We were told at breakfast that most people cab to Black Water River as this would be a 40K day if we didn’t.
So we took a cab to the bridge over the river and began a walk that took us down to a trail in a beautiful forest that veered at Kenmare Bay and followed the Bay shore. We stopped at a bench to watch a lone fisherman tending to his traps out on the Bay.
After 8K or so the trail merged into the main road, N70, to Kenmare. We followed it about 1K to where the Kerry Way turned left. This appeared to be a new route and we wished we had never taken it. It just followed a road through a series of residences up the mountain and then right back down. I think we were on this road for an hour and half, maybe 7 or 8K and it just came back down to avoiding another K or so on the N70. If I was to walk again, I would not bother with this new route.
Fortunately the road then turned into a trail up into the hills through boglands. The views out over Kenmare Bay were beautiful. We passed a few day hikers from Kenmare and then were rewarded with gorgeous views down into Kenmare making for a pleasant last hour or so on the trail.
It was a Saturday night and we weren’t able to find any reasonably priced accommodation in the village so we booked into Gortamullen House which was a K or so outside of town. It was a nice spot for our last night, as it was quiet and had a cozy sitting room as well as comfortable patio furniture which we took advantage of until the late afternoon rains came.
The Kerry Way actually continues back to Killarney, but I had already walked that stretch twice and the weather forecast of heavy rains tomorrow persuaded us to schedule a cab back to Killarney around noon.
We did make time to walk into town and enjoy a final pint on The Kerry Way and enjoy a delicious roast (pork) of the day meal. So this completes the Triple Crown for me; The Beara Way, The Dingle Way, and The Kerry Way. For anybody who wishes to do one, I will write a post describing the differences.
