Not only for the ladies - a photo on Flickriver

            Ladies’ View, a viewpoint on the Ring of Kerry route in the Killarney National Park, overlooking the Upper Lake, County Kerry, Ireland

Some background information:

Ladies’ View is a scenic viewpoint on the Ring of Kerry route in the Killarney National Park. It is located about 19 kilometres (12 miles) from the town of Killarney. There’s a small parking area and even a café with the same name on the other side of the N71 road, which runs through the park. The Irish Times has ranked Ladies’ View as one of the most photographed places in Ireland, while the internet publication Daily Edge has ranked it amongst Ireland's finest views.

The name Ladies’ View stems from the admiration of the view given by Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting during Victoria's 1861 visit to Ireland. They were so taken with the view that it was named after them. In October 2017, a tourist couple almost drove their rental car over the edge of the cliff and into the valley below.

The Killarney National Park, near the town of Killarney, was founded in 1932. It was the first national park in Ireland, created after the Muckross Estate had been donated the lands to the Irish Free State. The park has since been substantially expanded and encompasses over 102.89 square kilometres (25,425 acres) of diverse ecology, including the Lakes of Killarney, oak and yew woodlands of international importance, and mountain peaks.

The Killarney National Park has the only red deer herd on mainland Ireland and the most extensive covering of native forest. Because of the quality, diversity, and extensiveness of many of its habitats and the wide variety of species that they accommodate, some of which are rare, it was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1981. The park also forms part of a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area.

The Killarney National Park is one of the very few places in Ireland that has been continuously covered by woodland since the end of the most recent glacial period, approximately 10,000 years ago. Humans have lived in the area since at least the Bronze Age, approximately 4,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found evidence that copper mining took place in this area during this period, which suggests that it was of considerable importance to Bronze Age people.

Some of the most impressive archaeological remains in the park are from the early Christian period. The most important of these features is Inisfallen Abbey, the ruins of a monastic settlement on Inisfallen Island in Lough Leane. It was founded in the 7th century CE by St. Finian the Leper and was occupied until the 14th century. Also still standing is Muckross Abbey, which was founded in 1448 by Observantine Franciscans, despite having been damaged and reconstructed several times when its inhabitants were raided.

After the Norman invasion of Ireland, the land around the lakes was owned by the McCarthys and O'Donoghues. From the 18th century the land in today's park was divided between two great estates, the Herberts of Muckross and the Brownes, Earls of Kenmare. In 1899, Muckross House and its estate was purchased by Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, from the Guinness brewing family.

Today, the Killarney National Park possesses the most extensive area of semi-natural native woodland (woodland dominated by indigenous species) remaining in Ireland. However, grazing and rhododendron invasion threaten the park's woodlands. Rhododendrons affect approximately two-thirds of the oak woodlands. Hence, currently a rhododendron removal programme is under way in the park. In contrast, the yew woodlands have been negatively affected by decades of heavy grazing.

Primarily responsible for that are the sika deer, which overgraze the woodland floor and pose a potential threat to the genetic integrity of the native red deer. Both invasive species, the rhododendrons and the sika deer, can have an adverse effect on the native flora by inhibiting regeneration. Thus, there’s a policy of control and eradication of rhododendrons and sika deer in the park. Nevertheless, by all accounts it seems to be a bit like tilting at windmills.

Taken in: Ireland / Munster / Derrylea (show map)

Taken on: August 29, 2022

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Camera: Canon EOS 77D, f/8.0, 1/160 sec, 31mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 77D
Lens:	TAMRON 18-400mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD B028
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	31mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Spot
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)
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