Ireland - Ring of Kerry
In May 2025 I rode from London to County Kerry in Ireland to ride the Ring of Kerry and the Skellig Ring.
Calimoto route for the Ring of Kerry and Skellig Ring.
My route took me from London up to Holyhead in Wales to catch the Stena Line ferry to Dublin. leaving really early on the Monday morning I was hoping to miss a lot of the rush hour traffic and also not have to rush too much, giving me enough time to stop on the way for breaks and food. I was booked on the 15:50 ferry, arriving in Dublin at 19:20 and I had a hotel booked that night in Dublin on 20 minutes from the port.
After arriving in Dublin I made straight for the hotel, checked in, had a shower, and immediately went down for dinner and a pint of Guinness. If I’d stayed in my room for a while I’m fairly sure I’d have fallen asleep and I didn’t want to miss the chance to have some food, even though I had breakfast booked for the morning too. So I went down to the bar and had a burger and a pint and planned some of my routes over the next couple of days.
This was sadly going to be a short trip to Ireland this time so I planned to head down to County Kerry pretty quickly, using the motorways which were largely quiet and really nice. The change from the chaos of English roads was lovely and I made good time.
I’d decided to head to Cork then take the southern route via Clonakilty, Skibbereen, and then Bantry so I could pick up the R572 along the coast and then the Healy Pass up to the campsite I’d booked. The Healy Pass is absolutely stunning and I was really glad to have gone via this route. Some amazing switchbacks laced up the hillside and really reminded me of the Galibier Pass in France!
Shortly I arrived at Creveen Lodge campsite, a small and quiet site and absolutely just what I love! I pulled in and as I set up my tent a neighbour came over to ask if I wanted a cup of tea, as I was by myself, which was lovely. As we chatted over a brew it turned out that we knew somebody in common which was fun to find out!
Later some bikepackers arrived too, including a rider from France named Alex and it was nice to chat and have the company.
The next day I had a full day to explore the Ring of Kerry and the Skellig Ring. The weather was absolutely lovely but there was a little bit of rain forecast in the afternoon so I wanted to head out early to avoid as much as possible. It turned out that there were really only a couple of showers so nothing to worry about.
Following Rob Slade’s advice in Adventure Bike Rider I headed up to Moll’s Gap then cut over to Sneem, then dropping down onto the coastal route.
Heading down to the Skellig Ring too, I stopped to take a photo of Skellig Michael, famous as the location of the planet Ahch-To in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). The island also was used as a location for the final scene in Werner Herzog’s Heart of Glass (1976).
The word “Skellig” derives from the old Irish word sceillec, which translates as “small or steep area of rock”, and which may be of Old Norse origin, from the word skellingar (“the resounding ones”). One day I have to take a boat trip out there though!
After a stop here I wanted to get some food although sadly the Driftwood Surf Café wasn’t open that day. To visit here is another reason to go back though!
I then headed up the switchbacks towards the Tobairin Holy Well and on towards Valentia Island where I could cross via a bridge then leave the island from the other end via a regular ferry.
I stopped in Knightstown to grab some snacks from the local grocery store there and hopped on the ferry.
The route by this point, down the N70, was pretty fast and flowing and soon enough I arrived at Killarney where I passed The Black Sheep Hostel which had a lovely seating area and served coffee so I jumped at the chance for a snack and stopped to have a brownie and a coffee, listening to the ambient trance soundtrack. Apparently they also have a vegetable garden too.
Heading back via the other end of The Healy Pass I made my way back to the campsite for dinner. There are a couple of restaurants nearby but no food shops so I brought some food with me, although nothing fancy.
Spending the last night in the campsite we were treated by a beautiful sunset and I slept like a log!
The next day I headed directly for Dublin as I wanted to arrive early enough to have a look around and have another couple of pints of Guinness! I checked into the same hotel and then headed out to a local rock pub and somehow managed to drink three pints in quick succession! I blame dehydration from the beautiful weather we were having…
After dinner, and another pint, I headed to bed and again slept like a log before getting up for breakfast and catching the ferry back to Wales.
What a trip! I cannot wait to go back again!
