Active Pursuits

Golf -- Waterville Golf Links, Waterville (tel. 066/947-4102; www.watervillegolflinks.ie), sits at the edge of the Atlantic. On huge sand dunes, bounded on three sides by the sea, the 18-hole championship course is one of the longest in Ireland (7,184 yards). Visitors are welcome. Greens fees start at €180 daily, cheaper for early birds.

Other challenging 18-hole courses on the Ring include Dooks Golf Club, Glenbeigh (tel. 066/976-8205; www.dooks.com), a links par-70 course on the Ring of Kerry road, with greens fees of €85; and the expanded Kenmare Golf Club, Kenmare (tel. 064/41291; www.kenmaregolfclub.com), a parkland par-71 course where greens fees run €50 weekdays, €55 weekends.

Walking -- The low, long-distance path, the Kerry Way, traverses the extraordinary scenery of the Ring of Kerry. The first stage, from Killarney National Park to Glenbeigh, travels inland over rolling hills and past pastoral scenes. The second stage circles the Iveragh Peninsula via the towns of Cahersiveen, Waterville, Caherdaniel, Sneem, and Kenmare with a farther inland walk along the old Kenmare Road back to Killarney, for a total of 202km (125 miles). The route consists primarily of paths and "green roads" (old, unused roads built as make-work famine relief projects and now converted into walking paths). Maps outlining the route are available from the Killarney and Kenmare tourist offices (some are free, though the better ones cost a couple of euro), while good walking guides are available from bookstores in the area. For more information visit www.kerryway.net.