GETTING BACK TO NATURE

In every direction Kenmare has something special to reveal. Wildlife abounds and there is no better place to start than within the town itself. A stroll along the banks of the River Finnihy reveals our native speckled trout – Breac Rua (brown trout), wildflowers including primrose, St. Patrick’s Cabbage (Saxifrage) and as the sound of the Cuckoo fills the air, the cuckoo flower (Lady’s Smock) opens its petals. Stay still and you will be greeted by the fluttering of mating Orange-tip butterflies. 

A walk to the pier will reveal many of the wild birds that visit the area on an annual basis. During spring the arrival of terns to the bay, adds a focal point to your experience.  Watch out for common and sandwich terns from April onwards. Listen for their high pitched screeches. Watch cormorants and shags standing on rocks, spreading their wings to dry wet feathers. Look out for otters scurrying along the seaweed covered mudflats, as they search for crustaceans including shore crabs.   

Listen to the songs of warblers, blackcaps and chiffchaffs as you  traverse the woodlands of Reenagross. Stroll though these semi-natural woodlands with their towering conifers and beautiful broad-leaf deciduous trees, until your reach the  salt marsh and rocky shoreline. Here brown seaweeds  abound and just above the high-tide mark, look our for seapinks (Thrift), with their beautiful pale pink flower heads. 

At 50 kilometers long, Kenmare Bay is straddled by the Iveragh Peninsula to the North and the Beara Peninsula to the south. A boat trip to see the bay in its  natural surroundings, is a must do activity for anyone considering exploring this natural treasure. Close up encounters with Harbour (Common) Seals is guaranteed and if you are lucky enough, a real treat awaits in the form of our re-introduced Sea Eagles. These majestic birds, once common here, were re-introduced to the area in the past decade, and seeing them in flight is an awesome sight and not to be missed.

Your option to travel either the Beara or the Iveragh Peninsula will be rewarded with amazing vistas including towering 370+ million year old mountains, gorgeous scenery and spectacular coastal stretches. 

For day trippers, white sandy beaches await, and the area’s association with past cultures can be explored by visiting the many archaeological sites, dotted along the way. Copper mining dating back to 4,400 years ago and associated works can be visited. Boat trips around the Bay’s outer Islands is a great way to see seabirds as is the possibility of encountering the second largest fish in the world  the Basking Shark, as well as whale and dolphin species.

Vincent Hyland