Inch-to-Annascaul

From Inch, we started heading up a path overlooking the beach:

 And soon, we were surrounded by resplendent greenery:

Interestingly, we seemed to be on both the Dingle Way and Kerry Camino at one point. 

I'd never heard of the Kerry Camino before, but I've just read that it is a pilgrimage route from Tralee to Dingle, a route commonly associated with St. Brendan in the 6th century.

The Kerry Camino is made up of three sections:

 

1. From St. John's church in Tralee, through Blennerville with its distinct windmill, to the hamlet of Camp.

2. From Camp to the big village of Annascaul (with Tom Crean's pub).

3. Annascaul to Dingle.

 

Anyway, our own path was from Inch to Annascaul to lunch at the wonderful Tom Crean pub there. 

Before reaching the Tom Crean pub, we saw a statue and memorial devoted to the great man:

Have just read about how Tom Crean, born near Annascaul in 1877, heroically served on three incredibly dangerous Antarctic expeditions: Discovery (1901-1904); Terra Nova (1910-1913) with Captain Scott; and Endurance (1914-1916) with Ernest Shackleton. 

About Tom Crean's life and Antarctic endeavors, the website below gives a decent summary:

https://www.tomcreanshow.com/about/

After returning to Britain and serving out the remaining time of the 1st World War, Crean returned to Ireland in 1919 where he married an Annascaul girl, had three daughters, and stayed in Annascaul running a pub until his death in 1938. 

The Tom Crean pub, the South Pole Inn, brightly coloured white and orange outside:

Was full of interesting pictures from Crean's adventurous life:

We saw American and British tourists buying t-shirts and lots of other souvenirs.

There was a nice cosy atmosphere in the pub:

And the food was second to none:

Can't remember how much the double beefburger and chips was above, but it was absolutely delicious, worth every penny.

Outside the pub, there was a nice tranquil atmosphere, with a statue of Our Lady at the side of the road:

And a river passing by:

After washing the burger down with a couple of pints, it was a few-mile stroll back to Inch, with the wonderful beach eventually coming back into sight:

From the view below, Inch Beach really did look the perfect setting for a horse-race:

And my friend told me for the umpteenth time that this is where the famous horse-race scene from Ryan's Daughter was filmed.

Yeah, with the rucksacks off, left behind with the tents, this was a peach of a small trip, a comfortable walk in gentle hills, a nice day out.