Hike the KERRY WAY #3 - Iconic National Trail of Ireland

The Kerry Way is one of the iconic national trails of Ireland, with a distance of 210km/130 miles and total ascent of 5,400 mt/ 17,716 feet. Completed within five and a half days we carried all our gear to enable wild camping every night. Many of the sights encounter are shared with the Ring of Kerry.
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This last video in the series, finds us leaving our wild camp near Waterville to achieve the completion within five and half days back in Killarney. Along this part of the journey we visit Caherdaniel, but rather than the direct route we take the alternative route along the coast overlooking Derrynane Bay. Next on our list is Sneem, which then finds the trail hugging the coast and looking across to the Beara Peninsula. Eventually, we land in the very busy town of Kenmare. Whilst some hikers decide to stop here, we head onwards up the hill in a northern direction to eventually gain the Windy Gap. Here either side of the gap stand the mountains of Peakeen Mountain and Knockanaguish with the Purple Mountain in the distance.
After a night of wild camping on the gap we head down the valley using stepping stones to overcome streams. Eventually we are able to turn north east and head down the Old Kenmare road. As when we started five and half days ago we pass Torc waterfall and then Muckross House. Eventually, we are walking alongside Castlelough Bay and it is here we finish our filming just 4 kilometres from Killarney, as this remaining part is just a busy major road.
Thanks for watching and I look forward to your comments.

[@andreamckay7085]

Really loved the music selection on this video. It has really helped the atmosphere

[@AmblingTrails]

Glad you enjoyed the video, cheers

[@Adventurekatie2024]

Another fantastic video! Enjoyed it throughly this evening ! The views are amazing! Hope you’re ok! X

[@AmblingTrails]

Thanks Katie, glad you enjoyed the video and the views. I’m OK 🙂

[@catherinewalks1207]

This was a beautiful walk, it's good to see you on the trails again. I'm watching it in November and already feeling nostalgic for the light - but not the midges! Ireland has more mountains somehow than I imagined.

[@AmblingTrails]

Thanks Catherine, totally agree on the light, too many walks now are that horrible overcast grey. I think that part of Ireland, the south west near the sea seems to be quite mountainous and worth exploring further, which I’m thinking of for next year. Thanks for dropping by. Cheers, Nigel

[@upupaepops80]

It was great to see some familier places. Well done Nigel! And I also had a break at Kenmare River, almost fell asleep, it was so peaceful.

[@AmblingTrails]

Glad you enjoyed it! I can relate to that feeling of inner peace and the temptation to fall asleep on this trail. Thanks for watching and I do appreciate the comment. Cheers, Nigel

[@upupaepops80]

Sorry, it was without name So Cheers, Erika (who you talked to at the campsite in Killarney)

[@AmblingTrails]

@upupaepops80 Hi Erika, so nice of you to reach out and glad to bring you happy memories of your Kerry journey. ATB Nigel

[@paulhuggan-cammack2928]

Looks stunning and very tranquil Nigel. Must have been good for your mental wellbeing 👍

[@AmblingTrails]

Thanks Paul, yes very serene and helped a lot.

[@paulhuggan-cammack2928]

@AmblingTrails very pleased to see you out and about after what must have been a very challenging time. Best wishes 🙏

[@suegillett2173]

Enjoyed all your Kerry Way videos. I did the Beara Way in 2022 after Covid. Its worth doing just for the ride on the cable car to Dursey Island and you'll probably have the island to yourself. Bere Island is interesting too. I booked it with Hillwalk Tours and stayed in B&B.s - would love to wild camp it. I'm just starting out wild camping - looking forward to doing the Wicklow and Kerry Ways after starting with the Slieve Bloom Way. Would be interested to see what gear you used for the Kerry Way and how much it weighed. Good to see you out and about again.

[@AmblingTrails]

Thanks Sue, really appreciate the insight into Beara Way. Best of luck with your chosen new adventures and welcome to wild camping. The kit I carry has not really changed that much over the last couple of years, so if you go to my channel page you will find a number of kit reviews there. However, I always keep a note of my carry weight for each trail, so I do know that my gross for the KW was 11.3kgs and the net (without food, water, gas) was 7.7kgs. I think overall this could have been a bit less as I had planned for 9 days and spending a couple of days in Dublin. Thinking on, I might do an end of year review of kit generally carried. Cheers, Nigel

[@suegillett2173]

@AmblingTrails Thanks xx

[@rykskelton2066]

Nigel, I find stiles rather quaint and charming and I actually quite like them - they are almost as rare as hen's teeth here in NZ - although the ladder style of stile is probably the least old-fashioned (and my least favourite) and I imagine 200+ of them over 5.5 days could become annoying. It's been quite a few months since you did this walk and, although you've mentioned one walk that you might do in the coming months in a reply to one of my recent comments, I'm guessing you aren't yet back on the (overnight camping) trail. Although you said in the video that you enjoyed the Kerry Way very much, you did mention the tedious (road) walking a couple of times. I find the true test of a a great trail is whether or not one would consider walking it again (even if you wouldn't have the time), so therein is the question - time permitting would you do this one again? You asked about the Beara Way. Another KZbinr I follow did it a few years back. Here's the link to their video if you find it useful - kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6O2dqChfpKBf7s Anyway, as always, another great watch. Cheers, Ryk.

[@AmblingTrails]

Hi Ryk, you guess correct, I think a few more weeks before I can face overnight camping and obviously this time of year makes it more challenging. However, I do have a couple of ideas to keep things ticking over. Yes, if I had the time I would do the Kerry Way again. Possibly I would miss Waterville and do the alternative mountain route. But I hear the Beara Way is similar but more rugged so that might be even more to my liking. Thanks for the link. Cheers, Nigel