Out at the tip of the Dingle Peninsula, the land runs out and Europe ends in a tumble of green fields, stone walls and sheer cliffs above the Atlantic, with the Blasket Islands lying offshore like sleeping whales. This is Slea Head, and the narrow road that loops around it from the town of Dingle is one of the most beautiful drives in Ireland.
This is Gaeltacht country, where Irish is the everyday language, and road signs are often in Irish only: Dingle is An Daingean, and Dunquin is Dún Chaoin. The landscape is crowded with traces of the past. Beehive huts, round stone shelters built without mortar, stand in the fields, some perhaps more than a thousand years old, and the Gallarus Oratory, a small stone church shaped like an upturned boat, has kept out the rain for more than a millennium. Dún Beag, a promontory fort on the cliffs, dates back to the Iron Age.
The Blasket Islands were inhabited until 1953, when the last islanders were evacuated to the mainland. They were a small community of Irish speakers, fishermen and farmers, and several of them wrote books about their lives that are classics of Irish literature. The Blasket Centre in Dunquin tells their story. The landscape has also attracted filmmakers: Ryan's Daughter was filmed here in 1970, and more recently, scenes from Star Wars were shot on the cliffs at Ceann Sibéal.
The road is narrow, with tight bends, steep drops and stone walls, and it is busy with tour buses in summer. By custom, traffic goes clockwise around the loop, and it is wise to do the same. Watch for sheep, cyclists and walkers, and for cars stopping suddenly to take photos. The wind can be fierce, and the weather changes quickly, with rain, sun and mist all in an hour.
Fuel and services are available in Dingle, about fourteen kilometres away, a lively fishing town with pubs, restaurants and music, and there are few options further west. Stop at a pullout above Coumeenoole Beach, look out at the Blaskets and listen to the waves crashing below. It is one of the great views of Europe.