SLEA HEAD | jamesbrownphoto

Images from Slea Head, Dingle Peninsula

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Great Blasket Island Named An Blascaod Mór in Irish, the principle Blasket Island sits approximately 2km from this area of the mainland and extends out into the Atlantic for around 6km. All the colours of Autumn in the early morning sunlight.
Sunset Over Inis Tuaisceart This island, one of the Blasket Islands, is also known as The Sleeping Giant..you can see why!	Ogham Stone, Dunmore Head At the higher point of the headland stands this Ogham Stone. Measuring 2m tall, its inscription is dedicated to 'Erc' and was possibly a place of ritual worship to the goddess Duibhne (Dovinnias). Still evokes a strong sense of wonder.	Coumeenoole Bay Home to a beautiful unspoilt beach. Water so blue, you have to see it to believe it!	Rugged Dunmore Head This is it, the most westerly point of the Irish mainland. Fittingly rugged, this place also offers a stunning vantage point to spot Whales passing between here and the Blanket Islands.	The Skellig Islands A long distance from Slea Head but often visible, these islands (Skellig Michael and Little Skellig) have provided rugged sanctuary to sea birds and early Christian Monks. However, more recently they provided the backdrop to the closing scene of Star Wars The Force Awakens.	Above Dunquin Pier Dún Chaoin (Caon's stronghold) is the western-most settlement on the Irish mainland. A winding pathway snakes down the headland here to the pier where a ferry service runs to Great Blasket Island during the warmer months on the year.	Blaskets from The Roadside Once again the early morning colour of Autumn reveals the stunning beauty of this place.	Inis Tuaisceart The name means "Northern Island" but it is also known as An Fear Marbh (the dead man) or the sleeping giant due to its appearance when seen from the mainland. It is an awesome sight.	Coumeenoole Beach The turquoise-blue waters of The Atlantic have carved-out a beautiful beach, sitting below sheer cliffs. To stand down here on a stormy day, as the waves crash into the beach, is exhilarating.	Cross Stone, Slea Head Forming part of the stone wall, where several Beehive Huts survive, along the Slea Head hillside. The Beehive Huts here are thought to date from 12th Century when occupying Normans took the better land for themselves, forcing the indigenous Irish out onto the fringes of the Peninsula.	View of Ceann Sibeal From Waymont, on the Slea Head Drive, the view stretches beyond Clogher Strand to the Brandon Mountain range, the Three Sisters and Ceann Sibeal, the headland where scenes for the next Star Wars movie were filmed in 2016.	Ogham Stone The early morning sun in Autumn casts long shadows across the green land.	Blasket Islands The Blasket Islands as seen from Waymont, Dingle Peninsula.	Dunmore Head As westerly as mainland Ireland gets. From here can be seen Great Blasket Island. Great Blasket was inhabited until the 1950's.	Slea Head Drive at Coumeenoole A section of the Slea Head Drive above Coumeenoole Bay. On a lucky day it is possible to see Whales passing by between here and the Blasket Islands which sit just off this section of the coast.	Slea Head Coastline The western-most Irish mainland appears to anchor itself in place, in defiance of the regular onslaught of the Atlantic Ocean.	Sybil Point Sybil Point (Ceann Sibeal) with Clogher Strand before and the Three Sisters beyond. Ceann Sibeal was where a set was built in early 2016 for filming of Star Wars Episode 8.	Dunmore Head Summer A longer exposure capturing the movement of the tide and the midsummer cloud.	Walkway to Dunquin Pier This narrow walkway is shaped out of sheer practicality, following as it does the contours of the landscape. From here, beyond Dunmore Head, lie the Blasket Islands.	Clifftop Walk at Dunmore Head The beautiful, natural landscape of the Dingle Peninsula in all its glory on a summer day. This pathway leads to the tip of Dunmore Head, which is the western-most point of mainland Ireland.	Blaskets from Dunquin Pier At the bottom of a unique winding pathway is a small pier. During the warmer months there are regular boat crossings (weather permitting) to Great Blasket Island from this very point.	Dunquin A view from across the bay, showing how Dunquin Pier is accessed.	Waves at Coumeenoole The Dingle Peninsula coastline receives frequent bombardment from the Atlantic Ocean.	Shrine on the Slea Head Drive A scene of the Crucifiction stands on the winding Slea Head Drive.	Coumeenoole Bay Dunmore Head, the most westerly point on the Irish mainland, points outward towards the Blasket Islands.	Rainbow at Ceann Sibeal A chance discovery. Driving Slea Head one rainy afternoon, approaching Waymont, this was the sight that greeted me. With the changeable weather rainbows are common here but not always right in front of you as this one was. Within a few minutes it was gone, a lucky moment for me.	Dunquin Pier As an area, Dunquin (Dún Chaoin) is known as 'the next parish to America' as it is the most westerly part of Ireland. The pier itself was the main departure point for boats crossing to the Blasket Islands, an often hazardous crossing for the traditional Currach boats. Now it is comfortable and safe tourist boats which take thousands of visitors every year across the channel to Great Blasket.