GREAT DRIVES - KILLORGLIN TO LOUGH CLOON:TODAY'S ROUTE is for adventurous drivers – drivers who don't mind the occasional narrow single-track road, or sharp rises and falls, or even an occasional drop close to one side of the road.
Still with me? Good, because this route promises some of the best scenery in Kerry, and that is quite a claim.
We left the historic town of Killorglin heading south, and about a kilometre outside the town, at Farrantoreen, we took the turn to the right signposted for Lough Caragh.
After about 7km, we continued straight across a six-road junction and, shortly afterwards, Lough Caragh came into view.
For several kilometres the road hugs the shore of the lake and after about a kilometre there is a narrow road worthy of a diversion to the left. This road is a cul de sac but leads to a parking area with views across the lake. Returning to our original route, the road leaves the lake and turns southeast for a while before coming to a junction at Oolagh East.
We now turn southwest and continue on the road for about 10km, at first climbing and then coming downhill to the narrow crossroads at the Rowan Tree Inn.
There is another diversion worth taking about 2km from where we joined this road. It’s a turn to the right and, once again, it’s a cul de sac, but I also must warn you that this road is narrow and for part of its distance has an unprotected drop running beside its edge. If you feel up to it, be very careful.
This road runs past a point that provides a magnificent view over Lough Caragh and provides a clear indication of why this area – known locally as the Kerry Highlands – is quite unexpectedly different to the more usual Kerry landscape.
Returning to our route, continue through this crossroads for another 2km before coming to another crossroads. Proceed across this crossroads for another kilometre before turning left at the signpost for Cloon Lough. From here follow the signposts for Cloon Lough, which is about 11km further along the road.
From here to Cloon Lough the landscape is a contrast to that which looked down on Caragh Lough, being much more of a mountain landscape.
As Lough Cloon swings into view with its backdrop of rugged mountains dropping down to its western and eastern shores, the picture of a mountain landscape is complete.
Off the tourist trail and, one feels, not too often visited by tourists, Cloon Lough is a tranquil paradise with abundant wildlife along its shores. Within minutes of arriving there I had spotted three heron together and could hear in the clear still air sheep being rounded up on the slopes of the mountain (Knocknacrusha, 449m) across the water.
This is an exploration of two quite different but linked landscapes – one of great beauty and the other whose beauty lies chiefly in its solitude.
If you can manage to drive them on a beautiful summer’s day as I did – and yes, they do seem to have such days in Kerry – then you will be enthralled by what you find. I am already planning my return.