The Road to Killarney plus Our Bed and Breakfast

Following our short visit and lunch break in Kenmare in County Kerry, we headed north along N71 toward Killarney and our bed and breakfast for the night…

The scenery along the way wasn’t too tough on the eyes!  N71 passes through Killarney National Park with its spectacular lakes and surrounding mountains.

  

Killarney National Park, (Irish Gaelic: Pairc Naisiunta Chill Airne), was the first national park in Ireland.  It was created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State in 1932.  Since then the park has been expanded and it now includes 25,425 acres that encompass the Lakes of Killarney, oak and yew woodlands of international importance, and the mountain peaks…

This park is slightly larger than Isle Royale National Park and just a bit smaller than the North Cascades National Park in the USA.  Ireland itself is slightly larger than the state of West Virginia.  There are 6 National Parks in Ireland protecting about 160,000 acres.

Spectacular!  FYI...Killarney National Park has the only red deer herd on mainland Ireland as well as the most extensive covering of native forest remaining in Ireland.  The park is a designated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Can you imagine owning this land?!  The Muckross Estate got the ball rolling when the owner, a California mining magnate, donated it and its 11,000 acres. (It had been previously owned by Arthur Guinness who had purchased it to preserve the land) 

However, imagine this… The Earl of Kenmare’s estate, which made up the balance of the park’s acreage, once owned 91,000 acres in County Kerry, 22,000 acres in County Cork and 4,000 acres in County Limerick!  In total, that’s more than 4 times the acreage of Killarney National Park… It must have been nice to be the Earl!

Learn more about Killarney National Park by visiting their website at http://www.killarneynationalpark.ie/.

…just ‘another castle ruin’ along N71, the road to Killarney!   The site was posted “Private Property – No Trespassing”.  While I found other photos of these ruins on line, I couldn’t identify the castle.  I did discover that there are 25 castles and ruin sites just in County Kerry!

At one point along N71 before we reached Killarney, we passed through a short tunnel hewn out of the rock with no visible enhancements for safety’s sake.  The tunnel is located at a pass called Moll’s Gap.  It got its name from Moll Kissane, a woman who ran a ‘sibin’ in the area, (unlicensed public house), during the time the road was being built in the 1820s…

…and then we were on the outskirts of Killarney.  Laurie was elated to be greeted by the sight of horse drawn carts as we pulled into town. (Although she does worry about the quality of care given to horses serving in a capacity like this)  

This was our overnight destination in Killarney.  The Killarney Lodge Guesthouse has the major advantage of being just a short walk from the center of town.  As you can see, it is a handsome and well maintained property. 

Killarney Lodge was built in 1996.  It’s open from March to October and it’s quite large, with 16 guest rooms with ensuite bathrooms.  Other than our departure hotels in Edinburgh Scotland and our arrival and departure hotels in Ireland, this was the largest facility that we stayed at…   

The rooms at Killarney Lodge Guesthouse are indeed quite spacious.  That is one advantage that a relatively new structure offers.  This bed and breakfast is surrounded by expansive and attractive gardens and they provide ample parking for guests.  

This was our bathroom at Killarney Lodge.  It was spotless as was the entire bed and breakfast.  I was once again challenged by the height of the bathtub when entering and exiting for my shower… It was an inconvenience requiring extra care at many of our bed and breakfast stays in both Scotland and Ireland.

This is one of the sitting rooms/public areas at Killarney Lodge.

 

In addition to easy access to Killarney town center, the Lodge is located just a short stroll from Knockreen Park…which is apparently a section of the Killarney National Park.  In addition, should one have the urge, guests have access to the leisure facilities at the Killarney Park Hotel which is just a 3 minute walk from the Lodge.

This is the breakfast room at Killarney Lodge Guesthouse.  Our table was by the window at the right… As you can see, the room was bright and airy.  I’m not sure that the gentleman at the left wanted his photo taken… The group was on a golf outing.  The buffet to the left included a breakfast essential for me…a bottle of Tabasco!

I didn’t take photos of everyone’s breakfast as I’ve published so many of the same offerings in previous posts.  This was my breakfast of poached eggs on toast accompanied by Irish bacon.  I added Tabasco as usual…

Killarney Lodge is a professional operation…very nicely done.  We enjoyed our stay as short as it was.  At 140E/$168.00 per night it was pricy in comparison to most of our other stays in Ireland.  However, given its central location in Killarney and the fact that this is a tourist town, the price is reasonable.  To learn more and to view some quality photos of this bed and breakfast, just go to www.killarneylodge.ie.

My next post from Ireland will feature a castle and a candy store! 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave