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The road from Killarney to the MUCKROSS ESTATE passes through unlovely territory dominated by huge modern hotels, and though jaunting cars from the centre of Killarney will take you out to Muckross (cars are prohibited on the Muckross Estate), it's more fun to rent a bike. Take the earliest turning right into the park that's available, to escape the busy main road. The first place to head for is Muckross Abbey (mid-June to early Sept daily 10am-5pm; free), not only for the ruin itself - one of the best preserved in Ireland, part Norman, part Gothic, though sadly despoiled by Cromwell's troops - but also for its calm, contemplative location, and the fact that it, like Ross Castle, hints at something predating Killarney's tourist history. Founded as a Franciscan institution by Macarthy Mor in the mid-fifteenth century, it was suppressed by Henry VIII; the friars returned again, but were finally driven out by Cromwell's army in 1652. Back at the main road, signposts direct you to Muckross House (daily: mid-March to June 9am-6pm; July & Aug 9am-7pm; Sept & Oct 9am-6pm; Nov to mid-March 9am-5.30pm; GBP4/?5.09, Heritage Card; joint ticket including farms GBP6/?7.64; gardens free), a solid, nineteenth-century neo-Elizabethan mansion designed by the Scottish architect William Burn. Some rooms are given over to material on Kerry folk life - craftspeople demonstrate their trades (Mon-Fri) both in the basement, where you can watch weavers, and in the nearby craft centre, where there's more weaving, along with potters and a bookbinder; there's a well-stocked shop alongside - and there's a traditional working farm too where you can watch a blacksmith at work (mid-March to April & Oct Sat, Sun and bank holidays 1-6pm; May daily 1-6pm; June-Sept daily 10am-7pm; GBP4/?5.09; joint ticket including the house GBP6/?7.64; Heritage Card). The excellent tea shop provides a good refuge from the rain, but the gardens (open all year; free) - well known for their rhododendrons and azaleas - are the place to be when the weather is fine. The estate gives access to well-trodden paths along the shores of the Muckross Lake , and it's here that you can see one of Killarney's celebrated beauty spots, the Meeting of the Waters . Actually a parting, but highly picturesque nonetheless, it has a profusion of indigenous and flowering subtropical plants - eucalyptus, magnolia, bamboo and an arbutus, or strawberry tree, on the left of the Old Weir Bridge. Close by is the massive shoulder of Torc Mountain, shrugging off the spectacular 60ft Torc Waterfall ; the climb up the side of the mountain is worth doing, if only for the view across to Macgillycuddy's Reeks. On a good day, the Slieve Mish Mountains on the far side of Dingle Bay are visible. About two miles south of here is the Upper Lake which is also incredibly beautiful, although it too is still firmly on the tourist trail. The main road running along one side up to Ladies' View is where many queue up to admire the scenery - which is, in fact, truly amazing, including the Gap of Dunloe and the wild and desolate Black Valley beyond the lake.
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