Black Valley to Glencar
May 22, 2025
My journal notes for this day start, “I am totally wrecked!”. It was a long, hard day, but also spectacular. While the mileage was 2 miles shorter than yesterday, it took over 1.5 hours longer. When I left the hostel in the morning, I hadn’t seen anyone else walking the Kerry Way. I followed the road past several farms and eventually came to a trail. Here, I met a retired couple from Australia who were also walking the Way. A moral booster for sure! We chatted for a few minutes, then I went on ahead.
A large percentage of the Kerry Way is walking past or through fields of grazing sheep. And this is lambing season, which made it even more fun! This also means going through numerous gates or climbing over the fences on ladders. If I had a nickel for each one!
The first challenge of the day was passing over Bridia Pass. It was quite steep and rocky on the way up and even more so on the way down on the other side. The views were amazing! At the top of the pass, you could see the Curraghmore Stone Row, which consists of 3 standing stones.
After descending into Bridia Valley, it was time to climb up and over another mountain. This rest stop (left), about halfway up, was perfect with views of the valley below and Bridia Pass on the left. Climbing down the other side of the mountain was rocky and steep, which made for slow going. Eventually, came the point where you could choose to take a shorter overland route into Glencar or a flatter road route. I chose the overland trail. (The Australians had taken the road route and said it was over 2 miles of walking on a busy road.)
The trail was slow going at first, but eventually entered a beautiful, lush forest that made for easier walking. That is, until I came to a boggy meadow. The ground was a little wet leading up to some wooden boards to take you across the bog. I knew I was going to get my feet wet, but I didn’t expect my right leg to sink to my knee, causing me to fall over! So, now I was half wet with a bent trekking pole as I made my way the final half mile down the road to Glencar.
Where I stayed:
Glencar is mainly comprised of The Climber’s Inn. They offer a variety of lodging choices from bunks to private rooms. There is a B&B if you take the road option at the split that sits across from Lough Acoose (lake). I had reserved a private room on their website. They also had a washing machine so I could thankfully wash my bog-soaked clothes and shoes. There is a pub downstairs serving a variety of food (I had fish and chips) and a small store next door, although I didn’t go inside. The room was fine, albeit expensive at $105, and for some reason, the shower only had hot water. But it was nice to be clean again and rest after such a challenging day!