Before leaving to complete the Ring of Kerry we had another walk around Kenmare. the shortcut into town from our hotel is along a very short stretch of the Kerry Way a 200km long distance walk. Cromwell’s Bridge is a little further downstream from the current bridge over the Finnish River. Oliver Cromwell never visited the town although he gifted the whole area to the scientist Sir Thomas Petty in part payment for his mapping of Ireland. The name is thought to be a corruption of an Irish word. It was a single-arch rubble-stone stilted bridge built about 1700. The parapets were removed around 1900 and visitors are advised not to attempt to cross it as it is probably unsafe.

We purchased a couple of books in the local bookshop and after a coffee it was time to drive the last stretch of the Ring of Kerry: the portion between Kenmare and Killarney. The road first winds up to the Molls Gap, a pass named after Moll Kissane, who ran a shebeen (an unlicenced public house) in the 1820s, while the road was under construction. The summit is 262m and there are views of the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks mountains.

There is a shop here and it is a popular stop off on the route. The rocks are formed of old red sandstone. Further on, the road enters Killarney National Park and arrives at Ladies View which is said to be named after Queen Victoria’s ladies in waiting. It has views over the nearby lakes. A man was selling prints and photographs from a stall and there is also a cafe 100m further on.

The road descends into Muckross where Muckross House and estate are situated. They were given to the state in 1932 and can be visited. The National Park Visitor Centre is sited here. Available from here and other places along the road into Killarney you can have a tour on a jaunting cart which is horsedrawn. There are also trips available on the lakes and many other activities available around town. We took the road towards Mallow back in County Cork as the first stage of our journey to Kilkenny, the next destination on this trip. Like many towns in this area, Killarney has won a ‘Tidy Town’ award. Mallow is an administrative centre for the region and manufactures sugar (we did see a British Sugar tanker). It has a ruined castle which was burnt down in 1658. In the town centre, there were a number of closed shops like many towns in the UK but we had a light lunch in a cafe and continued on our journey. We reached Kilkenny around 5pm and found the hotel fairly easily. As we walked out for dinner a little later in the evening we crossed over the River Nore in the centre of the town.

On the return journey the evening lights were reflected in the water

and the castle was lit up.