We started off in overcast but quite warm weather from Waterville. The route lay uphill to around 220 mts, at which height, and indeed for most of the way up, the mist was all around us with a very bad visibility. A large statue of the Madonna marked the top of the pass. Descending out of the clouds again on the other side of the pass, the landscape opened up with the sun shining on it. At Caherdaniel, we turned off the main road and went to see Derrynane House, the former home of the Irish lawyer and politician Daniel O'Connell known as the 'Liberator' who fought for Catholic emancipation in 1829. A very nice house, wonderfully situated close to the sea, and well worth seeing. By now the weather had turned warm and sunny, and we stopped off at a small beach.
To reach Sneem where we intended to spend the night, there was another pass to be climbed, though not so high this time. Sneem turned out to be another rather touristy place with a nice bridge over the river Sneem. We passed through the small town, and on a sideroad further on found a beautiful old house, newly restored, which offered B&B. We had a small flat for the price of a room (18 pounds) and thoroughly enjoyed walking in the grounds which included access to a small bay.