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An Autumnal Adventure in South West Ireland

Molly Newport
11 minutes ago
3 min read

One thing I love to do when I'm not in the studio is to go out into wild areas, hiking and spending time with friends. This trip fully encapsulated these loves with the added bonus of exploring new places, the West coast of Southern Ireland. This trip was my first visit to Ireland, it was great to see the landscape preparing for winter with its autumnal colours and wild weather.

Yellow hikers sign beside a coastal road under a blue sky with clouds, grassy cliffs in the background, creating a serene atmosphere.

This adventure was primarily a hiking trip, however, it was impossible to peel my eyes from the beautiful textures, shapes and colours. I had to bring some photographic souvenirs back to the studio.

A person in a dark coat enters a brightly lit pharmacy with a purple exterior. The street is wet, and a traffic light is visible.

As a group, we flew to Kerry and hired cars to get us to our accommodation in Killarney. I was absolutely blown away by the picturesque high street there, the only way I can describe it is like being on a film set. The shops, cafes, bars and restaurants were all immaculate and brightly coloured. Over the weekend we ventured into some of the cosiest pubs I've ever been to, we spent time chatting with (and propping up) some locals.

The hiking aim of the trip was to visit some of Irelands tallest mountains and hills, as the weather and visibility wasn't great (and had a few weather warnings) we decided to stay low in the autumnal trees and coastal routes instead, a beautiful decision that traded long distance views for botanical textures, crashing waves and well, safety

Left: Blue walking trail sign among dry, orange leaves. Right: Waves crash against rocks, distant hills and houses under a cloudy sky.

DAY 1

Our first adventure was to Killarney National Park where this area map with it's hiking routes caught my eye. I was initially drawn to reading the fun names like Purple Mountain, Devil's Punchbowl, Triangle Lake, Eagle's Nest, Ladies View and Moll's Gap. This map studying later came in handy when chatting to Maurice (the local pub's TV remote master).

Our route headed around Mucross Lake, some way up Torc Mountain and across to Torc Waterfall before heading to the botanical gardens, plant house and Abbey. This map has some beautiful wandering lines and simple fonts. I quite enjoy the little polkadot areas highlighting different terrains too.

Map of Killarney National Park, a tree in a stone courtyard, and a lakeshore with golden grass, cloudy sky, and distant mountains.

DAY 2

Our second adventure was a beautiful morning/early afternoon coastal walk starting in Smerwick, walking along the sand and coast path to Muirioch beach and then following the stunning rocky views to Ardamore.

Stone monument with faces under a blue sky, grassy cliffs by the sea, and a hand holding a black stone with holes on a sandy beach.

Later on in the afternoon we took an invigoratingly soaked walk along Clogher Head on the Dingle Peninsula (writing this over a week later and my boots are still damp...) and then went to enjoy some of the weird and wonderful pubs and shops of Dingle.

A particular shout out to Foxy John's Hardware Store (and pub). One half of the room is a bar with great drinks and a rustic aesthetic and the other half of the room is like the inside of my late grandad's shed. Beautiful. Peruse the rat poisons, screws and shower heads as you sup your delicious pint and dry off from the rain. I loved every inch of it. What a treat. (My photos didn't do it justice so I'll let your imagination enjoy that one).

Choppy teal waves crash on a rocky shoreline under a cloudy gray sky, evoking a stormy and dramatic coastal scene.

In all, a long weekend with two full days of adventuring dramatic terrains in all kinds of weather and soaking up local knowledge and stories in perfect pubs.