In i dimman - runt den irländska halvön Dingle

Now we've driven around the Dingle Peninsula on the west coast of Ireland. And no, we haven't always nice weather in Ireland, although you might think so. The sun is often shining, but when we drove around Dingle, it was a dense milk-white fog, with some rain in between. Today we can tell you about Irish fog, narrow road encounters, colourful towns, a minimal church and an intriguing language.

Table of contents

Around the Dingle Peninsula

If you are wondering where we took the ferry in previous post - it was between Killimer and Tarbert, to get south from Galway without too many detours. Our destination was the Dingle peninsula!

We started our visit to the peninsula with a night at the campsite Green Acres Caravan and Camping Park. Here it was almost full due to the combination of beautiful weather (the day before!) and "bank holiday". But we got a place, and we also got a warm welcome from the nice owner.

Halvön Dingle på Irland — We started at the Green Acres Caravan and Camping Park and drove around the Dingle Peninsula.

Dingle camping vid strand — Nice beach at Green Acres Caravan and Camping Park

Into the fog!

We have had mostly good weather here in Ireland. Sure it rains sometimes, but most of the time it passes quickly and turns into sunshine. This day, however, the fog was stubborn! We were travelling on narrow roads along high mountains, and we think that the view could be fantastic. Unfortunately, we did not see much more than milky white fog. If nothing else, we had a pretty exciting drive!

Möte i dimma — Meeting in the fog again ...

READ MORE: Things to do in Ireland and Irish attractions
READ MORE: Ring of Kerry - a classic road trip in Ireland

The colourful town of Dingle

On the Dingle peninsula is the town of Dingle (An Daingean in Irish). This city is, like many other Irish cities, very colourful. Now in the fog it felt extra nice to get some colour in the photos! In this small town, the atmosphere was also good, with plenty of restaurants and boat trips for dolphin watching.

Irland Dingle — We drive into the town of Dingle on the Dingle Peninsula

Dingle town — Plenty of hotels and restaurants in Dingle

Ancient monuments from a bygone era

The great thing about driving around the Dingle Peninsula is that you can just everywhere see ancient monuments from the past. People must have lived here a very long time ago, because you can find Iron Age villages, rune stones and early Christian chapels.

Perhaps the most interesting sight is the small church of Gallarus Oratory, which dates back to the 6th or 7th century. This must be the smallest church we have ever seen! Cute, isn't it? In fact, the stones are laid with impressive precision, resulting in not only neat edges but also perfect drainage and the right amount of light.

Kyrka Dingle — Peter at the small church of Gallarus Oratory

READ MORE: Horse riding in Ireland - Irish horses in Kerry
READ MORE: Killarney National Park - and the town of Killarney

The Irish language

Did you know that Ireland has its own language? We're not talking about the lovely Irish dialect of English, but the unique language known as Irish (or Irish), which is a Celtic language in the Gaelic group.

The language is an official language in Ireland and is taught in all schools. According to Wikipedia, around 72,000 speakers use the language every day. We have seen signs in the language throughout the trip, but here on the west coast it is particularly striking. There are sometimes only signs in Irish. So, what does the language look like?

Skyltar Irland — Signs with place names in Irish

Fler skyltar med irländska ortnamn — More signs with place names in Irish

Iriska — Here you can see a full text in Irish (information sign about the Gallarus Oratory church)

More on the Dingle Peninsula?

What we saw on the Dingle peninsula was (of course) lots of sheep and lambs, as well as a really cool beach that sticks out like a big tongue from the peninsula. In good weather, it is certainly even more beautiful here, but we are still satisfied with our visit. Now we have moved on to new adventures!

Lamm Dingle — Sweet lambs on the Dingle peninsula

Strand Dingle — The beautiful Inch Beach, which protrudes from the Dingle peninsula like a tongue in cheek.

24 Comments

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Cathinka - On the move! says:

You have really made me want to go to Ireland!!!

10 May 2018 - 7:41

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Great if we can inspire! Ireland is a great country to travel around! 🙂
  
  10 May 2018 - 8:51
  
Matts Torebring says:

You are wise to travel in a well adapted motorhome in the fog and these small roads. Inspiring to see nature.

10 May 2018 - 8:18

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  We see quite a lot of normal sized (and some extra large) motorhomes, but we think a small motorhome is probably the best fit here!
  
  10 May 2018 - 8:53
  
Ama de casa says:

Ooo... Crowded mountain roads are actually even worse than crowded alleys... 😉.

