Destination of the Week: Kerry, Ireland

Kerry has been making visitors' romantic dreams of Ireland come true since the eighteenth century, when the grandeur of the lakes and mountains around Killarney first came to widespread attention. Encompassing the highest range in the country, Macgillycuddy's Reeks, the scenery here is, of course, still magnificent, and the Killarney area shelters some fine, underrated architectural sights too, while the town itself has plenty of amenities and entertainment, though little soul. Most of the one million tourists who come to Kerry each year, however, stick rigidly to Iveragh Peninsula, so it's pretty easy to avoid the crowds.

The Iveragh itself measures around sixty by thirty kilometres, with plenty of tracks across its vast, rugged hinterland and coastal branch roads such as the Ring of Skellig to explore by car, bike or foot. The island of Skellig Michael off the end of the peninsula, one of the most remarkable hermitages in the world and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, remains the ultimate place to get away from it all. At the southeastern corner of the peninsula, Kenmare contrasts well with Killarney, providing some excellent accommodation, restaurants and nightlife in a trim, picturesque setting, as well as access to further scenic delights on Kerry's part of the Beara Peninsula.

Kerry's other peninsular, Dingle, experienced it's own minor visitor boom on the release of David Lean's film, Ryan's Daughter, in 1970, which pumped as much as £3 million into the local economy during a long and troubled location shoot here (including the near-drowning of star Robert Mitchum off Dunquin and the building of an entirely new village, Kirrary, on the remote slopes above). It's still nothing like as touristed as the Ring, and offers a jagged landscape of stark mountains and spectacular beaches, as especially rich heritage site of early Christian sites, and a fine, all-round base in the main settlement, Dingle town.

Despite the centuries of tourist traffic, Kerry has maintained a strong sense of independence, though perhaps doesn't shout about it as much as its neighbour, Cork. It's one of the least urbanized counties in Ireland, with a sweet, country lilt to the accent. Distinctive H-shaped goalposts are everywhere, not just on the village GAA fields but on most farms, evidence of the country's obsession with Gaelic football. The self-styled "Brazil" of the sport have won the All-Ireland County Championship far more than anyone else - 35 times and counting - and produced the finest team ever between 1975 and 1986, winning the championship eight times in those eleven years. The Dingle Peninsula, one of Ireland's strongest Gaeltacht areas, has nurtured not only great footballers, but also a fine community of musicians and the extraordinary writers of the wild Blasket Islands, who put their rich oral tradition of Irish-language storytelling to paper in the early twentieth century. The county's other most obvious concentration of literary talent has been in the flatlands of North Kerry, as celebrated in the genial market town of Listowel.

You are reading an excerpt from The Rough Guide to Ireland.

Top things to see and do:

Killarney National Park Beautiful - and popular- landscape of mountains and lakes, that can be explored by boat, bike and on foot. www.killarney.ie

The Skelligs Remote, inhospitable islands, haunt of seabirds and the ghosts of early medieval hermits.

The Kerry Way A 213-km walking route through the wild, awe-inspiring scenery of the Iveragh Peninsula. www.kerryway.net

Kenmare An agreeable base with a great selection of places to eat, sleep and drink. www.kenmare.com

The Puck Fair Bacchanalian festival in August, when Killorglin comes under the reign of a wild goat. www.puckfair.ie

The Blaskets Lonely islands off the scenic Dingle Peninsula, with an astonishingly literary heritage that's imaginatively documented in the visitor centre. 

Gallarus Oratory A unique, early Christian remnant and a graceful, evocative piece of architecture. 

Caherdaniel Hillside village with a great beach and plenty of outdoor activities.

Photo credits: glenbourne (Kerry, top) & olenka (The Skelligs) at Flickr