Things to do in Valentia |Carraig Liath House

Things to do in Valentia |Carraig Liath House

Guys, no matter what it takes, visiting Valentia is a must when you plan your trip to Ireland. Valentia, as some of you guys know is a small Island, 7 miles long and almost 3 miles wide, the most westerly part of Ireland located in South-western part of county Kerry, off the Iveragh Peninsula.

Valentia Island, is one of the best tourist destinations in Ireland; for a better understanding of what the island has to offer, continue reading on things to do in Valentia, come aboard…

Things to do in Valentia| Carraig Liath House

Here is why Valentia is world renowned. No matter what happens, make sure you have the following destinations on your list of things to do in Valentia

• Knightstown
• Transatlantic cable
• Slate quarry
• Tetrapod Track ways
• Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs
• Glanleam House
• Skellig Island
• Iveragh Peninsula

Things to do in Valentia | Knight of Kerry in Knightstown

Knightstown is one of the many beautiful places to visit when you are on Valentia Island. Knightstown is the most inhabited part of Valentia, and historically the symbol of the Island, being the home of the Knight of Kerry which is one of the only three Anglo-Irish hereditary knighthoods which existed in Ireland during feudal times. The village of Knightstown was built in 1840s during the reign of Maurice FitzGerald, who was the 18th Knight of Kerry, he ordered the Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo to draw up the plans for that new village in 1831.

Things to do in Valentia | Transatlantic cable

This is another reason why Valentia stands proudly in the Heritage of the World. In 1854 the plans to connect America and Europe through cable started, marking Valentia Island as the First station of the cable that connected these Continents. It was built a transatlantic cable, an underwater telegraphic cable running from North America to Ireland via Atlantic Ocean to Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island in southern western Ireland from Heart’s Content in eastern Newfoundland, USA.
The cable reduced the time the message could be sent between these continents, from 10 or more days by ship to just a few minutes. In 1858 a first official telegraph was sent through that cable, a letter of congratulation from Queen Elizabeth of United Kingdom to the President of US James Buchanan.

Things to do in Valentia | Slate quarry

Valentia is famous for its slate quarry. The slate yard has been operational since the time of knighthood, and has been used in building many loyal buildings, including the House of Parliament in England and other famous buildings  around Europe.

Things to do in Valentia | Tetrapod Track ways

Another great discovery of the world in Valentia is the Tetrapod track ways, which was discovered by an undergraduate student on the Valentia coast in 1993. The Tetrapod marked the transition of life from water to land, between 370 million to 350 million years ago.

Things to do in Valentia| Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs

The Geokaun Mountain is the highest mountain in Valentia, and Fogher Cliffs stands at 600 metres on its northern face. Geokaun possess views of Iveragh and beyond that are second to none.

Things to do in Valentia | Glanleam House

Another stunning place to visit while you are in Valentia is Glanleam House, which has a beautiful subtropical garden, being in place since 19th century. It was in the reign of Sir Peter George Fitzgerald, the 19th Knight of Kerry (1808–1880) who started planting the place with varieties of plants and flowers from all over the world. It’s a very interesting and tranquil place to visit.

Things to do in Valentia | Skellig Island

Another astonishing place to visit is the Skellig Islands, the small Skellig and Skellig Michael.
The Small Skellig is the second largest gannet colony having more than 27,000 pairs. The small  Skelligs is also blessed with many species of birds like European Storm Petrels, Manx Shearwaters and Black-legged Kittiwakes just to name a few.

Skellig Michael is the World Heritage site declared by UNESCO since 1996 as one of the Universal Values for its 6th Century Christian Monastery Perched at 160 metres.
This Island has many tourist attractions, including the Monastery of Monks of Fionan, where it is believed that these Monks used to live in the stone beehive shaped huts, and rectangular shaped on the inside, build to prevent rain drops penetrating inside. It is believed that these Monks used to spend their days in the Church, and the rest of the time in studying and tending their gardens. We can arrange trips to the Skelligs for you here at Carraig Liath House.

Things to do in Valentia |Iveragh Peninsula

Lets step off the island explore the Iveragh Peninsula is located in Kerry County; it is the largest Peninsula in Southern Western Ireland. If you are an adventurous traveller, you will hike many of the mountains in the Peninsula along the Kerry Way Also if you are looking for a challenge you can hike in the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks and Carrantuohill. Iveragh Peninsula’s Carrantuohill is the highest peak in Ireland.
If you are not an adventurous type, no worries we have it all here in Iveragh Peninsula’s where you can relax and unwind. We have towns like Cahersiveen, Ballinskelligs, Waterville and Portmagee which was awarded the top tourist town of Ireland in 2012.

Accommodation in Valentia & Portmagee | Carraig Liath House

Now you have seen all about Valentia, it’s time to see the Accommodation. Carraig Liath House has just been awarded a trip advisor excellence award  for 2014.
Carraig Liath House is situated on Valentia Ireland Just over the Bridge from the beautiful Fishing Village of Portmagee, and the your perfect base to relax and enjoy your Valentia vacation.
Carraig Liath House is not only a place to rest, but will endeavor to ensure that you experience  all of the things to do in Valentia we have highlighted above.