season there is plenty of space, but not everyone will already be open. So whenever you go it's advisable to book ahead. At least call in the morning or send an e-mail the evening before to make sure that the people know that you're coming. A good source for accommodation is either www.dingleway.com, Trip Advisor or the tourist information in Tralee. Not every place is right along the Dingle Way, so calculate this in your planning as well if you're staying somewhere outside, or you're in for an awkward surprise. Payment is usually in cash as many are not offering a payment by card, so make sure you have enough money with you. ATM's can be found in the bigger places like Dingle and Castlegregory. If you want to safe some money there are hostels everywhere but Camp. Don't be uncertain because they're not mentioned anywhere, they actually exist. :) To be sure here are the places with hostels: Annascaul, Dingle, Dunquin, Ballydavid, Cloghane and Castlegregory. To me it seemed that there weren't that many spots to camp in the wild. Nevertheless, I met two other hikers that slept in the tent most of the time along the way. If you plan to go by tent, make sure you ask the owner of the land for permission, if you can't find a suitable spot somewhere beyond all the farming land. The trail is marked very well overall, except some sections along the beach. Take a map with you and you'll be fine during those parts as the way to go is pretty obvious. Also note that sometimes the official distance of the stages weren't that accurate and I had to walk more than anticipated. All in all the Dingle Way is a beautiful long distance hike with a lot of different scenery. If you don't mind the tarmac and book your overnight stays ahead you will be in for a good time!
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