After walking the Camino Frances in 2016 we have really been bitten by the long distance walking bug.  We loved the Camino and northern Spain so much we intend to return in 2018, if our bodies are still in working order.

In the meantime, in 2017, we intend to do some walking in Ireland. In the southwest of Ireland we are going to walk three Way-marked Trails on the peninsulars that stick out into the Atlantic Ocean : The Dingle Way, The Kerry Way and The Beara Way.

So why go to Ireland? Well, Barbara toured there with her sister in 2014 and thought it was very beautiful. The forebears of the families of both Paul’s father and mother are from Ireland and he wanted to see the land where his genes have come from. And Ireland is a small country with a big reputation.

The Dingle Way is 195km, The Kerry Way 215km and The Beara Way 162km. So a total of over 570km. A bit less than the 800km of the Camino Frances but a good stretch of the legs anyway.

We will experience windswept beaches, wild Atlantic waves pounding against rugged cliffs, emerald meadows, soaring mist shrouded mountain peaks, glinting loughs, sandy beaches, woodlands and bogs, endless green fields crisscrossed with tumbledown stone walls, medieval ruins, ring forts, wedge tombs, stone circles and standing stones, charming villages with colourful shops and pubs, working fishing ports, and of course rain, mist and sea fog.

We will walk on quiet tarmac roads, board walks, holly lined boreens, bog roads, rocky mountain tracks and of course icky, sticky mud.