So you are in the neighbourhood of the Rain of Kerry now? Then I understand the weather... 😀.

Have a wonderful trip and a nice Ascension Day!

10 May 2018 - 9:50

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  "Rain of Kerry", haha, it was fun! 😉 There will be pictures from there soon!
  
  10 May 2018 - 10:08
  
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

Driving a motorhome, or for that matter a car, on those roads in windy traffic + fog requires strong nerves.
What a wonderfully colourful town Dingle seems to be!
Ireland is undeniably attractive.

10 May 2018 - 10:14

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Yes, hehe, luckily Peter has strong nerves 😉 He finds left-hand traffic a bit tricky, but it's getting better and better 😉.
  
  10 May 2018 - 15:02
  
Anette says:

Wow, wow, wow!!!
Drive carefully and keep your fog lights on ?

10 May 2018 - 11:40

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  We drive gently, and slowly most of the time 🙂 ðŸ™'
  
  10 May 2018 - 15:03
  
Liniz Travel says:

Omg the roads..... look a bit scary!

Hope you have a great time hugs

10 May 2018 - 13:10

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  You have to drive slowly and carefully 🙂
  
  10 May 2018 - 15:06
  
Veiken says:

I am following your journey and remember.... I have not been to all the places you visit, but some I recognise. We found out that the number of sheep has dropped drastically in recent years because EU support for sheep farming has been reduced and in many places completely cancelled.

10 May 2018 - 15:17

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Nice that you recognise several of the places! Sad if there are fewer sheep. However, we think we see a crazy amount of sheep 😉.
  
  10 May 2018 - 21:34
  
Ditte says:

Really inspiring text and pictures and just the mixture of both weather and nature gives that "little extra". Ireland is definitely on the list but it will probably be with a rental car, B&B and the like. Keep it up! Great fun to follow your journey.

10 May 2018 - 16:11

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  Car hire in combination with B&B probably works just fine here in Ireland! 🙂
  
  10 May 2018 - 21:35
  
Steel city anna says:

How wonderful you have it, heavenly scary with the fog just!

10 May 2018 - 20:58

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  As long as you drive slowly and carefully, you'll be fine!
  
  10 May 2018 - 21:35
  
BP says:

Well, I had guessed wrong about where you were going. But no matter. Ending up in colourful Dingle (the name fits perfectly with how the town looks) is right up my alley. Love it!
Fog is a common occurrence in the UK... It's a good thing you have such a small motorhome given the roads and visibility.
The church isn't even a chapel, but it's fun to see. And it's Catholic, of course!
Irish resembles Icelandic optically, when you look at the signs. Perhaps it's an illusion;-)

10 May 2018 - 22:53

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  A small motorhome is practical and feels just right here in Ireland! That Irish reminds me of Icelandic is probably just an illusion 😉 One similarity I can see is that both languages use accents! (But probably in completely different ways.) The languages are not at all related and do not really resemble each other. Icelandic is, however, related to Swedish 🙂
  
  12 May 2018 - 7:39
  
Lena in Wales says:

Wow, that's where the fog came in!
I have only been to Dingle a few times. Not all bus companies want to go there because of the narrow roads and the buses are just getting longer and longer. But it is nice there!

12 May 2018 - 10:55

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  I understand that it can be a bit tricky for the buses! We were glad that we had a tiny camper van 😉.
  
  16 May 2018 - 23:00
  
Elisabeth says:

Cosy little roads. Would certainly have been very nice without the fog. The fog awakens the imagination and you can understand how some stories come about when the imagination is given free rein.

16 May 2018 - 21:37

- Comment by post author
  
  Helena says:
  
  The fog was a bit fanciful in its own way! But without fog, it's probably very beautiful 🙂.
  
  16 May 2018 - 23:00

Into the fog - around the Irish Dingle Peninsula

Around the Dingle Peninsula

Into the fog!

The colourful town of Dingle

Ancient monuments from a bygone era

The Irish language

More on the Dingle Peninsula?

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24 Comments

Cathinka - On the move! says:

Helena says:

Matts Torebring says:

Helena says:

Ama de casa says:

Helena says:

Britt-Marie Lundgren says:

Helena says:

Anette says:

Helena says:

Liniz Travel says:

Helena says:

Veiken says:

Helena says:

Ditte says:

Helena says:

Steel city anna says:

Helena says:

BP says:

Helena says:

Lena in Wales says:

Helena says:

Elisabeth says:

Helena says:

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