Entrance to Staigue Fort
I was pleasantly surprised to know that there is a stone fort along the Ring of Kerry. It wasn’t exactly on the main road and it is actually a bit inland but it is a nice detour from the rather monotonous driving that I have been doing so far. The fort is set up on the small hill but it is good enough to see the immediate area. I was thinking that I would have to purchase tickets to visit the fort but there weren’t any. I smiled when I saw that the entrance had a box for collecting the modest entrance fee. I thought there were amusing since they can’t afford to pay anyone to collect the money for them, it makes you wonder where the money goes.
Stairs at Staigue Fort
Whether you pay or not is up to you. In case you were wondering, I paid the fee. Visitors will have to open the gates themselves and make sure to close it after getting in. The reason behind this is to keep animals away from the area. The Staigue Fort is a circular stone fort. Ireland has a few circular forts and they seem to be common here in county Kerry. The entrance to the fort is a narrow passageway, possibly to keep animals away but not determined humans. The fort is in remarkable condition though it is difficult to say exactly when it was built. Within the walls of the fort, one will notice criss-crossing stone stairs to bring people to the top of the walls.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/StaigueFort.kmz} zoom=19]