National Geographic Traveller

At St Finian’s Bay,

there’s an unlikely

chocolate factory:

Skellig Chocolate.

“People ask what we’re

doing in the middle of

nowhere,” says owner,

Colm Healy, pictured.

“But to us, this is the

centre of the universe.”

Be sure to try the

hot toddy truffles,

honeycomb clusters

and chocolate shoes.

From its cafe you

can see the Skelligs.

skelligschocolate.com

�ay 3

Choice chocolate

Leaving Portmagee, I set off on the small but

perfectly formed Skellig Ring (skelligkerry.

com), an off-radar drive connecting Valentia

with Waterville via the Gaeltacht (Irish-

speaking) region around Ballinskelligs.

Forget tour buses schlepping through

Killarney National Park. The highlights here

range from Skellig views to a shrine for the

Virgin Mary bedecked with rosary beads near

Coomanaspic Pass.

Early Christian monks haven’t been the

only ones inspired by the landscape. On my

drive, I stop into Cill Rialaig Arts Centre,

which sells works created by artists on retreat

in a cluster of old stone houses nearby.

“Some people get freaked out by the

isolation,” visual artist Aoife Scott tells me.

“We’re literally working on the edge of a cliff.”

My final stop is near Caherdaniel. Here

I join John and Kerryann Fitzgerald, the

husband-and-wife team behind Atlantic Irish

Seaweed (atlanticirishseaweed.com), for a

shoreline-foraging adventure.

We kick off with a cornucopia of tasting

plates (think kelp spiced beef, or chai with

bladderwrack and masala spices), before

heading out to scour the shoreline for slimy

goodies. Seaweeds were eaten by monks

on the Skelligs, John tells me. “There’s so

much good stuff in them, they make kale and

blueberries look like kebabs and chips.”

As I’m leaving, he pops a few gifts into my

boot — a jar of dried pepper dulse (a strong

smelling ‘truffle of the sea’), a bath pack

of dried wrack, and a bottle of elderflower

champagne with sugar kelp. Perfect.

PACK SMART

It’s no joke that Ireland can lay on

four seasons in a single day. Luck

favours the prepared, so

bring sunscreen and an

umbrella whatever the

time of year

— and sturdy hiking

boots and rainwear

if you have more

adventurous plans.

LIFE & DEATH IN DERRYNANE

Derrynane boasts a glorious beach. It

was also the ancestral home of Daniel

O’Connell, the 19th century politician

who won fame for achieving Catholic

Emancipation. Exhibits at Derrynane

House museum and park include the

duelling pistol with which he once killed

a man, and the black glove he wore

when receiving Holy Communion.

€4 (£3.50). heritageireland.ie

HIDDEN HEIGHTS

Ard na Sidhe, an 18-bedroom country

house stashed away in the woodlands

overlooking Lough Caragh, may

be Kerry’s best-kept secret. The

Elizabethan revivalist building dates

from 1913, but its warm sandstone and

casement windows make it look much

older. Interiors are tasteful and elegant,

too. B&B from €100 each (£85); May to

October. ardnasidhe.com

NEED TO KNOW

CHOCOLATE

FIX

RYANAIR (ryanair.com)

flies from Stansted and

Luton to Kerry airport

(kerryairport.ie); 1.5-hours

by car to Portmagee. The

Moorings in Portmagee

has a two-night B&B

Skelligs package including

an evening meal from

€160 each (£135) in peak

season. Boat trips extra.

moorings.ie

PREVIOUS PAGE: Skellig Islands; seafood

platter at The Moorings, Portmagee

CLOCKWISE: Ard na Sidhe country house

hotel; Colm Healy, Skellig Chocolate; Atlantic

Irish Seaweed; John Fitzgerald foraging in

Kerry; coasteering on the Wild Atlantic Way

IMAGE: GETTY

November 2016 55

WEEKENDER