On the morning of July 2, after a simple breakfast of toast and tea, I departed the cozy, friendly Castle Hostel and walked just a block to St. John’s Church which I was told was the start of the Dingle Way. to my surprise and pleasure I found that the Church was the start of the Dingle Way AND The Kerry Camino , a medieval route to Dingle where one would be blessed at St. James Church before boarding a boat for La Coruña and the Irish Way to Santiago de Compostela better known as The English Way.
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It was a perfect start for a Camino junkie who is planning 4 Caminos in Spain starting at the end of this month, including the Irish/English Way.
Passing St. John’s the trail went through the beautiful gardens of Tralee Park and the beautifully flowered Rose of Tralee Garden.
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The walk out of town followed the River Lee to Blennerville and its Windmill.
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Heading up into the hills, as always, I found a good walking stick that would serve me well for the pilgrimage.
After my time in Dublin and Tralee, it was great to walk into the hills enjoying the view of the River Lee and Tralee Bay. I then came across a Kerry Camino Cross.
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There were several checkpoints where they had ink stampers for The Kerry Camino which was perfect for me as I had my Irish Camino Passport from the Irish Camino Society with me. I had gotten it for my Camino in Spain, but it seemed perfect to use it now on The Kerry Camino. On the Kerry Camino website they also suggest pilgrims are walking in the footsteps of St. Brendan.
It was a great start to The Dingle Way and I happily walked into the small village of Camp around 2PM and was warmly greeted by Kathleen Daly at her clean, cozy, and inexpensive Finglas B&B.
After cleaning up I headed over to Ashes Pub for a finely poured pint and a delicious lamb dinner. So happy to be walking again.
That overgrown path is really lovely