Explore Ireland 2015

Slea Head Drive to Visit the Blasket Centre

Come along with us as we explore the Slea Head Drive, a circular route that begins and ends in Dingle that takes in a large number of attractions and stunning views on the western end of the peninsula. And we visit the Blasket Centre, a fascinating heritage museum honouring the unique community who lived on the remote Blasket Islands until 1953 when they were evacuated. Learn about the story of island life, subsistence fishing and farming, traditional life including modes of work and transport, home life, housing and entertainment.

The Wild Atlantic Way gives every traveller so many memorable experiences, and the Dingle Peninsula is no exception. County Kerry’s 15 km wide and 60 km long mountainous finger of land jutting into the Atlantic Ocean has supported various tribes and populations for almost 6,000 years. There is no other landscape in Western Europe with the density and variety of archaeological monuments. And getting to see it is so easy.

Slea Head Drive is a circular route beginning and ending in Dingle that takes in a large number of attractions and stunning views on the western end of the peninsula. The route is clearly labelled by road signs throughout its length.  A half-day should be set aside for the journey.

Perhaps the best tip I can offer for driving Slea Head Drive around the Dingle Peninsula is to memorize the Irish name for Dingle town, An Daingean. Dingle Peninsula is an Irish-speaking region of Ireland and all road signs are in Irish.

The region is littered with relics from both the Stone Age and Bronze Age and, more recently, the Ecclesiastical period, when Ireland was known as the “land of Saints and Scholars”, due to its high number of monasteries and religious schools.
Perched on the very edge of the cliffs are the ruins of  Dunbeg Fort.  This small and mostly grass-covered Iron Age fort has continued to tumble into the sea over the years. The sweeping views of the ocean and straight drop down to the jagged rocks are exceptional.

Go back in time to 200 BC and you’d be in the Stone Age. What you’d be living in in this area are these Beehive Huts. Using the local stone, they were stacked dry, no mortar, into these fascinating shaped buildings. Don’t think they must have been too tall.

The Blasket Islands, just off the Dingle Peninsula, are the last outposts of Europe and are a constant interest to visitors. Looking at these windswept and rugged islands, it’s hard to believe these were inhabited up to the 1950s when the population was evacuated.

We can find more about these and the Dingle Peninsula down at the Blasket Centre. The centre is a fascinating heritage and culture centre/museum, honouring the unique community who lived on the remote Blasket Islands. The centre details the community’s struggle for existence, their language and culture, folklore and customs and their extraordinary literacy legacy. The centre is one of two Kerry Signature Points on the Wild Atlantic Way and is a Wild Atlantic Way Ambassador.

For more information about the Blasket Centre, visit www.ireland.com.