Ireland #6 Conor Pass

 On our way to 

Conor Pass

we came across a lovely little village with some 

beautifully colored homes with lovely flowers.

Can't pass up a chance to take some pictures,

so we stopped for a bit.

Look at these adorable little boots filled with plants

and stuck in the fence.

How cute is that?!?

I love the character of this old worn door in the 

stone wall.

Then off we went again on our adventure.

We had never been to Conor Pass before,

but Dave had read about it.

He was so nervous to drive it.

Conor Pass is the highest mountain pass in Ireland.

The pass crosses the Brandon Mountains where the 2nd  highest peak

 is Brandon Mountain at 3127 ft.

The road runs 4.5 miles rising to 1500 ft. as it winds its way to the pass.

At the pass is a parking lot where you can see some gorgeous sights

of the surrounding area.

Doesn't sound like a big deal to drive, does it?

I wish I had a picture of the road in part of the pass.

Many of the roads in Ireland are narrow, but this one is 

something else to drive.

Picture this,

You are driving a vehicle that seats 9 people

up a mountain road,

of course you are driving on the opposite side of the road

than you are used to, on the opposite side of the car.

On your left hand side there is a cliff going straight up,

on the right side is a cliff going, pretty much straight down.

The road is narrow anyway, but it gets narrower as you progress.

Then you are on this road that is barely wider than your car,

and someone is coming down toward you.

YEP that's right, there is a section that 

is 2 ways, but wide enough for only 1 car.

Luckily, the drivers in Ireland are very courteous.

There are pull overs in spots and people are wonderful about pulling over

so others can pass by.

Poor Dave was almost having a panic attack by the time we got up to the

parking area, but he did great and it was soooo worth the trip.

On one side of the road, there is more rocky terrain.

It is beautiful!

But looking out the other way!

This is a beautiful view from up at the top of the pass.

I do love taking my selfies,

You can see it was on the windy side up there, 

my hair doesn't always look this bad.

Check out that beautiful view behind Dave and Roxie!

I think Jane and Michael must have been off taking pictures

somewhere, I don't have any pictures of them at

Conor Pass.

I know they did go with Dave and climb up even higher,

hiking over rocks and fields so they could see 

the view from the highest point possible.

Then we were on our way down.

No more treacherous roads!

Going down the other side was much easier than going up.

The views were spectacular!

I love the patchwork look of the fields on the hillsides.

Some of the views are very dramatic.

Never know when you'll be seeing some cliffs.

And we never knew where we'd see Jane taking a picture.

I've seen some of her pictures and the are wonderful!

It's amazing to me, to see rolling hills with sheep grazing, 

jagged cliffs, clear beautiful water, 

wide expanses of sky all in the same place.

Then we were in search of a place to have our dinner.

We found it in Dingle at The Marina Inn.

The Flowers of the Day

We were driving along and found the most amazing 

hydrangea bushes we have ever seen.

Those orange flowers grow wild in many areas

and we'd see them all along the side of the road.

I loved the contrast of them against the hydrangeas.

That's it for today.

Next, the northern part of 

The Ring of Kerry.

Thanks for stopping by!