Ireland 2025 – Day 5 of hike

Day 8 of our Ireland Trip kicked off the second half of our hike. On my last post I mentioned that Day 5 (today) on the Dingle Way should be much easier than Day 4 because it would be slightly shorter and much flatter. Day 5 of our hike started out pleasant and sunny. It would not end that way. Today we would be completing a 13.5 mile hike from Dunquin to Feohanagh. Along the way we enjoyed outstanding views of the wild Atlantic Ocean and a few secluded beaches.

Early in the hike we stopped at the workshop of renowned Irish potter Louis Mulcahy at Clothar and had coffee and cake in the café. We then passed by Ferriters Cove, which was gorgeous. We then passed the iconic Three Sisters rock formation before the trail swung east to take us along the sandy beaches of Smerwick Harbour.

We took a very short break on the first beach which was called Wine Strand. But before getting to the second beach, we sat or “reclined” in the tall grass along the trail to enjoy our boxed lunches. On this day, the rain waited until we were on the next beach. And when it came, it came with a force. I was hiking in shorts and I thought the back of my legs were going to have red marks on them from the hail and ice pellets. And this squall hung around for a while. When it finally ended, we were soaked and cold. That and the trail becoming a narrow, meandering and muddy mess along a cliff made the last 4 miles of the hike challenging. So today’s hike was a tale of two adventures. The first 2/3 of the hike was sunny, dry and flat. The last third was cold, wet and rugged. All said though, it was another satisfying day of hiking.

When we arrived at our lodging for the night – Riasc Farmhouse B&B – the Begley family welcomed us with delicious cakes and hot beverages in the dining room. And Riasc recently won the Farmhouse B&B of the year. I can see why. It was a very charming building and the hospitality was over the top. They even drove us to a local pub for dinner. But before dinner, Elizabeth and I shared a bottle of Keswick Cabernet Franc with Leslie and Rafael that we had brought with us from Virginia. It was a nice ending to another vigorous day of hiking.