I was recently invited by my Danish friends, Ireland Expert Claus Hebor (see www.hebor.dk )Pilot Claus Kvist to join them on their round Ireland trip by private 4 seater plane. Claus Hebor is so passionate and knowledgeable about Ireland that he would shame many on the Irish Tourism payroll. He is constantly bringing tour groups into the country and almost single handedly putting Ireland (and irish Whiskey )on the map in Denmark and Scandinavia. Despite being a pretty nervous flyer and not sleeping well the night before, I decided it was too good an opportunity to decline. One of my personal highlights was flying over the mystical Skelligs, off the coast of Kerry.
Skellig Michael (Irish: Sceilig Mhichíl), or Great Skellig (Irish: Sceilig Mhór), is an island (the larger of the two Skellig Islands) in the Atlantic Ocean, 11.6 km west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. A Christian monastery was founded on the island at some point between the 6th and 8th century, and was continuously occupied until its abandonment in the late 12th century. The remains of this monastery, along with most of the island itself, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1996
The Skelligs holds some 27,000 pairs of Northern Gannets, the second largest colony in the world. Little Skellig is protected and people are not permitted here
Gannett Colonies on Little Skellig
Beehive huts used by the monks on Skellig Michael
One boat tour arrives each day for the summer months weather permitting
Skellig Michael