Sneem-Valentia-Tralee.

Yet again we found it very difficult to leave the comfortable Sneem Hotel. Many thanks to Louis and all his staff for their warm welcome. Sneem is an absolutely stunning place and is well worth the visit.
After a hearty breakfast we headed out the road towards Valentia Island. The day began with a spin along to Waterville which had some amazing scenery including the McGillycuddy Reeks on our right hand side followed by some stunning sea views further along the road. We stopped in Waterville for a bowl of soup to warm us up, cleverly timed as we missed the first rain shower of the trip!!!!
After leaving Waterville we headed out the coast road to Ballinskelligs which again had some stunning scenery.........and a few hills along the way. Before reaching Portmagee we had a series of steep (and I mean steep!!!) climbs but the breathtaking (no pun intended) scenery at the top was completely worth it......as was the descent into Portmagee. We were welcomed into Portmagee by Vincent and Sandra, from the Valentia Island Triathlon Club, who treated us to a warm sugary tea as we both must have looked a little cold and pale after the climb!!!

After warming up, Sandra and Vincent kindly dragged us across the bridge to Valentia and along the island to Knightstown. We checked into the cosy Atlantic Villa B&B and received a warm welcome from the proprietor Jackie. Huge thanks to Vincent who treated us to a delicious dinner in the Royal Pier bar in Valentia, which more than adequately filled the gap!! After dinner we returned to Atlantic Villa B&B where we had enjoyed a great night's sleep, followed by a delicious breakfast which included lots of local produce such as Goats cheese, homemade yoghurt and butter and a delicious garden salad (freshly picked from the garden of the B&B). The stunning Valentia Island is well worth a visit..........not only for the amazing scenery and friendly locals but also for the delicious breakfast in the Atlantic Villa B&B.
We also owe a huge thanks to Martin for dropping us across to the mainland on his rib, as the ferry wasn't running (for those of you who consider this cheating, we would have been re-tracing our steps back to the bridge at Portmagee!!). It's fair to say without the short trip in the boat across from Valentia harbour, we may have struggled to make it to Tralee!
It's difficult to explain just how much we appreciate the warm welcome the lovely people of Valentia gave us, particularly after what were our two toughest day so far. It was with a heavy heart (and still heavy legs!) that we left Valentia and headed for Tralee.
Whilst we were still a little sore after the previous days climbing, the hills on the way to Tralee seem like mere speed bumps after hearing the news that we had appeared on the Leinster Rugby website! Sadly, the mention was nothing to do with Conor's natural ability in the scrumhalf position!
We stopped in Kilorglin for a well earned lunch, after which we were met by a fellow cyclist (and fan!) Seamus Coffey. Many thanks to Seamus for joining us on the spin and chatting away to help distract us from the final few climbs of the day!!

We were delighted to arrive in Tralee in the late afternoon, and will rest up for tomorrows journey to Kilrush.