An avrò as a tourist... Valentia Island

While in Kerry, we decided to do a day trip, been a tourist for a day. It was on a rather bleak day with the cloud rising while we were at Mass offering a bit of hope for the adventure. 

This would be the most tourism, directed tourism in a sense that we did. A day adventure to Valentia Island. 

Valentia, off the South West coast of Kerry, is an island of great beauty and contrast. It is joined to the mainland by bridge via the Portage Channel in 1971. Though joined to the mainland, however, it is far from an extension to it - Valentia, a haven to seafarers marked on the earliest maps of Europe, has one of the strongest identities of all Irish Islands. 

When at our B & B we were given a handout of the island - a map. It says…. 

Follow the Vikings… 

Even the vikings hadn’t the heart to plunder the place when they called a thousand years ago. They decided that Valentia was just too special. It’s beautifully preserved, with its wonderful pre-Christian remains, famous grotto, colourful flora and fauna. And friendly people too. Just a five minute trip from the mainland - not by long boat but by ferryboat. 

With a write up like this how can one not adventure there… so that is what we did one mid-afternoon when the mist was out at sea slowly creeping in. 

Originally known as ‘‘Oileán Dairbhre’ (Island of the Oaks),Valentia boasts both dramatic cliffs and lush vegetation. It offers an Anglo-Irish feel in the stately buildings and cultured restaurants of Kinghtstown, but tempers that with an unadulterated wildness, a tattered coast, mouth-watering views of Skelligs and a myriad of adventure sports. 

The island while small in size (12km x 5km) contains a number of interesting sites which when combined with the location of the island and the unique identity of the locals, makes it well worth the day adventure. 

Valentia is synonymous with communication. It was here, in 1858, that the first terminal for the Atlantic Telegraph was stationed. Today there is a stone with the information to mark the point. I think the buildings have been made into apartments from memory. 

Our first port of call was to the Valentia Island Skellig Experience Centre. 

This visitors centre is designed to replicate the Skellig Island experience interpreting the monastery, seabirds, lighthouses and underwater life of those islands 13km offshore. For those who do not know what the Skellig is, I’ll write a paragraph to give insight. 

Image credit to snyar

Skellig Islands is a Unesco World Heritage Site sitting 8 miles (13km) out from the village of Portage in County Kerry. It is only accessible by boat and even then the elements of nature will depict if people are able to get onto the island. 

Of the two islands, the jagged, pointed Skellig Michael (Sceilig Mhichil) is of particular significant religious and historical relevance. The island is referenced in history as early as 1400MC, and also appears in Irish legend. A story originating in approx 200AD tells of Daire Domhain (King of the World) preparing here before an epic battle with the warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill. (Finn McCool) and the Fianna army. 

Today though, apart from this Irish legend, what sets Skellig Michael apart is the keyhole view it offers into the lives of an isolated and storm-lashed community of monks. 

Image credit to Irish Times.

The Monastic settlements, evidenced by the stone beehive huts (clochain in Irish) at the island’s summit, are believed to date back to 6th century. The monks establish by hand craving steps that gave access to the water for fishing, hunting. The rock surface has no grown anywhere making it very tough conditions for survival. What really is remarkable though for me, is that the monks didn’t just build one set of 600 steps, they built on three sides of the rock. If you look at the clochain on the island which would have been built in 6th century and how they are intact, think of the stairs. There was a lot of work for the monks to do while they retreated to pray, spend time in the highs of the clouds with their God. 

Image credit to Irish Times. 

It would be an unparalleled experience to get close to the summit location, been 714 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. There is no modern altering to the path that so many tourist adventure to get close to this unique slice of history. Personally, Im not sure if mentally I would be able to climb the staircase and be so exposed and vulnerable to mother nature. Given that I have done all my Irish travel in ballet flats the pure presenting of the notion was rather dismissed with no entertaining it!!!

After our Skellig experience we continue to travel around the whole island. It was an odd kind of day weather wise, after four days travelling, meeting people, exploring I felt a cloud that was very low seep into me. It was a rather silent drive around the island, not many moments embraced to take photos. Sometimes I think that as locals we forget when showing another of the newest of the sight that is before us. 

We did however adventure down to the Glanlearn Estate, built in 1775 as a linen mill, boasts 50 acres of sub-tropical gardens that thrive in the relatively balmy climate. We entered into the garden through a very narrow road hoping not to meet anyone coming the other way. When arrived were rather disappointed by what we were greeted with. It would be easy to assume that the gardens have been neglected a little. Not a soul in sight, and rather empty air as the mist started to drop down we decided to not stay and continue on our exploring. 

After this we went to the Grotto in the Slate Quarry. The Slate Quarry was first opened in 1819 by the Knight of Kerry. The slates were used to make benches, sundials and tables and also on the roof of the British House of Commons Westminster. It was exported to Bahia in South America on the San Salvador Railway station in 1860. A rock fall closed the quarry in 1910 but was reopened in 1998 by three local businessmen under the title Valentia Slate Ltd offering work for some locals. Today it is closed once again. At the entrance there is statues of Our Lady and Bernadette placed over the 100 feet quarry entrance in 1954. Mass is sometimes said here, especially on our lady feast days. 

When we visited looking up to Mary, there was mountain water pouring from the rain and it had a beautiful peacefulness about it. The water hit the lower rocks with an echo and enhancing the tender calming sound. 

   

We left the grotto and I asked B to pull over so could see the landscape of the other side of the island. I took a shot just before the mist moved it - it moves with great pace. I was taken by the beauty, the ruff ness that seems so present with the roars of the ocean hitting against the lower cliff fronts and roads chipped stones. There still was beauty everywhere we journey to, on a sunny day Im certain that the island would come alive, I guess this just added to the atmosphere and adventure for us.