Red Deer and Sika Deer

Tony continues his morning runs when there is a place for him to safely do so. The Lake Hotel is ideally situated on a running/walking/biking path, which is perfect. This morning, he saw deer, which we thought to be red deer, Ireland’s only native species of deer and frequently found in Killarney National Park. But with these spotted coats, these are sika deer (Japanese) which were introduced and mate with the red deer. Sika deer keep their spots as adults. We definitely saw some non-spotted deer (probably red) in the woods this evening as we walked back from a local convenience store.

Gap of Dunloe Tour

The Lake Hotel booked us for a notable adventure known as the Gap of Dunloe tour. Our day began with a van ride from the hotel to Kate Kearney’s Cottage. The cottage is a coffee and treats shop with a bathroom house and parking lot for those driving themselves to the beginning of the path. After purchasing some drinks for the walk, we talked with a young couple from Philadelphia who were starting on the walk as well and looking over the map to see how far to go. We will end up doing the entire walk and get picked up by our van driver at Ross Castle after a boat ride, but they will have to return back to their rental car.

Walking the Gap

The weather was cooperative on our hike along the Gap of Dunloe. This is a beautiful area of Killarney National Park and the road we were walking on had to be shared with a few autos and many “jaunting cars”, which are horse-drawn carriages. These jaunting cars were a popular form of transportation throughout Ireland in the 19th Century until automobiles took over in the 20th century. This very narrow road does not lend itself to modern cars, the use of which is allowed but discouraged.

We had some sunny skies and mild temps for our 7-mile picturesque hike. There were many colorful sheep along the path. These free-roaming sheep are painted with patterns and colors unique to each farm rather than use ear tags for identification. There are some fences to help keep them separate, and we saw fences go right up the mountainsides which were definitely a lot of work to put in and maintain.

Ireland is dotted with ruins, and we saw some on this hike. Ruins are protected, and even when on private land the homeowner cannot remove them. Many people have partial cottages, farm buildings, even castle walls on their property that they have to let be.

The Black Valley

There is a remote community just past the southern end of the Gap of Dunloe. We walked past some farm homes, Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church (1955), and a school.

Lord Brandon’s Cottage

The walking journey’s end is at Lord Brandon’s Cottage. Our bus driver dropped us off at Kate’s Cottage with a picture of our boat captain with instructions to find him at Lord Brandon’s Cottage. We took our time on the walk to really enjoy the journey, so we didn’t have extra time at the cottage. Our boat captain was relieved to find us and directed us to a short walk to the Upper Lake shore.

The Boat Ride

The boat ride through three connected lakes coming out of the mountain made clear the consequences of two months with no rain. The unprecedented drought in this area has added an additional hike (through woods and pretty scenery) and a switch of boats between Muckross Lake and Lough Leane (Lough is pronounced “lock”). Some passages are very narrow and these boats are a tight fit in some places.

Our captain was quite entertaining and regaled us with stories of history, like Queen Victoria’s visit with her ladies in waiting, and his own personal time on the lake. He mentioned the drought and the problems it is causing. He also said the salmon fishing is pretty much done. He only caught one salmon last year, and none this year. There is no more commercial fishing here. There has been rain in the last couple of days, and we did experience about 10 minutes of rain while in the boat, so maybe the drought will get better.

Dinner at Harrow Killarney

The Harrow restaurant was recommended by a friend of Nancy’s, who said it was her favorite meal on her Ireland trip. As will happen, we were disappointed. The food was delicious and well plated, but the service was lousy.

Evening Sighting of Red Deer

On our way back to the hotel after dinner, we caught our first glimpse of an actual Irish Red Deer back in the woods.

The Lake Hotel Grounds

Evening strolls along paths near the hotel are a wonderful way to enjoy the lake before bed. The drought is pretty clearly seen here as well. One of our drivers mentioned seeing rocks in the lake for the first time ever and the shoreline has receded. The hotel has ruins of McCarthy Mor Castle on the lakeshore that date to the 12th century. There is a stone boat dock with these ruins and water-worn caves that are now exposed.