During my sojourn in Ireland, there was one opportunity for scouting future trails and taking the air in the mountains. The weather was so bad (indeed equivalent to the rain now beating down upon my conservatory) that there was no alternative to bundling in the car and taking off for the Misty Mountains (my parochial mythmaking for the Dingle Peninsula).
There are three trails that criss-cross through this beautiful and mournful country: the Beara Way, the Kerry Way and the Dingle Way. All of them are exceptional in terrain and landscape. All three will be walked.
My sole attempt in Ireland was a useful primer in the bogs and mountains of Kerry. Having been bought a guide: "Walks in Kerry", I flicked through the pages and selected one of reasonable challenge. Words such as "don't do it alone" and when the mountains are in mist proved irresistable. Hardest first is a foolhardy motto but I chose it. As with all such books, the time and the distance was wrong. It took four hours, not six: and the distance was 13 miles, not 9. These are mere quibbles.
The first section followed the Beara Way up minor roads and up an old track called the Esk Way to a radio transmitter. The incline was steep and the track petered out but the off-road element gave me an alluring taster for this trail. (Added to the list!) After that, there was no path: just picking your way across a ridge walk for four miles in the mist and rain. Sometimes conditions were clement, especially as you trudged down into a saddle; sometimes conditions were ferocious. I last saw my baseball cap in a howling gale sailing north on the wind whilst rain battered me. Luckily these conditions were infrequent and didn't mar an enjoyable walk too much.
The peak of the walk is 519 metres near the Priest's Leap following which you turn back down into the valley on a tarmac road (a wonderful respite) and leave the heights behind. On a sunny day, the ridge walk must give a wonderful view of Kenmare and Bantry Bays. Even in the rain, one could see glimpses of this.
The path is good experience as the ridge walk follows a fence due east for four miles. A compass is essential but it is hard to get lost. I never needed to look at an OS map, just the sketch outlined in the book. You can do worse than the Barraboy Ridge for an introduction to the Irish Mountains and bagging Barraboy Mountain (456 metres)