Clehane and Mt Brandon

We spent four nights in a nice hostel in Clehane, on Brandon Bay, just below Mt Brandon. I sat out the crappy weather while Alex biked, then we did some hillwalking, including crossing the summit of Mt Brandon and walking the ridge for a bit.

Brandon Bay really fills up and empties out with the tide.

You can really see the layer of peat in the roadcuts. According to what I read in one museum, Ireland was forested until about ~3000BC, when humans cut and burned the land for wood and agriculture and this set up the conditions for the formation of peat. You can read about it here.

Lughnasa is left over for the pagan days. It usually celebrates the beginning of the harvest, but it is also an occasion for a good party.

You find bits of sheep's wool everywhere, especially on the spiky gorse.

Alex beginning the ascent of Brandon.

This sheep corpse was below a cliff band.

The summit of Brandon

Mt Brandon is riddled with quartz. We found these beauties while hiking up.

You could see Brandon from the door of our hostel.

We left Clehane and climbed over Connor Pass into Dingle.

"Let's go over Connor pass " he said. "It's only 8% grade."

At the Dingle brewery, where Tom Crean's lager is made.