Muckross

Muckross House and its extensive estate on the shores of Lough Leane were presented to the Irish nation in 1932, becoming their first National Park. It's grown a bit since then and is a popular destination for visitors from far and wide. During our week's holiday near Killarney we visited it no less than three times – once to see the Traditional Farms, once to walk beside the Lough and around Muckross Lake and once to buy ice creams and rest a while after an exhausting ascent of Torc Mountain. This post describes the lakeside walk; in the next I'll take you up the mountain.

From the large free car park it took a while for us to get our bearings, but we eventually found our way to the ruins of Muckross Friary. Like friaries and monasteries throughout Great Britain and Ireland, this one was dissolved by order of Henry VIII. It then re-established itself 71 years later, only to be finally snuffed out by Oliver Cromwell's lot in 1652.

This Yew tree in the courtyard, surrounded by well-preserved cloisters, must have been a baby when the abbey was in use. I wonder what the abbot would make of it now?

A short walk from the abbey brought us to the shores of lovely Lough Leane.

 

We were now walking along Muckross Peninsula – an ever-narrowing spit of land that separated Muckross Lake from Lough Leane.  The oak woodlands here are important remnants of forests that once dominated the Irish landscape. The writer of our Kerry Walks book, Kevin Corcoran, makes clear his enthusiasm for them:  It is hard to imagine today what a wondrous country Ireland must have originally been. Thus, it is a great delight to learn that a tiny fraction of this forest system has survived, where one can experience to some small degree the glories of the past.

Here I am beside Muckross Lake – a spot that turned out to be perfect for a picnic. Torc Mountain rises behind me.  In the next photo you can seen Brickeen Bridge, with its unusual Gothic arch spanning the meeting of lake and lough.  Crossing that takes one onto Dinish (or Dinis) Island.

 

A little further around Muckross Lake is Dinis Cottage, where they serve tasty but rather expensive refreshments. I made the mistake of not checking prices before ordering two coffees and two small slices of carrot cake, and paid €17 for my folly. That'll teach me to be content with a picnic! 

Unlike the quite footpath that we had been following, this spot was well populated with sightseers, many of whom had arrived by boat from the other end of the lake. Hardy souls that we are, we spurned the boats and continued our trek around the lake.

There are two routes back to Muckross House. One includes a near-vertical ascent of the Torc Mountain foothills on what locals call The Cardiac Steps – not, it would seem, without reason. According to our Kerry Walks book, those who survive are rewarded with spectacular views across Lough Leane before arriving at Torc Waterfall. Neither of us took much persuading to defer these pleasures to another day, when we planned to climb the mountain itself. 

And so back to Muckross House. The name intrigued me as it's hardly a pretty one.  I did my best to impart some dignity by pronouncing it Mer-cross, but the locals I spoked to were happy with Muck-ross. 

In Galic it's Mhucrois, which looks nearer to my pronunciation and means 'Peninsula of the Pigs'.  So muck might be quite near the truth after all!